Claire Fullerton's Blog: A Writing Life - Posts Tagged "just-released"

Every line in The Bookshop at Water’s End is soulfully written in seamlessly crafted chapters. Beginning in the emergency room of a Charleston, South Carolina hospital, this enchanting story never loses its page-turning sense of urgency, and yet it is delivered softly, as a deeply insightful, thought provoking character study on two women, whose lives are significantly entwined. Author Patti Callahan Henry knows her way around the nuances of women, and writes with uncommon fearlessness, as she tells the story of Bonny and Lainey, in their mid-forties now, who formed a life-long friendship at the age of thirteen while on family vacation in the small South Carolina coastal town of Watersend. Then and there, the wheels were set in motion of a dynamic that resonated forward with such resounding effect that even they were not aware of its repercussions. But there is no running from cause and effect, and when Bonny and Lainey have cause to return to Watersend, the threads of this story reverberate in love and longing, mystery and self-discovery, all woven together in one plausible tapestry.
Bonny Blankenship’s life and identity is centered upon her medical profession, whose seeds were planted at thirteen by uttering a fateful wish in one magical, belief-driven moment alongside Lainey, as the two swam in the river at Watersend. That her wish came true sets the foundation for Bonny’s side of the story, just as Lainey’s simultaneous wish materializes, in what is ultimately an outgrowth from her anguished childhood. Lainey is an acclaimed artist, whose medium involves creating visual stories by piecing them together, an act, the reader suspects, that has much to do with piecing together the unresolved mystery around the disappearance of her mother. It is this singular, cataclysmic event that shapes the future for Lainey and her older brother, Owen, whom Bonnie secretly loves. It is the fear of friendship’s betrayal and Owen’s mercurial nature that keeps Bonny’s love for Owen in arrested development. It is the longing of the heart and the reasoning of the mind that burdens her with the push and pull of love’s unrealized potential, even as her life path finds her married to another and raising a daughter named Piper.
The character, Piper Blankenship, seems to me the conscience of this story. She is nineteen, maladjusted, and written with such accurate sensitivity that I repeatedly pictured her at the heart of a great YA story. Her perspective gifts the reader with a view from the edge, and her pivotal placement in the story shows us unflinchingly who each of the adult characters are, as they try to find their footing amidst shifting tides.
The Bookshop at Water’s End is a story that never stops searching, and that many of its events are tied to Watersend’s local bookshop is brilliantly symbolic. The bookshop is an anchor in full possession of the past’s facts, and its proprietress, Mimi, plays her cards close to the vest as she faithfully waits for the players in this story to discover the clues that will allow the looming puzzle affecting them all to fall into proper place.
Three cheers for author Patti Callahan Henry. She has given us a heart-wrenching, mesmerizing story of characters beautifully flawed and made them beautifully human.

Proud to say I won the ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway!

I believe the hallmark of good southern fiction is a strong sense of place. Author Eva Marie Everson ranks among those southern writers who know the particular minutia characteristic of the south, and her attention to detail is wonderful without being heavy-handed. That this engaging story opens in the small southern town of Bynum Georgia, immediately preceding America’s involvement in WW-11 gives the reader the chance to experience the lay of the land: The homespun, Branch family farmhouse on the outskirts of town, Hillis’s Five and Dime, and Tucker’s Soda & Ice Cream Shoppe, where the young female characters meet for lunch. Alice-Ann Branch is on the cusp of womanhood when we meet her. It is her sixteenth birthday, and her thoughts are consumed with her love for her older brother’s best friend, Mack. No shrinking violet, Alice Ann plans to confess her love at her birthday party, and though the startling news of Pearl Harbor thwarts her timing, she remains undeterred as the stakes are high, now that the young men of the town pledge to enlist in the war. In an admirable act of gumption, the reader feels Alice-Ann’s determination. She has plans for her future, and takes matters in hand then holds on with steel commitment through regular letter writing, in hopes of strengthening her ties to Mack while he is off at war. But fate has other plans for Alice-Ann that come in a twist of timing, when her girlfriend, Maeve’s older brother, Carlton, returns to Bynum injured from the war. Alice-Ann is God-loving, loyal, and charitable. When she commits to a schedule of reading to the recuperating Carlton, the stage is set for their relationship to grow. With finely drawn characters, this delightful story’s fabric works synergistically to the point where we understand each character’s motivation. Everson leaves nothing unattended in this enchanting story set during war-time, which is one part historical chronicle and one part coming of age.
The One True Love of Alice-Ann is an uncommon story of discovering the heart’s leanings. It illuminates fact from illusion as it explores the dreams in which we invest in light of that which stands before us. I enjoyed this novel for its emotional accuracy and era-sharp descriptions. It is an alluring, enjoyable read with a poignant and satisfying ending.

How We Came to Be is a triumph of order from chaos as told in the most accessible first-person voice I’ve had the good fortune to come across in ages. I was under narrator Karen Anders’ spell from the first because author Johnnie Bernhard came out swinging by gifting the reader with this engaging novel’s premise by the third page. Karen doesn’t look good on paper. She is a fifty-year-old, high school English teacher living in Houston; a divorced, single mother facing empty-nest syndrome, well aware of her dependency on alcohol, but nowhere near ready to quit. Why should she? Karen’s life is a mess. One would think this is a recipe for a down on its heels story, but the reader is captivated by Karen’s tell-it-as-it-is persona and—dare I say it, identifies when Karen summarizes her circumstances by confessing, “I’m hating every moment, but pretending I’m having the time of my life.” When I got to this line, I knew I was hooked.
We all have that sardonic friend who manages to smile through the egg on her face. This is Karen in a nutshell, and she keeps on keeping on, trying for the upper hand, while her adopted daughter, Tiffany’s first three months away at college become a study in bad choices, of which Karen has no say beyond putting out the fires. Karen’s dilemma is a common one and raises the question of how to be an effective single parent without chasing her daughter away.
In the meantime, back at the empty nest, Karen knows she must forge a life beyond the rat-wheel of predictable sameness centered on her Houston high school’s schedule. In an uncanny act of timing, Karen’s world is widened when she is befriended by WW11 Hungarian refugee, Leona Supak from across the street, and an unlikely alliance is formed that challenges Karen to grow. Having been single for decades and barely hanging on, it probably isn’t the best time for a man to come into Karen’s life, yet when Matt Broussard pursues the surprised Karen in an Austin bar, she thinks, maybe?
How We Came to Be is a brass-tacks, contemporary story without a moment of campy pretention. The events are cause and effect, but the story is what goes on in the likable Karen’s head. She is not so much a victim of circumstances as she is a neophyte at growing into her own. How We Came to Be is the story of a woman drowning in deep waters, who has the sense to learn how to swim.
I applaud author Johnnie Bernhard for her wizardry in crafting this perfectly paced story in a voice so unique and compelling. This is a book to read and return to. It is perfect for book clubs because there is so much in it to discuss!