Belletristic Skirt Society: April and Oliver

The month of May was my month to pick a title.  I chose 

April and Oliver

by Tess Callahan

Since I usually write my thoughts about the books the other girls pick, I thought it might be nice to get a different perspective this month.  I actually found the book on Julie's Good Reads page, so it is kind of fitting for her to pass along her review.  You've met Julie before, here on Paper Wings, she guest posted last August giving us a fabulously southern fried green tomatoes recipe. YUM. Check it out here if you missed it last year.

Here is Julie with her handsome husband, Kevin! :)

Ok, so here's Julie........

I don’t remember what actually drew me to this particular novel, but it had been on my “to read” list for a couple years. Obviously, I was in no hurry to read it. Then Tracy it selected for the Belle Skirts to read.

April and Oliver is a dark story of a dysfunctional family and their experiences with tragedy. The theme of the book is loss and grief, and how everyone deals with it differently. It is also about how friendships change and develop over time. In the beginning, the book was a little confusing due to jumping around in different time periods, but the beautiful prose made up for it. Callahan did an exquisite job writing this story. The scenes were surreal and the characters were well developed, the only problem I had was truly connecting to the characters.  April and Oliver were both sensitive and intelligent, but many of their life choices were a little far-fetched.  It seemed to take April a long time to grow up and deal with her life.

There is a lot of sexual tension between April and Oliver as the book description implies, but I had a hard time getting past the fact that they were cousins, albeit step-cousins. There were a few twists in the story, but much of it was predictable. This being said, I would still read another novel by this Callahan if she writes another. Overall, I give April & Oliver three stars. 

There you have it! Thanks Julie for writing this for me, especially in the summer time when us teachers are suppose to be "off." :)

June's pick is

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

Happy Summer Reading!

Tracy