A LIFE OF BRIGHT IDEAS is the second in the series, but a
reader doesn't necessarily have to read the first book to
understand and appreciate the second. Button and Winnalee's
stories continue to separate and intertwine. Button receives
a fresh start after graduating High School and dealing with
several problems at home. Winnalee, on the other hand,
becomes a bit of a "flower child." She indulges in free love
and has thrown herself into the hippie way of life. However,
the closer Button gets to Winnalee, the more she realizes
that not everything is as it seems with her friend.
Button is easy to connect to. She is a hardworker and
determined to make something of herself. In contrast,
Winnalee is more of a free spirit with everything but her
hippie beliefs cannot hide her inability to believe in
herself. Sandra King heavily focuses on the two friends,
making it easy for me to get to know Button and Winnalee
very well. I appreciated the surreal feel of the being
placed into someone else's life. It is easy to slip into
Button's head.
A LIFE OF BRIGHT IDEAS does not fall under a certain age
category. It is perfect for those discovering who they are
as a person as well as people who have already made their
journey.If you want to truly experience the hippie era
through Button's eyes, this is the book for you!
A secret tore best friends Evelyn “Button” Peters and Winnalee Malone apart. Now, nearly a decade later, a secret brings them back together. Nine years ago Button and Winnalee began recording observations in their Book of Bright Ideas, a tome they believed would solve the mystery of how to live a mistake-free life. Now it's 1970, a time of peace, love, war, and personal heartbreak. Button's mother is dead and her grieving father has all but abandoned his children. Quiet, thoughtful Button has traded college for a sewing job in her mother's bridal shop to help her Aunt Verdella raise her whirlwind six-year-old brother. In Button's free time, she writes letters to the boy she loved from afar through high school, hoping he will come to love her as more than a friend.Then, like that magical Wisconsin summer of '61, Button is greeted with the wild, gusty arrival of Winnalee. Now a beautiful flower child, Winnalee is everything Button is not. She's been to Woodstock and enjoys “free love,” but their steadfast bond of friendship is tested as Button begins to notice the cracks in Winnalee's carefree façade. And then Winnalee's mother arrives with a surprise that Button never sees coming, and the fiery determination to put things right in both families once and for all. Look for special features inside.Join the Circle for author chats and more.RandomHouseReadersCircle.com