It's 1951 and Wallace Johnson and his brother have a hard life with their
father, who is hard on their body. The small town of Martinsville,
Arkansas is full of residents knowing the worst of each other. Wallace
is a
junior and his brother, Landis, a senior, who is looking forward to
taking
advantage of his sports scholarship to continue college.
Wallace only wants to leave the country behind to pursue a career as a
writer. Attempting to work at raising enough money to do just that, he
hasn't considered it will all turn upside down as he deals with an
alcoholic
father, a crooked sheriff, and forced to fight off other guys intent on
causing him and Landis harm. Learning to build himself up and take
physical fitness serious through boxing, Wallace will not be
caught as the underdog once again. If not for the brother who loves him,
Wallace might not survive the trials ahead. Finding his first love in
Mary
Harper and experiencing her "place where the moon shines brightest", he
finds solace and tenderness. As their lives separate for a few years,
Wallace now has to make a decision: leave the country life to
pursue his dreams or grab the love of a lifetime.
I have never had the pleasure of reading any works by Kevin Crank, but
have to say I am thoroughly impressed with his ability to turn out
a novel so emotional and real it will make the reader's heart cry for
this boy and his family. WHERE THE MOON SHINES BRIGHTEST is written with
so much feeling and insight
into a poor family's life it became more real with each page I read. I
could not put this book down. Kevin Crank is an extremely gifted writer,
leaving me with much to ponder for a very long time to come. I
highly recommend WHERE THE MOON SHINES BRIGHTEST to anyone who desires a
deeply emotional, fulfilling,
and romantic story of real life.
Wallace Johnson longs to leave country life behind him.
Vowing to find a way to pay for and graduate from
college,
he doesn't realize the price he will have to pay to get
it.
Not only does he have to fight against his dad's
pre-conceived plans of following in his footsteps of
living
on a farm, he also has a crooked sheriff and a childhood
nemesis to deal with, as well as family loss, all before
his
eighteenth birthday.
Leaning heavily on his brother to guide him, Wallace
grows
up quickly in a world where moonshine affects the lives
of
those dearest to him. Through it all, he falls in love
with
his high school sweetheart. However, after a time of
separation without any word from her, they finally
reunite
and Mary reveals secrets of her past that might hinder
their
future together.
Wallace now has a choice to make. Will he leave the
country
life in which he was raised to pursue a career as a
writer?
Or will he forget all his dreams for the woman he loves?
Excerpt
I stood dumbfounded. My mind wouldn’t allow my body to
react. I didn’t know what to do or say. Tears began to
well in the corners of my eyes. My body finally began to
tremble, and then I noticed my fists were clenched.
Anger brewed deep inside me.
“Why couldn’t you tell me this happened to you?”
Mary shifted her weight and unfolded her arms. “Try to
imagine how many times I wanted to contact you, to have
you come to me and hold me and let me cry in your arms.
I needed you. I really wanted you with me. But I didn’t
let you know because the night you, Landis, and your mom
came to my house to ask for our help, I saw murder in
your eyes. I could tell that you were willing to kill
without reservation. I’ve kept this from you because I
knew if you found out you’d have taken off, run away from
the Army, and hunted that guy down. And I think you
probably would’ve killed him.”
She was right. Mary knew me well enough to know that I’d
track the son-of-a-bitch down and hurt him, possibly kill
him. I felt the rage building. It was the same rage I
felt when Mom had the encounter with Delmar Booth at
Mayfield’s and when I fought with Lester and Mr. Plumley.
I drew a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in my
heart. I gazed at the moon.
“Now what do we do, huh?”
She turned her face. In the bright moonlight I could see
a faint scar just below her left eye. “You don’t want
me, Wallace. I’m damaged goods.”
“Do you still love me?” I asked with uncertainty.
“Oh, yes. I fell in love with you the night you came
into Ballard’s Drive-In after you and Landis pulled that
trick on Nelda Jo and Chester. The moment you sat down
next to me, I knew. I’ve loved you ever since, and I
will always love you until the day I die. But I’ve
resigned myself to the fact that our love for one another
may no longer be what it was because of the past. If we
walk away from each other tonight with too big of a
burden to bear, then so be it. I’ll move on, like I had
to after I was attacked.
“So, the question is to you, my love. Do you still love
me?”
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