Hallie Palmer has had her share of bad luck, but more
times than not, she manages to rise to the occasion and
remain intact. When her Dad suddenly dies and her mother
winds up needing some mental help to cope with his
passing, Hallie finds herself rushing home from college to
become the primary caregiver to her brood of siblings.
From diapers to mayhem, Hallie walks the tightrope as she
tries to balance motherhood and the family's finances
without losing their home or the children to foster care.
As if things weren't bad enough, Hallie's personal life is
quickly spiraling out of control. As she watches her
friends continue to pursue their dreams, she feels as if
she has sacrificed her own well-being in exchange for
familial duty. With nowhere else to turn, she relies on
some old friends, Bernard and Gil, to help her pull
herself up by her bootstraps and become the young woman
she knows she can be. Within a blink of an eye, Hallie
conjures up some good times and even a little unexpected
romance that sends her well on her way to happiness.
THE BIG SHUFFLE is the highly anticipated third book in
Laura Pedersen's Hallie Palmer series. Like an old shoe,
the reader finds comfort in the reoccurring characters and
the amusing anecdotes that make the book seem like a
welcomed, old friend. Light, heart-warming, and well-
written. THE BIG SHUFFLE is the perfect fall read.
“We’re approaching Cat in the Hat level chaos and no one’s
even had breakfast yet.”
When
the death of her father leaves her mother bereft and
incapacitated,
card shark Hallie Palmer returns home from college to raise
Hallie’s
eight younger siblings. Hallie’s older brother has a
scholarship and a
sensible major–which translates to free tuition and
desperately needed
future income for the family. So it’s up to Hallie to deal
herself in
as head of the chaotic household.
But even after the
invasion
of those well-meaning, casserole-carrying purveyors of
comfort the
local church ladies, Hallie’s in a downward spiral. Thank
goodness for
old friends like Bernard and Gil, now proud parents, who
keep Hallie
afloat with good humor, brilliant organizational skills, and
Judy
Garland’s most quotable quotes–not that life is entirely
peaceful now
that Bernard’s wise, willful, and delightfully outrageous
mother,
Olivia, is back from Europe with a big (and shockingly
young) surprise.
Through it all, Hallie discovers that life can
indeed turn on a
dime, and that every coin has two sides plus an edge. Just
because
beginner’s luck doesn’t always last forever doesn’t mean
you’re out of
the game.