A heartfelt—but somewhat predictable—coming-of-age story and romance featuring well-crafted characters.
In this debut novel, a small town shuns an unwed mother as her son struggles with his future and the way the world sees their family.
In the small, conservative, and rural town of Alton, Pennsylvania, young mother Lou Metcalf stands out, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Raising three children from three different fathers all on her own, Lou often has to avoid the glances of other women, who judge her harshly as immoral and a bad influence. She also must distance herself from the husbands around town, who inevitably start stumbling over themselves like high schoolers in the presence of her beauty. Lou’s son Derek has also paid the price for her romantic entanglements. Targeted by town rich kid and bully Carl Cross and often a source of gossip, Derek has been shunned by his peers. His social world revolves around a gang of fellow smart and sensitive misfits who call themselves the ZONCs. He also lunches with the soulful school janitor, Cal. Every day, Cal reveals a little more of his own life story, one in which he could not read until he was age 15, to try to convince Derek to not give up on his studies and to pursue college. But a serious challenge is on the horizon for all of them as a new romance blooms in Lou’s life when one of the husbands she has avoided opens up to her in unexpected ways. Ace’s narrative moves easily from coming-of-age story to forbidden romance to an anthology of small-town life. While many of the familiar tropes and clichés found in these genres surface in her work—like the wise old janitor or the band of nerdy but good-hearted kids—Ace delivers something special in the strong character of Lou. The author provides succinct, memorable descriptions like “She didn’t ‘make’ conversation. When Lou spoke, her words were real. She offered herself with her words.” While the tales of Ace’s cast don’t hold many surprises, these evocative moments help create fully developed players who keep her novel intriguing.
A heartfelt—but somewhat predictable—coming-of-age story and romance featuring well-crafted characters.Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5127-2194-2
Page Count: 330
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
Deep schmaltz in the Bible Belt.
Christian-fiction writer Martin (The Dead Don’t Dance, not reviewed) chronicles the personal tragedy of a Georgia heart surgeon.
Five years ago in Atlanta, Reese could not save his beloved wife Emma from heart failure, even though the Harvard-trained surgeon became a physician so that he could find a way to fix his childhood sweetheart’s congenitally faulty ticker. He renounced practicing medicine after her death and now lives in quiet anonymity as a boat mechanic on Lake Burton. Across the lake is Emma’s brother Charlie, who was rendered blind on the same desperate night that Reese fought to revive his wife on their kitchen floor. When Reese helps save the life of a seven-year-old local girl named Annie, who turns out to have irreparable heart damage, he is compassionately drawn into her case. He also grows close to Annie’s attractive Aunt Cindy and gradually comes to recognize that the family needs his expertise as a transplant surgeon. Martin displays some impressive knowledge about medical practice and the workings of the heart, but his Christian message is not exactly subtle. “If anything in this universe reflects the fingerprint of God, it is the human heart,” Reese notes of his medical studies. Emma’s letters (kept in a bank vault) quote Bible verse; Charlie elucidates stories of Jesus’ miracles for young Annie; even the napkins at the local bar, The Well, carry passages from the Gospel of John for the benefit of the biker clientele. Moreover, Martin relentlessly hammers home his sentimentality with nature-specific metaphors involving mating cardinals and crying crickets. (Annie sells crickets as well as lemonade to raise money for her heart surgery.) Reese’s habitual muttering of worldly slogans from Milton and Shakespeare (“I am ashes where once I was fire”) doesn’t much cut the cloying piety, and an over-the-top surgical save leaves the reader feeling positively bruised.
Deep schmaltz in the Bible Belt.Pub Date: April 4, 2006
ISBN: 1-5955-4054-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: WestBow/Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2006
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
