From Publishers Weekly
A desert romance between a spirited woman frustrated by the limits of her small town and a man who happens to be her brother-in-law marks the debut title in Penguin's new MTV imprint. First-time novelist Troy sets out in a straightforward, omniscient voice the conflict confronting Ruby Pearson one scorching summer's day when her husband, Carl, drunkenly robs a local 7-Eleven in their town of Whitticker, Ariz. (pop. 641). Ruby, who is fierce and tall and admired in the community, married Carl because he was an outsider whose curiosity "stemmed from the places he had seen, rather than the place he had not." Yet with their high-school romance soured from promises left undelivered, and their eight-year-old son, Brian, in need of a father, Ruby is ripe for the challenge when Sean, Carl's estranged younger brother, arrives at her doorstep to take care of Carl's cherished horse, Evelyn, while he is in jail. Troy rather obviously arranges all the usual components for a love story, and employs to uncertain effect the symbolic elements of earth, air, fire and water in order to add significance to Ruby and Sean's affair: Brian excels at swimming, unlike his wrangler father, and especially enjoys the act of floating; a fire raging out-of-control nearby sullies the air. The characters suffer soap opera emotions and horse opera conversations?expressing themselves not through words but through sex, flirting and drinking. Troy shows the most maturity and compassion as she decries the breakdown of the family and the dynamics of a small community. Yet many of the important strands of the story (Evelyn's foaling, Carl's state of mind upon returning) are handled in a cursory manner that ultimately drains this work of its energy and weight. (Sept.) FYI: MTV will also launch a short-story contest this fall, and will publish the winners in an anthology. Information on the contest will be included in Floating.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
It has been said that truly big dogs don't need to bark. This folksy adage would fit well into the dialogue of Robin Troy's novel, FLOATING, and the book would do well to heed those words. The recording begins with positive reviews and the statement that FLOATING won the MTV Fiction Award, but would a great book need to brag? The plot starts strong; sassy Ruby is about to make a choice between her no-account husband and his rambling cowboy brother. Karesa McElheney's performance is right-on, capturing the raucous Western goings-on with an emphatic purr. McElheney sets scenes well, and the novel helps with bright spots. Ultimately, however, the focus floats away. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
Natalie Kusz author of Road Song The spark and deft phrasing that mark a true writer's voice are here in abundance. Robin Troy is the real article.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For most people, Whittiker, Arizona, population 641, is just a rest stop on the highway to somewhere else. But to 25-year-old Ruby Pearson, there is nowhere else. With a husband in jail and an 8-year-old son at home, Ruby knows what she wants -- and what she doesn't -- and is determined to break free of a life going nowhere. Then a cowboy named Sean rolls into town bringing Ruby a world of possibiliities. Problem is, Sean's her husband's brother. . .and maybe her best shot at true love and a ticket out.

SYNOPSIS

Robin Troy makes an impressive literary debut with the publication of her new book, Floating. The winner of MTV's "The Write Stuff" fiction contest, Floating was chosen from more than 500 entries to be the first novel published by MTV Books. A unique story of love and all of its challenges, Floating introduces readers to Ruby, a charismatic 25-year-old with an eight-year-old son and a husband who detests the fact that his existence is centered around his wife. When Ruby's husband, Carl, is arrested for holding up a convenience store, a crime spurred by his anger that he is known as "Ruby's wife," Ruby sees an opportunity to break away from her pathetic husband. Writing with Ethan Canin-style prose, Robin Troy delves deeply into individual conflict, as responsibility and morality meet with desire.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A desert romance between a spirited woman frustrated by the limits of her small town and a man who happens to be her brother-in-law marks the debut title in Penguin's new MTV imprint. First-time novelist Troy sets out in a straightforward, omniscient voice the conflict confronting Ruby Pearson one scorching summer's day when her husband, Carl, drunkenly robs a local 7-Eleven in their town of Whitticker, Ariz. (pop. 641). Ruby, who is fierce and tall and admired in the community, married Carl because he was an outsider whose curiosity "stemmed from the places he had seen, rather than the place he had not." Yet with their high-school romance soured from promises left undelivered, and their eight-year-old son, Brian, in need of a father, Ruby is ripe for the challenge when Sean, Carl's estranged younger brother, arrives at her doorstep to take care of Carl's cherished horse, Evelyn, while he is in jail. Troy rather obviously arranges all the usual components for a love story, and employs to uncertain effect the symbolic elements of earth, air, fire and water in order to add significance to Ruby and Sean's affair: Brian excels at swimming, unlike his wrangler father, and especially enjoys the act of floating; a fire raging out-of-control nearby sullies the air. The characters suffer soap opera emotions and horse opera conversations--expressing themselves not through words but through sex, flirting and drinking. Troy shows the most maturity and compassion as she decries the breakdown of the family and the dynamics of a small community. Yet many of the important strands of the story (Evelyn's foaling, Carl's state of mind upon returning) are handled in a cursory manner that ultimately drains this work of its energy and weight. (Sept.) FYI: MTV will also launch a short-story contest this fall, and will publish the winners in an anthology. Information on the contest will be included in Floating.

Kirkus Reviews

One of the differences between cake recipes and novels is the greater likelihood of actually getting a decent recipe from a contest. Troy, who submitted her manuscript to MTV's "The Write Stuff" fiction contest, was the winner, and this by-the-numbers novel (þchosen from over 500 entriesþ) is the result. Itþs a simple affair, with a western flavor, in which Ruby, the most beautiful and alluring woman in the town of Whitticker, Arizona, loses her husband Carl to a prison cell. Home with her son Brian, Ruby is visited by a stranger named Seanþwho is in fact no stranger at all, but Carl's brother, whom Carl has asked to retrieve a cherished horse from Ruby's possession. Ruby, immediately attracted to the handsome Sean, enjoys a fling with him until Carl calls, telling her that heþll be coming home early, having improbably "learned the law. Did what I had to do and beat 'em at their own game." Meantime, Ruby and Sean learn of their subtle differencesþRuby loves her son and, by implication, her family, and Sean is by nature a drifterþand so the romance breaks off. Though the story is by no means original, and is told in an unpolished prose (þCarl went to work [in a boot store] where he gradually lost his teenage determinations amidst the size and shape of other peopleþs footstepsþ), author Troy is faultless here. It's the folks who will send her off on a ten-city reading tour, advertise this novel-like object, and submit it to reviews across the country who could devastate any ambition she might have had. Perfunctory and poorly told: consider it a warm-up for a writer who one day, perhaps, may write interesting material. (Authortour)

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