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Hi! I was born in the L.A. area and our family moved up and down the West Coast for most of my childhood, finally settling in Washington State when I was about 12. After living many years in Washington State where it is gray and drizzly 350 days of the year (might be an exaggeration but it's close!), I finally decided I needed more vitamin D and moved to the San Francisco Bay area. I pay more taxes in California but I call it the "Sun Tax," so it's okay! Since I didn't know anyone when I moved here, I decided that I would write in (all) my spare time. My writing continually gets interrupted with a full-time job as a litigation legal secretary in San Francisco. I love camping in my teardrop trailer in and around California, as well as all the surrounding states where I have found beautiful camping sites and National Parks. I'm lucky that I have one fantastic boyfriend who loves traveling with me, and I live with my son, an awkward teenage boy/man who does laundry when he can't find anything clean to wear from his floor.
Reviewed by Carol Coetzee for Readers' Favorite
Marlee, or Mar, is a young girl who hates Christmas because her dad, Richard, died on that day. She and her father always spent Christmas with his family, who were fun and exciting, very different from her home life. Raucous laughter, drinking, smoking, lots of cousins to play with and no worries about a mess. It was a special time for the two of them and when Dad died and she was severely injured, Christmas lost all meaning for her. Her mom, Hazel, never went with as she could not deal with the chaos. Her mother is bipolar and has severe OCD, making it difficult to live with her. Mar is not close to her mother at all. Ms. Gloria, a hamster, and Leo, a cat, are her constant companions, much to her mother's disgust as she dislikes smelly animals, especially rodents. Save an Angel's Kiss For Me by Joanie Chevalier explores this relationship between love and loss.
Save an Angel's Kiss For Me by Joanie Chevalier is a sad, poignant journey into the world of a young girl living with her bipolar mother. Her beloved father, and the stability and sanity in her life, died suddenly in a car accident when she was 12. Mar was severely injured and in a coma for several weeks. When she awoke, her whole world was shattered and changed in that instant. Save an Angel's Kiss For Me deals with the tragedy that follows such a significant loss for a young girl. It explores the feelings of loss, an unwillingness to return to a normal life and a dislike for her mother. The story unfolds in a beautiful way, and you experience Mar's pain and loss as very real. Her way of coming to terms with her father's death, her mother's illness, and her own feelings are exceptionally well told and so realistic. A delightful, insightful book, which I enjoyed reading immensely. I look forward to further books from this author. A tale told in a natural, realistic and down to earth way, yet deeply moving and emotional, ending with a delightful lift in spirits.
