SMALL TOWN RUMORS by Carolyn Brown is an interesting look
at how rumors have affected the life of several generations
living in this small town. Surprisingly the citizens are
truly reluctant to leave their home town and ultimately
wind up returning and what is really very revealing is the
uptake that they are all really happy to be back home.
You could say with complete sincerity that some children
don't match their parents. I'm not talking about looks or
smarts but personality and sensibilities. That's absolutely
the case in SMALL TOWN RUMORS to the nth degree.
Jennie Sue couldn't be more different than either of her
parents in too many ways to try to mention. She does not
match -- well except for DNA of course.
There's something to be said about doing the right thing
versus what you want to do. Now that's not to suggest you
would be choosing the wrong thing. Quite the contrary. As
an adult you're charged with the responsibility of making
tons of choices. Big question is whom are you going to
please -- yourself or others.
When Jennie Sue woke up to her new normal -- new reality she
didn't feel as though she had any choices or viable
options. She had left behind that "good" life. Yes I did do
the quote thing because it fits here. Jennie Sue had
strived to be the good daughter and good wife and in the
end no one was happy. Jennie Sue had no choice but to turn
her back on her old life and find peace with her new one.
Charlotte -- Jennie Sue's mother was hyper critical of
everything she did. Her father loved her but stayed pretty
much in the background overshadowed as it were by his wife.
Charlotte was a force to reckon with and it seemed Jennie
Sue and her dad shared the desire to stay out of that force-
field when possible.
But life and circumstances change and you have to follow
suit.
So SMALL TOWN RUMORS is about making a new start with many
obstacles facing you. Some of your making but most caused
by incessant rumors about you and your family. Everyone is
interested in Jenny Sue's return and most feel that it is
due to failures on her part. But Jennie Sue doesn't drown
herself in past mistakes. Instead she is reaching out for a
new normal of her own -- emphasis on her own. She is making
her mother really unhappy but so be it. That is certainly
nothing new. Upon returning Jennie Sue has also captured
the eye of someone who absolutely hates her. And then
Jennie Sue finds some amazing new friends that seem to
welcome her with open arms. Big question is whether they
too have an ulterior motive.
Two crazy old ladies -- they would not be offended with that
description -- Lettie and Nadine become a sort of catalyst
for Jennie Sue's reintroduction to Bloom Texas. They also
provide their fair share of humor. But the character with
the sassiest voice is Jennie Sue. Without a doubt she will
have you laughing out loud.
From New York Times bestselling author Carolyn
Brown comes a funny heartache of a novel about overcoming
the past, confronting the future, and defying all
expectations.Everyone is talking about Jennie Sue Baker and the
mess she made of her life in New York. The former high
school queen bee—and wealthy darling of Bloom, Texas—has
returned home after all these years, riding on a common bus
and bearing two bounced alimony checks. In a town that
thrives on gossip, Jennie’s fall from grace has shamed her
mother, set the town buzzing, and caused old, jealous
enemies to whisper in delight. They say she’s taken a
job as a housekeeper, gotten a garage apartment, and might
be crushing on Rick Lawson, a simple farmer with modest dreams.
As romance starts to bud, Jennie relishes what it means to
follow her heart, find real new friends, and finally be
herself—regardless of all the lying town chatter. But fate
has another twist in store. Rumor has it that Jennie now
stands to lose what matters most…unless she can convince
Rick of one true thing—and that’s love.