Turn the Page :: Tuesday

My latest read did, indeed, come from my own bookshelves here at home; I'm glad I finally took it down and dove in.

A poignant tale of a once-proud Pennsylvania coal town destroyed by a mining disaster, Tawni O'Dell's second novel, Coal Run, follows its wounded inhabitants as they try to come to terms with what is gone and what remains. "The Great Ivan Z"--Ivan Zoschenko--is a mythical football hero who, after being injured on the eve of a promising professional career, heads for Florida (and the bottom of the bottle) for a decade before limping back to Coal Run and getting a job as deputy sheriff.

I really liked this book, and was rooting for Ivan throughout it all. Plus, I was happy to find out that her next book takes you back to the coal mining country of Pennsylvania, this time with the protaganist being a tough-talking female cabbie in a small town; now I'm totally looking forward to reading all of O'Dell's books. (Did anyone happen to read Back Roads?)

For more book reviews and recommendations, visit Adrienne's place - happy Tuesday, and happy reading to you!

Paige

Comments

[Adrienn]

Ooo - this sounds good. I'm going to have to check this author out. Cheers for you for pulling one off the shelf!

[Paula]

It does sound like a good read. I love books about small town America. Will keep an eye out for it!

[Debi]

Sounds good... both of them!

[Paige]

Sounds interesting. I am totally obsessed with the Hunger Games trilogy right now. I'm in the middle of Mockingjay (the last book) and will be sad when it ends!

[Jodi]

This sounds like a good one....I'm all about small, down-on-their luck towns.

[Natalie]

A new author that I am not familiar with. I love the idea of a tough talking female cabbie. Also, I noticed that we have the same three books on the nightstand. Weird. After I finish reading The Wave: In the Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean, which is so poignant after the tragedy in Japan, I think I will start Freedom. Trying to read all the hard backs before vacation and leave the other reads on the kindle.