More than just a complex coming-of-age story, this potent book makes an indelible impression.
In this debut novel, two brothers remain close until a tragic death rocks their family.
The Hopkins family—being of mixed race—stands out in the small town of Preston, Connecticut. Fourth-generation members Langston and Trajan are three years apart. Langston, who excels at taekwondo, dreams of competing in the Olympics. But when he falls for his beautiful classmate Angelica Chu, her older brother, Albert, self-proclaimed protector of his sister, fights Langston. He pushes him, and Langston ends up hitting his head, which causes permanent brain damage; he endures seizures and develops a learning disorder. The boys’ father, Chester, and their mother, Dottie, a kind, plainspoken teacher’s aide, drift apart—and Chester takes up with another woman. The boys’ grandfather Tuke fills in, steadily imparting wisdom about love and life to his grandsons. And then tragedy strikes the Hopkins family again; Langston dies while being held in police custody for simple trespassing. Dottie mourns, holed up in her bedroom, while Trajan wanders—following his friends toward trouble, exploring the newly discovered world of love and sex, and feeling lost without Langston to smooth the way for him. Dramatic surprises round out the conclusion, with descriptions worthy of cinematic translation. Quotable quotes abound (“Run from your troubles, and there’s no place the devil won’t find you. Stand your ground, and the devil just may go nosing around elsewhere”) as well as offbeat humor and lovely prose. Some phrases are shining standouts and must be reread to fully appreciate their subtlety, curvy flow, and euphonious cadence. But there are challenges for the reader in Mayberry’s semiautobiographical tale: the plot isn’t linear, and the author makes unexpected stops along the way, sometimes suddenly diving into the background of a character who’s just been introduced. This hopscotching narrative might be off-putting to some, but to a patient reader, it imparts a multilayered richness to the story and a striking clarity to the characters’ relationships.
More than just a complex coming-of-age story, this potent book makes an indelible impression.Pub Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-938416-13-2
Page Count: 330
Publisher: River Grove Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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