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My Eighteenth Birthday
A Young Adult coming-of-age novel. Life in the small tri-states town of Clover, AR-LA-TX, was wonderful until the year 1960; then heartaches of the worse kind led the young guitarist, Annie Jo, to catch a Greyhound bus headed to the city lights of Memphis, TN—there she might be discovered by a talent scout. While riding through Arkansas, she tries to ignore the handsome man giving her more attention than he should. And soon action starts to pop. Annie Jo joins with members of the Civil Rights movement, gets stalked by a drunk, jailed, and kidnapped—all on her 18th birthday. Caption to Patricia Lieb, former award-winning newspaper reporter, now spends her time writing novels, poetry, travel articles and just enjoying life. Reviews Annie Jo is a pretty uncomplicated character and her simplicity makes her endearing and likable from the start. Even while nursing a broken heart and carrying around the weight of things she can't change, she still manages to look life in the eye and see it for what it is - a rollercoaster ride of emotion and experience. Annie's a small town girl and it shows. She does the right thing for no other reason than because it's right… she's always true to herself and that's a big part of why she's so interesting. My 18th Birthday is a great coming-of-age story set in the very turbulent times of the 1960s’ Civil Rights Movement. It brings the trials of the times front and center and shows you how one courageous, if a bit naïve girl, might have handled the situation. - LAS YA Review My Eighteenth Birthday will draw you in to Annie Jo's teenage antics and mature heartaches and keep you turning the pages as she strives to forget and begin anew. With a cast of interesting secondary characters and a backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, it’s an enjoyable read and one book you won't forget. – Julie Lence, author Western Historical Romance
First published November 24, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 23, 2012
Originally posted at: http://aurorareviews.blogspot.com/201...
Today is the big day and Annie Jo is eagerly awaiting the arrival of six PM. Upon that magical hour, she’ll be officially eighteen. In celebration, she’s decided to pack up all that is important to her and hit the bus station – with a one way ticket out of her sleepy little town. Unfortunately, the universe has more in store for her than just a simple bus ride from Texarkana to Memphis. It’s never quite that easy though, is it? Welcome to adulthood, Annie Jo, better hold onto your hat!
Annie Jo is a pretty uncomplicated character and her simplicity makes her endearing and likable from the start. Even while nursing a broken heart and carrying around the weight of things she can’t change, she still manages to look life in the eye and see it for what it is – a rollercoaster ride of emotion and experience. Annie’s a small town girl and it shows. She does the right thing for no other reason than because it’s right. However, her small town outlook does lean towards naiveté at times, only reinforcing her innocence. Sometimes this makes her even more likable and sometimes it makes you shake your head. But she’s always true to herself and that’s a big part of why she’s so interesting.
I enjoyed the way the author told Annie Jo’s story leading up to her decision to leave Clover. She makes the flashbacks into instances of daydreaming while traveling on the bus. It was a creative and non-intrusive way to give us the back story we needed without slapping us in the face with it. I was also very impressed with the way she incorporated Annie Jo’s awakening social consciousness into the story without making it overtly obvious she was doing so. There were two issues I did have with the story. One was the sometimes simplistic sentence structure and the other being the too often repeated descriptions and phrasing. However, it wasn’t enough to completely distract you from the story, only slightly hindering your enjoyment for the moment.
My 18th Birthday is a great coming-of-age story set in the very turbulent times of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. It brings the trials of the times front and center and shows you how one courageous, if a bit naïve girl, might have handled the situation. So much is packed into the twenty-four hours of Annie Jo’s birthday, that you really have to read it to believe it.
Today is the big day and Annie Jo is eagerly awaiting the arrival of six PM. Upon that magical hour, she’ll be officially eighteen. In celebration, she’s decided to pack up all that is important to her and hit the bus station – with a one way ticket out of her sleepy little town. Unfortunately, the universe has more in store for her than just a simple bus ride from Texarkana to Memphis. It’s never quite that easy though, is it? Welcome to adulthood, Annie Jo, better hold onto your hat!
Annie Jo is a pretty uncomplicated character and her simplicity makes her endearing and likable from the start. Even while nursing a broken heart and carrying around the weight of things she can’t change, she still manages to look life in the eye and see it for what it is – a rollercoaster ride of emotion and experience. Annie’s a small town girl and it shows. She does the right thing for no other reason than because it’s right. However, her small town outlook does lean towards naiveté at times, only reinforcing her innocence. Sometimes this makes her even more likable and sometimes it makes you shake your head. But she’s always true to herself and that’s a big part of why she’s so interesting.
I enjoyed the way the author told Annie Jo’s story leading up to her decision to leave Clover. She makes the flashbacks into instances of daydreaming while traveling on the bus. It was a creative and non-intrusive way to give us the back story we needed without slapping us in the face with it. I was also very impressed with the way she incorporated Annie Jo’s awakening social consciousness into the story without making it overtly obvious she was doing so. There were two issues I did have with the story. One was the sometimes simplistic sentence structure and the other being the too often repeated descriptions and phrasing. However, it wasn’t enough to completely distract you from the story, only slightly hindering your enjoyment for the moment.
My 18th Birthday is a great coming-of-age story set in the very turbulent times of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. It brings the trials of the times front and center and shows you how one courageous, if a bit naïve girl, might have handled the situation. So much is packed into the twenty-four hours of Annie Jo’s birthday, that you really have to read it to believe it.
August 11, 2012
My Eighteenth Birthday by Patricia Lieb follows Annie Jo as she boards a Greyhound bus on her eighteenth birthday. With suitcase in hand and a guitar slung over her shoulder, Annie Jo leaves her hometown for Memphis, where she hopes to get a waitress job and pursue a career in music.
At first, Annie Jo appears like any other starry-eyed teenager, with dreams of making it big on music row. But then, the reader learns there's more to Annie Jo's leaving home than wanting to be a famous singer. At a young age, she has experienced love and a profound loss, both of which she hopes to reconcile in her heart as the bus carries her further from home. Then there's Annie Jo on the verge of adulthood, someone who wants to make a difference in the world, and not necessarily because of her singing.
My Eighteenth Birthday will draw you in to Annie Jo's teenage antics and mature heartaches and keep you turning the pages as she strives to forget and begin anew. With a cast of interesting secondary characters and a backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, My Eighteenth Birthday is an enjoyable read and one book you won't forget.
At first, Annie Jo appears like any other starry-eyed teenager, with dreams of making it big on music row. But then, the reader learns there's more to Annie Jo's leaving home than wanting to be a famous singer. At a young age, she has experienced love and a profound loss, both of which she hopes to reconcile in her heart as the bus carries her further from home. Then there's Annie Jo on the verge of adulthood, someone who wants to make a difference in the world, and not necessarily because of her singing.
My Eighteenth Birthday will draw you in to Annie Jo's teenage antics and mature heartaches and keep you turning the pages as she strives to forget and begin anew. With a cast of interesting secondary characters and a backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, My Eighteenth Birthday is an enjoyable read and one book you won't forget.
March 5, 2012
A pretty fun story set during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's. Story is told through the eyes of a girl awaiting her 18th birthday and all that befalls her on that day. A great story of acceptance and justice for teens - and even a lot of adults.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews