Review: Wings of Glass

"Why doesn't she just leave?"

I've heard so many people say that about women in situations of domestic abuse. Somebody is belittling you, threatening you, and causing bodily harm. Why would anyone stay in that situation?

Loss of confidence. Low self-esteem. No feelings of worthiness. No money. Fear.

Those are just a few of the reasons why women might stay in those situations.

Penny Taylor is the heroine of Gina Holmes' Wings of Glass. The only problem is that she doesn't know she is the heroine of her own life story. As a shy teenager, she immediately becomes enthralled with Trent. He's so handsome, so worldly, and he pays attention to her. He convinces her to leave her family and marry him. She's cut off from the only world she's ever known. She assumes that her family no longer wants her since they did not approve of Trent.

The honeymoon is quickly over. Trent doesn't want Penny to work so she stays at home keeping house and praying that she will be able to make Trent happy. A kind lady from the local church stops by, but Penny pushes her away. She's afraid of how Trent will respond. He doesn't want Penny having anyone over.

Trent is hurt in an accident at work and loses his sight. It quickly becomes apparent that he has been having an affair, but Penny finds out that she is pregnant. She is sure that God will heal her marriage. Since Trent cannot drive, Penny is free to go to the grocery store. She has the opportunity to get out of the house without him.

She stumbles upon a job opportunity - cleaning houses. She works with one woman, who is also pregnant. They commiserate on their conditions, but Penny is cautious about revealing anything about Trent. It doesn't take long for Penny's new friends to realize that Penny and her unborn child are in danger.

Once many years ago, I was a victim of domestic abuse. Thankfully my situation was not as severe as Penny's, but my family and friends rallied around me and helped me and my children out of that situation. As I read Wings of Glass, all I could think was that could have been me.

Gina Holmes is a master storyteller and I've added her previous novels, Crossing Oceans and Dry as Rain to my reading list.

Gina is featured on today's She Reads blog post.

Book Review: THE SILENCE OF BONAVENTURE ARROW

From the Publisher:

Conceived in love and possibility, Bonaventure Arrow didn't make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. No one knows that Bonaventure's silence is filled with resonance—a miraculous gift of rarified hearing that encompasses the Universe of Every Single Sound. Growing up in the big house on Christopher Street in Bayou Cymbaline, 

Bonaventure can hear flowers grow, a thousand shades of blue, and the miniature tempests that rage inside raindrops. He can also hear the gentle voice of his father, William Arrow, shot dead before Bonaventure was born by a mysterious stranger known only as the Wanderer.

Bonaventure's remarkable gift of listening promises salvation to the souls who love him: his beautiful young mother, Dancy, haunted by the death of her husband; his Grand-mère Letice, plagued by grief and a long-buried guilt she locks away in a chapel; and his father, William, whose roaming spirit must fix the wreckage of the past. With the help of Trinidad Prefontaine, a Creole housekeeper endowed with her own special gifts, Bonaventure will find the key to long-buried mysteries and soothe a chorus of family secrets clamoring to be healed.

My Review:

I first saw it on facebook, where someone tagged it as the book that will change your life. Of course this intrigued me. I have been an avid reader since those first See Spot Run books. The art of telling a story fascinates me. I love to see where authors work. The "A Room of Her Own" feature on the She Reads blog is one of my favorites. I also like to hear the story behind the story. Every novel begins with a thought, a character, a scene, something that compels the author to put the story down on paper - in black and white - to share with others.

A mute boy who has wondrous hearing, but how can he communicate? Bonaventure and his doting mother and Grand-mere Letice find a way.

Bonaventure lives in his father's childhood home with his mother and paternal grandmother. The house harbors three secrets - one in his mother's closet, one in his grandmother's prayer room, and the ghostly father of Bonadventure that only he can hear and communicate with that is until Trinidad comes to work for the family.

Trinidad and Bonadventure are drawn to one another - a celestial bond - Trinidad guides Bonadventure helping him bring peace to the guilt, mystery, and grief that his mother and grandmother each harbor in their heart. 

He also helps bring healing to his Grandmother Roman, the local postmistress, who feels it is her job to monitor the mail and packages of those around her. Sometimes a letter just needs to be misplaced - never to be delivered. She has a mission to heal her grandson for she feels his muteness is his choice, something he could easily overcome.

This year, She Reads has picked some excellent books for their selection of the month. In January, there was THE ART FORGER by B.A. Shapiro. In February, Julie Kibler's CALLING ME HOME, which has been picked up by Warner Bros. Could it be the next SECRET LIFE OF BEES or THE HELP? 

I hope you'll join us at She Reads this month for giveaways, blog posts, recipes, and our online discussion on Rita Leganski's THE SILENCE OF BONAVENTURE ARROW.

I am excited about making the Shoo Fly Marmalade featured by Ingrid at Edible Tapestry.

Review: Julie Kibler's Calling Me Home

Dorrie calls herself a "loser magnet," but she's met a man, who just might be a nice guy, which is unchartered territory for the thirty-something divorced single mother of two teenagers.

"For starters, he treats you well. But just as important is how he treats everyone else... Whenever he takes you to a movies, does he thank the ticket takers? When you're riding in his car, does he hog the road? Even after two weeks, or two months, is he respectful to his fellow man, no matter that person's position in relationship to him? In other words, does he still tip the waiter?" —Miss Isabelle

Miss Isabelle and Dorrie are an unlikely pair of friends. There is a sixty year age difference. Miss Isabelle is a genteel blue haired Southern belle and Dorrie is African American. They first met when Miss Isabelle came to the salon to have her hair done and found that her regular hairdresser had quit. Dorrie had an opening and that was the beginning of their friendship.

Miss Isabelle has a favor to ask of Dorrie. She wants Dorrie to drive her from Texas to Cincinnati, where she needs to take care of some things. It isn't until after Dorrie agrees that she finds out that they are going to a funeral.

With all those hours on the road to fill, the two women have nothing to do but talk. Isabelle's story is told threw her eyes as a young girl living in Shalerville, Kentucky in 1939. Isabelle is the youngest, the only daughter born to the town's doctor. Her mother is always concerned about the way things look and she is hard on Isabelle.

Isabelle falls in love with a boy her mother would never approve of.

Back at home, Dorrie's son is going through a difficult time. He won't talk to her, but Dorrie fears that history is about to repeat itself through the next generation. She fears that her son and his girlfriend are facing an unplanned pregnancy. What can Dorrie do? And then she is thinking about Teague, this new man who seems to be all she's ever wanted.

After seventy years of silence, Miss Isabelle has a secret she is finally ready to share.

The cover has blurbs from Wiley Cash, Barbara Delinsky, Diane Chamberlain, Patti Callahan Henry, Margaret Dilloway, and Sarah Jio - what an all star cast to praise a novel.

Calling Me Home keeps you guessing about the mysterious life of the young, Miss Isabelle. You'll long for more as you start the last chapter. And when you finish, you can't wait to tell your friends about it so you'll have somebody to talk to about it.

This month at She Reads, where there will be guest posts by the author, Julie Kibler. Check back during the month for several opportunities to win some really cool prizes, and at the end of the month we'll have an all day book club discussion about the novel.

Write Now: Defending Jacob and Range of Motion

Andy Barber is a district attorney in Massachusetts. It is his job to prosecute people who have broken the law. He has a wife and son and appears to be living a charmed life. But Andy Barber harbors a dark secret. He's never told his wife. And this secret can unravel and destroy their lives.

The novel was a nice blend presenting the legal world as well as Andy's family life. I'm warning you, once you pick it up, it will be very difficult to put down.

In Elizabeth Berg's Range of Motion, we meet Lainey as she struggles her way through life. Her husband is in a coma due to a freakish accident. Her saving grace is Alice, her next door neighbor. They are best friends and as Alice's marriage falls apart, the women help each other through the difficult trials. Lainey believes her husband, Jay will wake up. But she's the only one. Her daughters are having a difficult time and Lainey is not sure what to do. And then she meets Evie, the ghost of the woman who once lived in the duplex where Lainey lives.

Write Now: Ron Rash and The Cove

I had the opportunity to hear Ron Rash speak at the Spartanburg County Library. He has been on a book tour for five weeks and was extremely happy to be back in the South, where nobody asks him to just say something so they can hear his accent. After all, we speak his language.

His previous novel, Serena, is being made into a major motion picture. The screenwriter asked if the Toby Jones, who portrays the sheriff could speak with Ron. When they spoke, Ron kept waiting for questions about the character, but it was just a conversation. Toby asked if there were any youtube videos of Ron speaking. It was all about the accent.

I love to hear authors discuss the way the writing process works for them. For Ron, it begins with an image. He doesn't outline and he has many pages that don't make the novel.

He also applauded our local press, HubCity Press. They offer many wonderful titles, workshops and readings. They also have a bookstore, where the staff is extremely knowledgeable and always helpful.

Superstition surrounds Laurel Shelton, a beautiful young woman with a port wine birthmark, which the townspeople are sure is a sign of misfortune. Since moving to the cove in this small town, her parents have died and her brother has returned from the war minus his hand.

She's also a bright girl, but had been asked to leave school before graduation. Books and her beloved teacher were her only friends.

She remains at the small homestead within the cove as her brother prepares the home for his new bride to be. Laurel is excited and concerned about sharing her home with another woman. She wonders how they will divide the daily tasks of cooking and cleaning.

One day while doing the wash, the melodic sounds from a flute come with the breeze. She searches and finds a stranger in the woods.

Laurel isn't the only person with a secret. Her brother has one. The stranger has one. And then of course there is Chauncey Feith, the local serviceman who has never seen combat, but is ready to persuade the young men of the area to enlist. Chauncey claims his skills are more important at home.

And then of course there is the biggest secret of all, what did the man from the TVA find in the well?

It is definitely a wonderful book to add to your summer reading list. I loved it so much that I went out and also got Rash's book, Serena. And so far it is just as captivating.

Write Now: Review of The Iguana Tree

The Iguana Tree is the story of a young couple desperate to live the American dream. Hector comes to the United States first and it is a terrifying ordeal, but he finds himself safe and working on a tree farm in the lower part of South Carolina, while his wife and daughter remain in Mexico.

His wife, Lilia grows anxious and makes her own arrangements to follow her husband.This is the first conflict between husband and wife and the struggle of the sexes of a woman's need for love verses a man's need for respect.

This is all I can feel that I can safely summarize without ruining the story for you. As a woman writer, I am always intrigued by women authors who can write from a man's perspective that feels genuine. When I try to write from a man's point of view, it seems more like a woman trying to talk like a man.

Ms. Stone shows the difficulty of the language barrier as Hector attempts to find his place with his new employer, who was not thrilled to understand that Hector does not speak English. Hector finds a Spanish English dictionary and immediately studies the language. He is on a quest to make a better life for his family.

There is a large Latino community here in the South. I never really thought about what those illegally here must face. The Iguana Tree made me think about these people that I see on the streets everyday. I've heard so many complain about how they should learn English, and they should, but there should also be compassion and brotherly love. Most Americans live here because their ancestors came to America looking for a better life.

My only criticism is that the novel ended too soon. I hope that there will possibly be a sequel so that we come to know the rest of the story of Hector and Lilia.