Review of The Big Door Prize by M.O. Walsh

 

Walsh, M.O.  The Big Door Prize.  Putnam, 2020.

 

A new machine has made an appearance at Johnson’s Grocery Store in Deerfield, Louisiana, and lots of people are standing in line to use it. For only $2 and a mouth swab, users receive a blue slip of paper with their life station printed on it.  After reading their results, citizens of the town are buying new clothes and supplies to change what has long been their jobs.  Suddenly, the mayor of Deerfield thinks he should be a cowboy; the school principal wants to retire and become a carpenter; a local musician wants to be a magician; and a high school student thinks he is going to be a major-league pitcher.  It seems like the whole town has gone crazy!

 

Douglas Hubbard, the history teacher at Deerfield Catholic, and his wife, Cherilyn, were high school sweethearts and have been happily married for years.  However, after Cherilyn uses the DNAMIX machine, she thinks she is “royalty” and is no longer content to be just a housewife and make crafts in her kitchen.  On a whim, Douglas buys a trombone and starts taking lessons, but not because the machine gave him the idea.  In fact, the machine told him he was a “whistler” and a “teacher”, which is disappointing to him.  Douglas doesn’t know why Cherilyn is suddenly acting strangely, but he also doesn’t know that she used the machine.

 

Deuce Newman, the town photographer, has had a crush on Cherilyn ever since high school and is still mad that she married Douglas instead of him.  He is hoping to change that result because the DNAMIX machine tells him that he is “royalty”, just like Cherilyn. 

 

There are more subplots involving revenge, a possible school shooting, a gang rape, a Catholic priest, a free taxi driver, a local band, and Cherilyn’s mom, who has the beginnings of dementia.

 

The Big Door Prize is M.O. Walsh’s second novel, and it is humorous and delightful.  It has an old-town nostalgia feel similar to books written by Fannie Flagg.  The book is character-driven, filled with quirky and charming characters and multiple subplots that mesh finely together at the end.

 

Each chapter of the book begins with a cute, engaging title that foreshadows what will occur within that chapter.  The novel is well-paced and the action will keep readers turning the pages.  The book raises an interesting question of what a person would do differently in his life if he has a choice and a second chance.

 

The Big Door Prize received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist.  Give this book to readers who enjoy humorous fiction, books with intriguing characters, and fans of Louisiana novels.  I recommend it for public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for allowing me to read and review this book!

Review of Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

          Kuehn, Stephanie.  Charm and Strange.  Electric    Monkey/Egmont, 2013.

My review of Charm and Strange is going to take a different format from the reviews I usually write.  It is not very often that I come across a book that I really do not know how to review.  What makes this review even harder is that I cannot say much about the plot without giving up spoilers.

This debut novel is written through a series of events—“Matter” in the present and “Anti-Matter” in the past---through the eyes of Winston Drew Winters, aka Win and Drew.  In the present, sixteen-year-old Win is a boarding school student in a remote part of New England.  He won’t let anyone get close to him for fear of what he might do to others.

In the past, Drew is a young boy who excels at tennis and looks up to his older brother, Keith.  He fears his overbearing, drunken father and often has unexplained blackouts.  Drew has terrible motion sickness and bouts of uncontrollable, violent anger.

The summer Drew, Keith, and Siobhan, their younger sister, visit their cousins and grandparents leads to a family tragedy and more mental problems for Drew.  It is also the reason he ends up at boarding school fighting demons in his mind and fearing what will eventually become of him.

Charm and Strange seems to start out as a paranormal novel but ends up as something totally different.  The beginning of the novel is confusing and the plot wanders, but the plot threads finally weave themselves together to make sense.  Some readers may not wait long enough to see this through and will miss the satisfying conclusion.

The plot is character-driven, and the author does a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters.  Even the minor characters are extremely complex.  Additionally, the subject matter has obviously been well researched and brilliantly integrated into the story.

Charm and Strange is a psychological thrill that deals with a sensitive subject.  It is for mature readers.  I highly recommend it for upper high school students and public library libraries and give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Shine by Lauren Myracle

Shine by Lauren Myracle; Abrams/Amulet Books, 2011.

Sixteen-year-old Cat was sexually assaulted by her brother’s best friend when she was thirteen years old, and, afterwards, closed herself off to people. To deal with her pain, she dropped all her friends, including her best friend, Patrick, and pretended not to see “certain bad things”.

Now Patrick is in the hospital in a coma, the victim of a vicious hate crime, and Cat is left wondering who in the small community of Black Creek, North Carolina might have done it. Or could it have been some college kids stopping to buy beer or snacks at the Come ‘n’ Go, where Patrick worked? If she had still been good friends with Patrick, would she have seen the attack coming? Could she have prevented it?

Since Sheriff Doyle is only pretending to solve the crime, Cat decides she will do some sleuthing on her own. What she finds out is that underneath its surface, Black Creek is full of drugs, prejudice, and hate; people she once considered friends are hiding secrets...some of them dangerous. With the help of Jason, a college friend, and her brother, Christian, Cat discovers who beat up Patrick and left him for dead.

WOW! That is all I can say about this fabulous book! What great characters Lauren Myracle has developed. Cat is a strong, persistent heroine, braving so many of her fears to bring the attempted murderer to justice. It is through her eyes that we see the poverty, cliques, and bigotry of her town, where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business. As Cat observes her classmates, and even her brother, in a different light, the reader sees her weigh each piece of the puzzle as she uncovers it.

It was amazing how drugs and underage drinking took over so many young lives in such a small town and lay hidden underneath the surface, apparently unnoticed by its citizens. A lot of research went into this part of the story; there were drug terms I was not familiar with inserted into the plot. I appreciate the humorous details, especially those dealing with eleven-year-old Robert, brother to Cat’s friend, who always recklessly spoke his mind.

Shine is an edgy, realistic novel and a real page turner! It is due to be released on May 1, 2011. I highly recommend this book for the upper grades of high school libraries and for public libraries!

*Note…The copy of Shine that I read was an Advanced Readers Copy from netgalley.com.