Pott-head: Harry Mania

It's not possible for me to have a book blog and not mention Mr. Potter. Ahem. I haven't ever cracked the spine on a J.K. Rowling book. I don't know if this is book 5 or book 9. But I've been to Border's and Barnes and Noble and both places have been having Harry celebrations. (WTF is a Muggle by the way?)

I haven't read any Harry Potter because, I'm instinctively averse to things that the general population are in love with. Not because I feel superior or anything like that. But because I like to discover gems, while everyone is showing off their pearls. It's the difference between sand and diamonds. Sand is everywhere. It's cheap and ubiquitous. But diamonds are precious and unique. I'm not saying I'll never read a Harry Potter book. Anyway, since I started reading Jayne Buxton my attention has been captivated lately.

"Hot Fudge Sundae Blues" by Bev Marshall

I’ve never read anything by Bev Marshall, but while browsing in the library I noticed that she has written two other books, “Walking Through Shadows” and “Right As Rain”. My slightly embarrassing admission is that I picked “Hot Fudge Sundae Blues” because I believe in food therapy (sparingly, of course). Especially all things fudge.

“Hot Fudge Sundae Blues” is the story of 13-year-old Layla Jay Andrews, who falsely seeks salvation from the preacher at church. Her dual motivation was to please her very religious grandma and catch the eye of Jehu Albright (the teenage neighborhood version of Steve McQueen). Shortly after her pious display, Wallace Ebert, a young, attractive new-to-town preacher walks into her life. He immediately falls in love with Layla Jay’s gorgeous, untamed and borderline alcoholic mama, Frieda. Wallace and Frieda abruptly marry and settle into a small blue house in town.

When she was a toddler, Layla Jay’s dad died in a motorcycle accident. Growing up, she sensed his absence from her life and clung to forged memories of him and imagined what he was like. So when Wallace marries Frieda, Layla Jay is excited to have a substitute father to fill the void in her life. But very quickly, Layla Jay begins to suspect that Wallace is not what he claims to be. She senses something dark behind the kind and gentle preacher façade he puts forth in church. But try explaining that to the comfortably smitten, oft-drunk Frieda...

Soon Layla Jay's world begins to crumble: Her step-father's true nature comes to light, her only friend betrays her, and the unsuspecting love of her life seems further and further from reach. But when tragedy strikes (twice), Layla Jay learns that it takes more than just a large helping of her mother's therapeutic desserts (hot fudge sundaes from Tastee-Freez) to heal and move forward. She eventually finds solace in forgiveness, faith and love.

I really liked this book. Bev Marshall is a great writer so I found it easy to read chapter after chapter (it was like devouring my very own sundae). Layla Jay faces some very hard decisions, but she handles them rather maturely. In fact, she is often more of a parent than her mother. Throughout the book she makes very adult decisions, but manages to preserve a sweet innocence that rings true with the reader (e.g. praying for breasts). Bev Marshall made her little heroine strong and capable of handling the intricacies and hardships of growing up, and even though I didn’t always agree with her decisions, I kept wishing I’d had a friend like Layla Jay when I was 13-years-old.

Praise(s): The strong little heroine Layla Jay

Complaint(s): Her mom's attitude was infuriating at times.

****4 out of 5

"Diary of an Emotional Idiot" by Maggie Estep

I think many of us know someone like Maggie Estep's main character, Zoe. She's internal and guarded. Looking for something meaningful with a man and yet incapable of holding on to it. She's the kind of girl would would crumple up a 2o dollar bill and throw it out the window just for the hell of it.

"Diary of an Emotional Idiot" is told to us by Zoe, who often speaks in a way almost resembling free thought association. The story starts when Zoe has just let herself into to her ex-boyfriend's house (she lovingly dubbed him 'Satan') and is hiding in his closet waiting for him to come home. In every other chapter we are zapped back in time, to meet Zoe as a child and realize that her home life was less than stable. Zoe spends her teen years having casual sex and trying different drugs right under her parents noses.

While the book has beautiful language and is written in a charmingly cynical New York City style, I was a little turned off by the frequent time-jumping and the occasional lack of chronological continuity. I felt that I couldn't put the book down and come back to it without thumbing back a page and catching up briefly. Most books I read allow you to dive back into the story almost seamlessly.

Still, I couldn't stop reading about Zoe's misadventures. Most of the diary is about her short comings, her failures and her hard times with drugs. I kept walking the line between feeling sympathetic and feeling disgusted by Zoe. In the end however, you feel like Zoe has come a long way. You've watched her grow as a person. You've watched her change up a bit, but she's still emotionally immature (an Emotional Idiot) and she readily celebrates that self-imposed label.

Praise(s): Estep's sense of humor is great

Complaint(s): The occasional lack of a clear time line

****4 out of 5