Sometimes the setting in a book becomes a character, and that's something I tried very hard to do with my fictional small town of Snowden, Iowa, in my young adult novel THE OBVIOUS GAME. Recently I received an advanced copy of Keija Parssinen's THE UNRAVELING OF MERCY LOUIS, which is set in the tiny Southern oil town of Port Sabine, Texas. Even though it was below zero when I read this book, I could feel the thick, reeking air of this refinery town on the back of my neck.
There is so much going on in this novel: the thrill of competition (basketball), a coach's place in a teen's life, first love, the complexity of lifelong friendships, difficult mother/daughter relationships, religion, Y2K fear, environmental and financial distress, fear of the community outlier, teenage sexuality and pregnancy and health complications so unusual I had to look them up because I didn't believe they existed, but guess what: They do.
Every time I thought I knew what would happen next, I was wrong. It was that good. I'm actually still thinking about it a few days later and have recommended it to four people since I read it.
So if you like thinky-but-thrilling books, you should read this one. I haven't read Keija's first novel yet, but as I'm the sort of person who falls in love with authors more than books, I'm going to put it on my to-be-read list.
Here's a picture of Keija, who has absolutely nothing going for her except diplomas from Princeton and the Iowa Writers' Workshop (where she was a Truman Capote fellow) and a Michener-Copernicus Award. So I am totally not the only person who thinks her writing is very much worth your copious free time.
I know, and she's cute. Try not to hate her.
The novel's official release is March 10th, but you can pre-order a copy here and purchase Keija’s first novel, THE RUINS OF US, here.
This post is part of a blog tour! I know, you're shocked I would do that! And I am not the only person giving away books. Check out my partners in literary crime below.
Andrea Casarsa - Maybe It's Just Me
Greta Funk - GFunkified
Julie Gardner - Julie C. Gardner
Monday, March 9: Tracy Morrison - Sellabit Mum and Nicole Leigh Shaw - Ninja Mom
Tuesday, March 10: Ann Imig - Ann's Rants and Tarja Parssinen - The Flying Chalupa
Wednesday, March 11: Alison Lee - Writing, Wishing
Friday, March 13: Nancy Davis Kho - Midlife Mixtape
And now I'm going to do one of my favorite things: Give away a book. Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. I will leave the giveaway open for one week and close it next Friday. Enter as much as you want.