Carol Hoenig's literary adventure is no less fascinating than her highly polished, beautifully written novel. "Without Grace" has all the markings of an excellent novel: interesting, well-defined characters that rope our emotions, strong dialogue, succinct yet lyrical prose, and a good tale.

Yet, Hoenig could not get the attention of the publishing world. Or rather, once her novel had been parked with one agent, no other agent would touch it. And once it had made the rounds More...

Not my usual fare, but a very enjoyable book that I didn't want to put down at the end. It's the story of a (very) small-town girl and the issues she has growing up without her mother. The characters are well fleshed-out, the plot hums along, and there are twists and turns that keep it interesting. It's also very interesting to note that the book was self-published and yet still obtained some traction in the mass market arena.

predictable but good