Sharon Rolens, raised in rural Illimois, is a professional muscian living in Denver, Colorado and author of published short stories and poetry, Worthy's Town is her first novel.
Rolens can place her star next to Thronton Wilder, John
Steinbeck.
*Denver's Rocky Mountain News*
Rolens dips heavily into nostalgia for her first novel, a charming coming-of-age tale set in southwestern Illinois in the years before and during World War II. Worthy and Willa Giberson adopt their illegitimate grandson, Cappy, following the death of their daughter in 1925. A simple farmer, Worthy plans for Cappy to join him in working the farm as soon as he is old enough. When Cappy wins an eighth-grade essay contest, however, he is able to parlay his vivid imagination and love of a good story into a job at the local newspaper office, ultimately leading to his finishing high school and his first real job. But questions surrounding Cappy's parentage, Willa's death, and the murder of Cappy's best friend make Worthy's Town far more than a simple teenage success story. It becomes a beautiful view of the Great Depression and America at home during World War II; a finely honed character study of a town and its inhabitants, good and bad; and a classic tale of orchestrated retribution. The over-50 generation may especially enjoy this reminiscence of a simpler time, deftly combined with an engaging story of human foibles that never stoops to sentimentality. Recommended for all public libraries.DThomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale Lib. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Rolens can place her star next to Thronton Wilder, John Steinbeck. * Denver's Rocky Mountain News *
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