Three Tickets to Peoria - Anderson, Littke, and Morrisby Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger 31 Jul 2008 03:33 PM
Today's book is "Three Tickets to Peoria," which is the second installment in this trilogy. We find that Deenie, Juneau and Erin are still plugging away at their dreams of becoming "crusty old broads," but at times their challenges are so difficult, they aren't sure they'll be able to keep moving forward with faith. Juneau has been taking a writing class and makes friends with a sympathetic soul named Clyde. He listens when she talks, offers sage advice, and really seems to "get" her. He's the shoulder to cry on that her husband has long since ceased to be. Meanwhile, her daughter has given birth and no longer wants her child, so Juneau takes him in to raise, only to lose a piece of her heart when her daughter changes her mind and takes him back. Deenie's motivation in life is to help other people, and when the idea is presented that she and her huge dog should take training courses and be part of the area's K-9 unit for Search and Rescue, she only hesitates for a little while. It's the perfect therapy to help her move past the nervous breakdown she had when her baby was born, but when a man tries to take her life and her training kicks in, she's grateful for her skills for a multitude of reasons. Erin's journey through this book was heart-wrenching. She and her husband Cory have grown apart and barely communicate any more, and when she finally confronts him and makes him talk, he tells her that he's gay. He's fought the feelings for years and hoped that getting married would help, but the feelings just won't go away. She's thrown for a loop as everything she's imagined about their relationship goes up in smoke. I like these three characters a lot, but I did wish that segments of their story were told with more detail. This series is a trilogy, but I think it easily could have been made into a five, or even six, book series so we could have really gotten into the experiences of the characters. When Deenie went into the psyche ward after her breakdown, I wanted to know more about that. I wanted to see more between Juneau and Clyde. I wanted to know more about Erin's relationship with her children during her divorce. It's impossible to fit everything you want to say into just three books, and I know the authors were frustrated at their constraints, but I was a little frustrated too, wanting more. But, that means I really liked the characters and felt a connection with them, and that's the main goal of any novel. When the reader comes away feeling as though they know the characters, it's a success. Stay tuned for my review of "Surprise Packages," the third book in "The Company of Good Women" series, which will appear at the end of August. (This book was published in 2007 by Deseret Book.) Related Blogs: Anderson, Littke and Morris: Part One Anderson, Littke and Morris: Part Two Learn more about Tristi Pinkston  I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006. Relevantmedia tags User Comments nancyeanderson1 (21) 31 Aug 2008 05:54 PMAgain! Thank you Tristi. You're the bomb! nancyeanderson1 (21) 31 Aug 2008 05:58 PMYou can imagine how frustrated we were when we had to edit out almost a complete YA novel's worth of text to meet out work count. Deenie's detailed experience during her stay in the psychiatric ward was one of the very specific scenes that took a big hit. I wish we could publish an author's cut with all the wonderful insights and experiences all the characters shared. When writing teachers say authors often have to 'murder their darlings', they aren't kidding. I could write a whole book on things Aunt Stella said. And the back story of Deenie's mother could be a complete work in itself. Thanks for liking our characters!  Tristi Pinkston (10839) 31 Aug 2008 09:58 PMIt must have been hard to make those cuts, that's for sure! Characters become like our own children. Discuss this article
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