Missing Isaac

     BOOK REVIEW:   When Pete McLean loses his father in the summer of 1962, his friend Isaac is one of the few people he can lean on. Though their worlds are as different as black and white, friendship knows no color. So when Isaac suddenly goes missing, Pete is determined to find out what happened----no matter what it costs him. His quest will lead him into parts of town that he knows only through rumors and introduce him to a girl who will change his life. What they discover together will change the small Southern town of Glory, Alabama----forever.
     With vivid descriptions, palpable atmosphere, and unforgettable characters, debut novelist Valerie Fraser Luesse breathes life into the rural South of the 1960's----a place where ordinary people struggle to find their footing in a social landscape that is shifting beneath their feet.

     MY REVIEW:   This book----where to begin? For starters, it is a novel. A romance novel, even. A contradiction really, because it is a good romance novel, and that's next to impossible to find. I don't like the term romance novel because it embarrasses me to admit I read them, but I do. Maybe if I say romance novel often enough I'll get over it...... Bother.
     But still, there is something about this book..... I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'll try my best. It has Southern charm. It is warm and inviting. And it has life. And morals. And characters you'd wish to see in real life. And though I can't exactly tell you why, it will find a home near my Francine Rivers and Cathy Gohlke books on that coveted "you simply MUST read this book" shelf.
     Isaac wasn't in the story long, but he affected the whole book. His disappearance brought Pete to Dovey's neighborhood. The mystery of it is kept alive til the end, and is the force behind Pete's never-quite-settled soul. The characters remaining are some blacks, some backwoods country folk, some well-to-do, kindly cotton farmers. The whole atmosphere of the book is one of unity amongst a divided people, peace in troubled days, and love despite fear. It bothers me that I can't describe what I liked about it! Maybe part of it is while it's a romance, it is the meeting and growing together of two authentic, sensible people in comparison to the often irritating, clinging-to-the-unimportant-always-running-on-feelings characters we usually read about. These are characters I wish we would see more of.
     And now I have to stop or I'll completely run it up in my mind and be disappointed next time I read it, not to mention give a false review of what it's actually like. Dear me....

     I received a copy of this book from REVELL. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.