Review of "no-name baby" and a giveaway

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Writer’s thought for the day and something to think about as you read the review:

"When people ask me if these stories are true, 

I prefer to say that they are true enough." 

 ~ David Sedaris

My gift for my writer friends, a list of eight helpful hints for writers, can be found here: http://www.writingclasses.com/Products/PubsDetail_Excerpt.php/ExcerptID/572

Now back to the business of blogging. I was contacted recently by a friend who is part of a group of recently-published writers interested in having reviews of their works out there in the blogosphere. Would I be interested in doing some book reviews? Well, heck, yeah. I’m always interested in reading and reviewing books. When I found out many of these writers have been working with editor extraordinaire Steven Roxburgh, I was doubly on board. “Sign me up,” said I. And then the first book arrived. Nancy Bo Flood sent me her slender volume entitled no-name baby and I began reading.

 

In rural Illinois, shortly after World War I, Sophie, fourteen, is an only child, but there are three grey gravestones in the family plot for babies lost – a sister and two brothers she had never known. Her mother is pregnant again, and Aunt Rae has come to the farm from Chicago to help when the baby comes. Sophie’s her grandmother, Nonna, lives there too, but at her age, she can only do so much. Her father, of course, has to run the farm. But he has help – a handsome young man, Karl, who goes to school with Sophie. When Aunt Rae is in the house, there is always a strange tension.

As Sophie and her mother are doing chores one day, Sophie wriggles out of slopping the pigs, a chore she hates. Finally, her mother agrees to do it while Sophie gathers eggs. Sophie sees her mother struggle with the slop pail, then slip and fall. She’s hurt and the baby is coming early.

It takes several days of worry before Sophie is able to breathe easier, finally knowing her new little brother and her mother will be all right. Since she has to stay home to help for awhile, Karl brings her school work to her, meeting her in the orchard in early evenings. Their budding romance is apparent to all. Aunt Rae doesn’t like it and, in a strangely contentious moment, says something that makes Sophie question everything about herself and her life, a mystery she is determined to solve.

“A strange weariness filled Sophie. She sat down on Papa’s three-legged stool, tucked her knees under her chin, circled her arms around her legs. And then, not knowing why, she cried and cried.”

Nancy Bo Flood

This bucolic story, framed by the ravages of World War I and conflicts that can only be found in a family, has lovely texture, compelling characters, and polished writing. Girls from upper middle grades on up through YA will find a gem between the covers of no-namebaby. Nancy Bo Flood was kind enough to sign the copy she sent for review, so one of you can win a very gently read autographed copy. Just leave a comment here on the blog for once chance and post the link to to this blog post on your blog, Facebook, or other social media and let me know for a second chance. As always, one of my incredibly honest grandchildren will pull the winning name from a hat.

Remember, if you have trouble leaving a comment, click on the title of the post and it will give you just this post with a comments section on the bottom. If you are in the comment screen and your comment is refused or kicked back, please email me at rosihollinbeck at yahoo dot com and let me know. At least one of my regular readers is having a problem, and I am trying to correct this. Thanks!

A Couple of Things and a Book Review of The Summer of Hammers and Angels

 "I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars." ~ Fred Allen

I’m old enough to remember Fred Allen, so thought I’d pass this little quote along. It made me smile. And wonder about my sanity just a little.

I also have a couple of little gifts for the writers among my readers. The first is an interesting blog about not blogging. Not kidding. It’s an thought-provoking read. http://blog.liviablackburne.com/2011/07/author-blogging-youre-doing-it-wrong.html The second is a site that has a wealth of information for writers. Check out her blogroll and categories on the right-hand side. Wow. This is definitely worth bookmarking and checking often. http://www.annemini.com/

Now to the meat of the blog post this time. I had an email from an author recently who asked if I might read her new book and possibly review it on my blog. Since I hope people will do the same for me someday soon, I’m always happy to take a look. It’s a risk, because not every book published is a great read. I’m happy to say, in this case, I had a fun time reading the book and have lots of nice things to say about it.

The book is The Summer of Hammers and Angels. The author, Shannon Wiersbitzky, had the good fortune to work with über editor Steven Roxburgh on this book, and it shows. It is a tight little page-turner of a coming-of-age novel with one of the strongest voices I’ve run across in a long time.

Young Delia, living in the small town of Tucker’s Ferry, West Virginia, is the only child of  her single mother who works as a waitress at the local diner. Mama isn’t much of a housekeeper and certainly not a home-repair maven. The house is pretty much falling down around their ears. A home inspector shows up unexpectedly and serves them with notice that if a long list of things isn’t fixed and soon, he will have no choice but to condemn the place. Incidentally, he doesn’t seem to mind that he has no choice.

Needless to say, Mama is furious. That night, a storm of equal ferocity comes to town. Lightning strikes the house, and Delia finds her mother unconscious with burns on her hand. A small fire has started, and Delia can’t move her mother or get her to wake up. Delia runs to the Parkers’ house next door to find help. Thus begins a long, long journey for young Delia.

The Parkers are good people who take Delia in. The only problem is her nemesis, Tommy Parker, is their son. We are never told the exact age of these children, but one must guess it is somewhere around ten or eleven, a time when boys and girls gag at the very thought of each other. This, of course, sets up a strong secondary conflict in the book.

Shannon Wiersbitzky

Delia calls on her best friend, Mae, to help her fix her house while Mama lingers in an unconscious state at the local hospital. These two young girls are resourceful and bring great energy to the project. They take on odd jobs to earn money for the materials needed, and we meet some of the interesting people in Tucker's Ferry. But the reality is, the girls know little about fixing anything. Tommy Parker shows up and, it turns out, he has mad skills at fixing things. The children get to work and make some real progress. Tommy gets a little full of himself, drags a ladder from his house, and, over the protests of the girls, climbs to the roof to take a look around. You know this can’t be good. But I don’t want to ruin anything for you, so let’s just say things get worse before they have any chance of getting better.

Delia learns much about herself and the people around her as she trudges through this troubling summer. She is an engaging character, one the reader will be rooting for the entire way through this charming story. Delia’s telling of this story in her own words is absolutely convincing. You will hear her Southern twang clearly in your head and recognize the thoughts and feelings of a young girl from a small town on a mission from which no one can deter her. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. Take a little trip to Tucker’s Ferry, West Virginia and enjoy the summer of Delia’s dilemma. Let her introduce you to the quirky characters in her hometown and tell you the story herself.

If you are reading this in your email, don’t forget to click on the headline to go to my blog. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do. And please leave a comment. I love to hear from you.