Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The Queen of Sleepy Eye by Patti Hill

Just in case you are looking for some good reading for Christmas, I wanted to pop on here with one more recommendation. I read this one over my Thanksgiving "break" and it was wonderful. (Even made me realize my family isn't quite as strange as I thought.) I wondered what the heck was going on for a while (she starts present day and then goes back to her teens and it threw me for a bit) but the more I read, the more wonderful the book was. It wasn't just some surface ditty. It was meaty and excellent. I highly, HIGHLY, recommend it. And in case you didn't notice, I don't say that often.

Here's back cover copy:

It's the summer of 1975, and sensible seventeen-year-old Amy Monteiro longs for the freedom of college life in California. But when her mom's beloved 1958 Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe surrenders to a mortally wounded transmission in Colorado, it doesn't take long for Amy to realize that her insufferable, tiara-toting mom, Francie--former queen of the Sleepy Eye Corn Festival--is out of money and in no hurry to let go of her daughter.

In a time of great change, and in this small Colorado town, Amy will find herself caught up in the struggle between the past and present, young and old, geeks and jocks, hippies and the establshment, even life and death. And during this one unforgettable summer, both mother and daughter will grow up.

I know, I know, the 70s, but trust me, it is soooooo good.


No comments: