I've made a new friend, Ivy Engle. She is from What Cheer, Kansas, located inside a new novel, Skin. There is an assortment of eccentric, yet fascinating residents of this fictitous small midwestern town. I can relate to Ivy's pleasure in the misfortune of a neighbor; he spent her childhood making her feel less than adequate. I felt her fear and pain at the news she may lose her best friend to an unexpected illness.
Kellie Wells makes her readers think. She takes the mundane and transforms it into an adventure of the mind. Simple flights of fantasy makes the pain of some characters easier to digest. She makes the outrageous blend easily with a character's average existence.
Tin God by Terese Svoboda is also part of the Flyover Fiction Series. In this book God speaks. He isn't concerned with life or death issues. God spends his time planting beautiful fields of grass. The author's imagery can be lost with an impatient reader. Stick with it and you will encounter profound insight with the help of my favorite character, Bessie, and her impatience with life. There are significant lessons to be learned from the lives of these characters and your ability to locate and understand it reveals the real treasure.
Kellie Wells may easily lose some readers due to her use of language in Skin. Some of her word choices won't be easy for the uneducated reader. But the beauty and richness of her characters is such a treat, it would be worth the effort to keep a dictionary handy.
I suggest finding some uninterrupted time to read these books. You will find an elegance and a somewhat supernatural way of writing by both authors, a rare freshness. The frailties and strength of the human spirit are captured in the characters brought to life in these novels. You will have a hard time putting the books down as the characters grab your hand and insist you stay.
I look forward to additional books in the Flyover Fiction Series. There is a richness to the stories that captures the reader's lust for fantasy as well as forcing the reader to think. These characters hold a secret that can only be unlocked by opening your mind and putting aside expectations. These books aren't meant to be a fast read. They are thought-provoking, time-consuming lessons, wrapped up in beautiful and sometimes tragic characters. But even in tragedy, beauty can be found.
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