Eight-year-old Tessa Lee and her little brother, Travis, are left behind at a campground by their mother and her boyfriend, a crooked-nosed man named Goose, with little more than the firefly cloak they’d used for covers the night before. So begins a journey that will take Tessa Lee in search of the mother she longs for. Her quest is steeped in Southern atmosphere and characters: the owner of the cheesy boardwalk show where Tessa Lee finds her mother and loses her again; the bingo-playing grandmother who holds her close; the old man who thinks the CIA is after him and boards up his house. Running throughout, like threads in a cloak, are themes of guilt, loss, and reunion.“Ms. Reynolds’s poetic gifts are uncommonly powerful.”—New York Times Book Review
Eight-year-old Tessa Lee tells of being abandoned by her mother in a campground with her 4-year-old brother. At 15, Tessa Lee finds and confronts her mother, who flatly denies having had children. Narrator Jenna Lamia's sunny Southern optimism fits Tessa Lee, a wily child with a quick tongue. Lamia is equally believable as Sheila, Tessa Lee's addict mother, and her grandmother, Lil. Through flashbacks and subtle details, Lamia fleshes out their lives, keeping each separate yet inextricably joined with the others. The combination of an absorbing story spanning three generations; multi-layered, well-defined characters; precisely crafted writing; and Jenna Lamia's admirable performance makes this audio worthwhile. S.J.H. [Editor's Note: A soundreview is also available at Audiopolis, www.audiofilemagazine.com.] (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
--New York Times Book Review...
“Ms. Reynolds’s poetic gifts are uncommonly powerful.”
About the Author
SHERI REYNOLDS teaches writing and literature at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller and Oprah Book Club pick THE RAPTURE OF CANAAN. Her debut novel, BITTEROOT LANDING, was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller.
