Blog Tour: CHILD OF A SWAN by David Burnett
CHILD OF A SWAN
David Burnett
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GENRE: Women's Fiction
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BLURB:
Rejectingher father’s master plan for her life, sixteen-year old Alyssia Barrett facesthe world alone.
"Lyssa,it is your destiny."
Herfather did not use those exact words, but he might as well have.
LyssaBarrett was born into a family of writers.
Fewauthors have landed more titles on national bestseller lists than has herfather. Her oldest brother walks in his father’s footsteps, her second brotheris a published poet, and the third a Broadway playwright. The four men, the“Barrett Band,” as they are called, are a force in American literary circles,the “first family of American letters.”
AndLyssa is meant to join them.
Lyssa,the child who would rather decipher a math puzzle than unravel an anagram,prove a geometric theorem than pen a short story, and master nonparametricstatistics than devise plot twists for a novel. Lyssa is destined to be awriter.
Soher father believes, and since no one crosses her father, it is what all whoknow the family expect. Of all her father’s children, only Lyssa is willing torebel. It is a trait which sets her apart from the others to such a degree thatshe questions whether she is even truly a Barrett.
Conflictis inevitable.
Inmiddle school, Lyssa is selected to participate in an honors math program. Herfather enrolls her in a summer writing seminar. She insists on taking math at alocal college. He is adamant that she enroll in advanced composition. Shepresents a paper at a national mathematics convention. Her father hails thepublication of a short story she has written.
Writingis her calling, her father insists, and, looking beyond high school, he choosesthe college she will attend, he identifies the subject in which she will major,and he selects the very courses he will allow her to take.
Althoughnot yet seventeen years old, she realizes that unless she puts distance betweenherself and her father, she will not escape what he calls “her destiny” and shecalls the “Barrett curse.” Closing the door to childhood behind her, she stepsinto the world, intent on becoming an adult on her own terms.
Ifyou enjoy coming of age stories, you will fall in love with this absorbingaccount of how Lyssa strives to come to terms with her past as she builds lifeon her own terms.
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ExcerptThree:
As I entered Mr. Roberts’ office, my eyes were drawn to thescowl on my father’s face, and I supposed Mr. Roberts had not simply “rolledover,” agreeing to alter my schedule without discussion or argument.
Mr. Roberts greeted me with a big smile. “Allyssia, goodmorning.”
“Good morning, Mr. Roberts.”
“Please sit down.” Mr. Roberts pointed to the vacant seat.
“We seem to have a misunderstanding about your courseselection, Allyssia. Your mother enrolled you in Algebra, but I understand youwould prefer to be taking Classics.”
He paused as if he expected me to confirm themisunderstanding, but there had been none. Classics was not my preference.Still, I hesitated to contradict my father, so I said nothing.
“Is that correct?”
I glanced at my father’s angry expression.
“Allyssia?”
I took a deep breath.
“Mom and I agreed I would take Algebra…It was my choice.” Irisked a peek at my father’s angry expression. “I know I’m weird, but I lovestudying math, and—”
“Mr. Roberts,” my father interrupted. “Allyssia does notunderstand.”
No one crossed my father, certainly not one of his children,not me, and I knew him well enough to know he was struggling to hold histemper.
“She is going to be a writer when she is older.”
I stared at him, my eyes, no doubt, as large as theproverbial saucers. Never had he revealed his intentions so openly, sounambiguously. Not to me, at any rate.
“I’m an author, of course,” my father continued. “Herbrothers are writers of one sort or another. She has been writing storiesherself for several years now. At her age, the best means of preparing to be awriter is by reading, reading the classics, and the work of talented authors.By reading good literature, she will develop an ear for words, their patterns,their…”
I tuned out the rest of his argument. Never had I heardanyone say outright that I would be an author like my father and my brothers.No one had ever told me the Barrett Band was destined to be a quintet. Icrossed my arms and scowled. I had written stories, true, but the prospect ofspending my life dating a word processor made me shiver.
“Learning how to solve for X might be a useful skill,” myfather said in a patronizing tone, “but one she can develop later. Her verbalabilities need to be nourished now.”
I had turned my head away and was staring at a huge vase offlowers on the credenza behind Mr. Roberts’ desk when I suddenly realized myfather’s diatribe had ceased.
“Allyssia…Allyssia, are you with us?” Mr. Roberts waved hishand as he called to me, and he chuckled when I smiled.
“Yes, sir.” My hand trembled, but I had already crossed myfather by telling Mr. Roberts I had chosen to take Algebra. I might as well godown fighting.
I raised my head and stuck out my chin.
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Review: A woman reflects back on herchildhood as she holds the book—a memoir—written by her father. Herrecollection was written in well-versed and lyrical tones that captivate thereader right from the start.
It would seem that Allysia neverfit in and was considered the black sheep in a renowned family of extinguishedmale writers. Her mother was the only one who truly understood and loved her.When she died, Allysia, even at a young age, had questioned her place in thefamily. Her father “suddenly seemed to realize he now was an explorer treadinga treacherous, unfamiliar path, one on which a single errant step might provedisastrous [and] he had no clue how to approach an angry, unhappy nine-year-oldgirl.”
The narrative was fine andeloquent as it recounted the journaling coming-of-age tale of a girl, lost andalone. Yes, the read felt too long at times with some of the childhoodallegories not adding much to the story and feeling strikingly daunting. Yet, Istill couldn’t help but be drawn to the story. Allysia’s story was raw andgenuine. I just wished that the chapters that told a segment of her lifeweren’t so long. The writing was good and the overall read was fairly nice.
Rating:3 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Welive near Charleston, South Carolina. I’ve always enjoyed the Carolina beaches.I now have the opportunity to walk on the beach almost every day and tophotograph the ocean, the sea birds, and the marshes that I love.
Ilove photography, and I have photographed subjects as varied as prehistoricruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, sea gulls, and a Native Americanpowwow. My wife and I have traveled widely in the United States and the UnitedKingdom. During trips to Scotland, we visited Crathes Castle, the ancestralhome of the Burnett family near Aberdeen, and Kismul Castle on Barra, the homeof my McNeil ancestors.
Iwent to school for much longer than I want to admit, and I have degrees inpsychology and education. In an “earlier life” I was director of research forour state’s education department.
Formore information about my other books or to join my mailing list go towww.BurnettsBooks.com, or like my Amazon author page athttp://amazon.com/author/davidburnett
BuyLink
www.amazon.com/Child-Swan-David-Burnett-ebook/dp/B0F1JPPG87/
http://www.facebook.com/DavidBurnett.Author
AmazonAuthor Page
https://www.amazon.com/author/davidburnett
Website
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