Another great review for Beneath Angel's Wings

Click here to read Samantha Boyette's five star review of Beneath Angel's Wings. I love that she started out with pretty low expectations and that the boys and their story made her care enough to actually leave work early in order to finish reading :). Thank you so much, Samantha, for your kind words!

Book Review: Here's to You, Zeb Pike by Johanna Parkhurst

Here's to You, Zeb Pike is an excellent book. The title was intriguing and beckoned me in, but it was Dusty's voice and his story that kept me glued to my kindle form start to finish.

The basic points of the plot are revealed in the book blurb. Dusty Porter and his little brother and sister have been, in essence, abandoned by their parents, leaving Dusty to take care of himself and his siblings. Considering Dusty had to teach himself how to do everything, including laundry and budgeting whatever money his parents leave behind on their irregular "visits" with the kids, Dusty is actually doing a remarkably good job. Still, both he and his siblings are losing key parts of their childhood and have to be mature beyond their years.

Dusty doesn't like the situation, but he's determined to do whatever he needs to do to keep all three siblings together. Unfortunately, his sister's appendicitis reveals the scheme to the authorities, and the only family available to tke the kids without splitting them up are an aunt and uncle they never knew existed who live in Vermont. Dusty resents having to leave Colorado Springs and his friends behind, and that's just the start of the storm of change that sweeps Dusty into uncharted territory.

 The book works because Dusty, who narrates much of the story in first person, is very genuine. His confusion, frustration and resentment are perfectly described, as are his feelings for the older brother of his new classmate, who may or may not be gay. While Dusty's more mature than most boys his age, he's still a kid and he reacts as a kid would, including angst-driven episodes of acting out.

My one minor quibble with the book is the inclusion of some big coincidences in the plot that require a bit of suspension of disbelief, but the pace of the action and Dusty's commentary make that pretty easy. The author is so good that I didn't even mind what is normally my pet peeve in books, which is a change in voice. In this instance, the author cleverly used third person flashbacks to show the reader things that Dusty himself could not, a device I found very effective.

I would very enthusiastically recommend this book both to the young adults who are the intended audience and to older readers who enjoy the genre. It was definitely a five star read for me and a nice way to start off 2014.

Beneath Angel's Wings reviewed on My Fiction Nook

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but the holidays were a very busy time and they sure went by fast. I can't believe it's 2014 already, and that January is more than a third over. I find the older I get the faster time flies, whether I'm having fun or not.

Having said that, I do have a lot of reasons to smile. I have a new position at work that is very demanding, but also a great new challenge and I'm fortunate to have joined a very friendly new team of colleagues who have all been uniformly very welcoming. I only hope I can scale that learning curve quickly and be able to contribute as much and as well as my predecessor. The only downside is that, at least at first, I will likely have less time to write, but I hope that will change as I get up to speed.

I'm also happy to let you know that Beneath Angel's Wings was reviewed by Sandra at "My Fiction Nook." I was truly humbled and honored to read that she feels:

Realistic voices, realistic struggles and realistic outcomes make this a wonderful book for any young adult and might even be considered required High School reading.

Wow, right?  I mean, what author wouldn't be thrilled to read that about one of their books? I know I was. A big thanks to Sandra for her kind words.

Click here to read the rest of Sandra's review.

Remember, you can buy Beneath Angel's Wings on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble (still trying to figure out why they're not showing the cover - Grr), Kobo, and iTunes.

If you enjoy the book, please spread the word! Thank you!

Liz