Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Every Other Weekend by Zulema Renee Summerfield. The excerpt shared is from a hardcover edition borrowed from the library.
House One:
Kensington Drive
How to Stand in
Front of a
Broken Home
Note, first, the crepe myrtle. How lovely and silken its wrinkled petals, you might shovel them up like taffeta snow. In spring, scoop fistfuls of petals into sturdy leaf boats, and at dusk, when the neighbors water their lawns and the gutters river up, sail your little crafts downstream, to other cities and children unknown. Have your fun while you can, though, because those petals don't last very long. Soon the myrtle's limbs will be ragged and bare.
It is 1988 and America is full of broken homes. America's time is measured in every-other-weekend-and-sometimes-once-a-week. Her drawers are filled with court papers and photos no one looks at anymore. Her children have bags that're always packed and waiting by the door.
What do you think? Would you continue reading?
The opening paragraphs set a very sad tone, yet I am interested in reading this debut novel that is a Barnes & Noble discover pick.
I'm guessing this is a children growing up with divorce story, so I'd have to skip it. Seems like a sad one.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, a familiar scene after divorce. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe writing is really good, but I don't think the topic is right for me. I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDelete