All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis

All The Children Are Home by Patry Francis

Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 9780063045446

Trade paperback, $16.99, 384 pages

Sometimes you finish a book that touches your heart so that when you finish it, you want to immediately turn to the first page and begin reading it all over again; Patry Francis' novel, All The Children Are Home, is such a book.

Set in 1959 in a small town near Boston, Dahlia and her husband Louie Moscatelli have a home with three foster children- teenagers Jimmy and Zaidie, and Zaidie's younger brother Jon. They have a tightknit family. One day a social worker asks them to take in a eight year-old girl named Agnes on an temporary emergency placement.

Dahlia and Louie have agreed "no more emergencies", but Dahlia relents and accepts Agnes. Agnes is very small for her age, she suffered from a failure to thrive as an infant, and has come from a bad placement. One of the saddest things in her story is that she only learned her colors from the Jello she ate in the hospital.

Agnes is part Native American, and her previous foster father treated her cruelly because of that. When she arrived at Dahlia and Louie's, the other children were immediately protective of Agnes. Being allowed to eat at the table with the family was new to her, and the other children teach her everything she needs to know. Zaidie gives Agnes her shamrock barrettes, and Jimmy teaches her how to play baseball.

Dahlia is an agoraphobic, spending her days doing puzzles, watching soap operas, and reading Reader's Digest condensed books from the library. Louie works long hours as a mechanic, and although he is gruff, he is kind to the children, slipping them money to get candy at the store. Agnes says that Dahlia is "a shadow- always present, but less real than everything around her." We eventually discover the reason behind that.

The neighbors don't like the Moscatellis, frequently complaining about the children. Some of the kids at school are cruel to them as well, and Jimmy seems to suffer more than the others as he grows older. Zaidie is smart and organized, she has goals in life, even taping photos of her heroes- Eleanor Roosevelt among them- on her wall for inspiration.

All The Children Are Home is about what it means to be a family. This family is not perfect in the eyes of the world, but they are to each other. They face many challenges as the children grow older, and how this family loves and supports each other in the face of disdain from neighbors and harassment from schoolmates is heartwarming, heartbreaking and hopeful. I read this book in one day and I will be recommending it to everyone. With unforgettable characters, it is simply one of the best books I have read in a long time.

My review of Patry Francis' previous novel, The Orphans of Race Point,  is here.

Friday 5ive- April 9, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention this week.

1)  Sunday was Easter and this year for dessert I ordered a cake from Carousel Cakes in Nanuet, NY. One of my sons is not a fan of chocolate (I have no idea where he got that from), so this pretty vanilla cake with strawberry custard filling fit the bill. Not only was it pretty to look at it, it was tasty too. We ordered it from Goldbelly, and we have had such good luck ordering from there. If you're looking for a tasty treat to send to someone special, head to Goldbelly.com, they have all kinds of foods from all over the country, many from famous chefs and restaurants.

2)  Continuing with the cake theme, my birthday was this past week, and we had a special dinner with our sons at Ocean Prime in midtown. I knew our older son would be there (he lives in NYC), but I was happily surprised to see our younger son from Boston sitting there with him when we arrived. It was such an enjoyable evening, and the guys even had these beautiful flowers waiting for me on the table. For dessert, they brought out two lovely little cakes- one chocolate and one carrot cake. It was a memorable birthday.

3)  Another reason to love Dolly Parton is that she worked with Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, Ohio to create a new ice cream flavor- Strawberry Pretzel Pie. The cream cheese ice cream has strawberry sauce and pretzel streusel swirled through it. It sold out immediately, crashing Jeni's website. The best part (besides the heavenly sounding taste) is that proceeds from the sale go to Dolly's Imagination Library, a program that sends books each month to children from birth to age five. The program has gifted over 155 million books to children. I'm not sure any one person has done more for the cause of childhood literacy than Dolly Parton. Follow Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams social media for more information on the next release. I know I will.

4)  We watched The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, starring singer Andra Day in her Golden Globe winning and Academy Award-nominated performance as Holiday. The movie tells the story of how in the 1940s, the FBI went after Holiday over her singing her powerful song, Strange Fruit, about the lynching of Black people. Day is astonishing in the role, and it reminded me of Bette Midler's amazing performance of a rock'n'roll singer (based on the life of Janis Joplin) in her Oscar nominated performance in The Rose. Holiday battled racism, drug and alcohol abuse, abusive relationships with men, and the FBI's constant harrassment. It is a performance not to be missed, the music is fantastic, and it's streaming on Hulu now.  

5)  I read two books this week. Wendy Francis' Summertime Guests is for those of us who love to people-watch. Set at an historic Boston waterfront hotel, when a woman falls (or did she jump or was she pushed?), the story of how that came to be is told by four different people- a young engaged couple, the hotel's general manager, a couple celebrating a birthday, and a middle-aged journalist whose last article has caused the mob to sue her newspaper. Who is the woman who fell? It's a mystery, and a good book to tuck in your bag when you head on vacation. My full review is here.

Patry Francis wrote a book years ago that has a place on my Favorites Shelf- The Orphans of Race Point. Her new novel, All the Children Are Home, tells the story of a couple who take in four foster children in the 1950s. The characters are unforgettable, including mom Dahlia, who is afraid to leave their home, hard-working husband Louie, older brother Jimmy who is protective of the younger children, Zaidie and her younger brother Jon who came to live with them when their mother died, and the youngest girl, Agnes, who suffered terrible abuse as a baby. How this family loves and supports each other in the face of disdain from neighbors and harassment from schoolmates is heartwarming, heartbreaking and hopeful. I read this book in one day and I will be recommending it to everyone. My review will follow soon.

Stay safe, socially distant, wash your hands, wear a mask and get a vaccine when it's your turn. (I did!) We'll soon be able to get back to some sense of normal if we all do our part.

This post was shared with Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader.

Some Great Summer Beach Reads

Every year I devote my June Book Report column in the Citizen to summer beach reads. Here is this year's edition.
 Reprinted from auburnpub.com.

June has arrived and that means it’s time to plan our summer beach reads. Whether you read on vacation, by the pool, or on your front porch, here are some suggestions for great summer reads.

If you are looking for a traditional juicy summer novel, Stephanie Evanovich follows up last year’s big beach read “Big Girl Panties”, with a sassy, sexy prequel “The Sweet Spot” about a Derek Jeter-like baseball star who pursues a restaurateur wary of his reputation. It’s perfect for the baseball lover, and it publishes July 8th. 

The Sweet Spot

South Carolina native Dorothea Benton Frank returns with another Southern family novel about a four women: 80 year-old feisty Maisie, her middle-aged daughter Liz, Liz’s artist daughter Ashley and Ashley’s roommate Mary Beth, all trying to come to grips what life has in store for them- oh yeah, and there is a hurricane heading their way. I love the humor and humanity in Frank’s novels. 

The Hurricane Sisters

If you like your summer reading to have a little more meat, Patry Francis’ 500 page “The Orphans of Race Point” takes place over thirty years in the lives of three friends who grew up together on Cape Cod. It’s a big, wonderful story with heartbreak, love, and family- those who are related by blood and those you choose to be your family. This is my favorite book so far this year. 

The Orphans of Race Point

Another big book is Greg Iles’ “Natchez Burning”, the first in a trilogy. This one tells the story of a son out to save his father, a beloved doctor accused of murdering an African-American nurse he worked with years ago. This one has been getting rave reviews, including one from Stephen King. 

Natchez Burning

Those of you who were addicted to HBO’s “True Detective” should check out Laura McHugh’s “The Weight of Blood”. When a teenage girl is found brutally murdered and left under a tree, her friend tries to find out what happened, and wonders if it could be tied to her mother’s disappearance when she was a just a baby. The story is told from the mother’s perspective and the daughter’s perspective, and has lots of scary, creepy atmosphere.  

The Weight of Blood

If historical fiction is your pleasure, Jacqueline Winspear, author of the WWI private investigator Maisie Dobbs series, checks in with a stand alone WWI novel, “The Care and Management of Lies” about Tom, a farmer in England, his sister who protests for peace, and his wife, a teacher-turned-farmer’s wife who must keep the farm going when Tom goes to war in France. I loved the look at what being a farmer’s wife at that time entailed. 

The Care and Mangement of Lies

If the Civil War interests you, Jennifer Chiaverini’s “The Spy Mistress” fictionalizes the true story of Richmond, Virginia aristocrat Elizabeth Van Lew who spied for the Union, putting herself and her family at great personal risk to help Lincoln’s generals win the war. It was a story I didn’t know and found so interesting. 

The Spy Mistress

Maggie Shipstead’s second novel, “Astonish Me” is very different from her first novel, “Seating Arrangements”, but just as good. Joan studies to be a ballerina and becomes involved with a Russian dancer who defects to the US in the 1970s. She marries a childhood friend, has a son, and moves to California. Her son becomes a ballet dancer and his idol is the Russian whom Joan was in love with years ago. The writing is gorgeous and if you love ballet, this insider’s look is fascinating.

Astonish Me

For non-fiction readers, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner follow-up their hugely successful book “Freakanomics” with “Think Like A Freak”. They combine terrific storytelling with their unique analysis to help people be more creative and productive. They show us how a hot dog eating champion came upon his winning strategy (it involves soaking the bun in water), why an Australian doctor ingested dangerous bacteria, and why e-mail scammers say they are from Nigeria. If you didn’t get Dad a Father’s Day gift yet (and if you didn’t, shame on you!), go get this. 

Think Like A Freak

Everyone is talking about Hillary Clinton’s book, “Hard Choices”, which published this week. She talks about the difficult decisions she has faced in her life and how she came to them. It covers much of her time as Secretary of State in the Obama administration and people will no doubt be parsing the sentences for clues as to whether she will run for president in 2016.

Hard Choices

Whatever you read this summer, I hope you enjoy it and that the weather is good wherever you go.

The Orphans of Race Point by Patry Francis

The Orphans of Race Point by Patry Francis
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0-06-228130-2
Trade paperback, $15.99, 544 pages

Almost exactly a year ago, I read an early copy of Anthony Marra's The Constellation of Vital Phenomena and was so knocked out by it, I told anyone who would listen (and even some who wouldn't) to read this book. I was so thrilled when it began to get great buzz and win many awards.

Reading Patry Francis' The Orphans of Race Point made me feel the same way. From the very first page, I fell in love with the story and the writing and the characters. Reading it, I was lost in the pages, and when people spoke to me, I did not hear them. I wanted to race through it, yet at the same time savor this incredible story and not have it ever end.

It begins in 1978, with nine-year-old Hallie Costa, whose mother died tragically in a drunk driving accident and whose father is the town's beloved doctor, willing to help anyone in anyway he can, whether medically or assisting them with a family situation.

Her father is called to a neighbor's home where a woman was murdered by her husband and their nine-year-old son Gus had been found catatonic in a closet. It was thought he witnessed the murder of his mother, but he was too traumatized to talk.

Hallie's dad Nick went to visit Gus, and after a five hour staring contest in which Nick "looked into Gus' sorrows and he looked into" Nick's, Gus spoke his first words in weeks- "I give." Hallie and her friend Neil, who was Gus' best friend, visited Gus every day, and Hallie came up with the idea of reading David Copperfield to him. She thought the story of an orphan who mades good might inspire Gus.

By the time they are in high school, Gus has become a football hero. He and Neil are still best friends, and Gus and Hallie have fallen in love. An incident happens at a beach party, and Gus' turbulent past plays a part in it, changing the three friends' lives forever.

Fast forward and Gus has become a priest, Neil is an actor and Hallie is a doctor like her dad. Father Gus is approached by a woman who has been beaten by her husband and asks for his help. Father Gus advises her to get away from her husband and offers to help her, but the situation escalates and Gus is convicted of a murder he did not commit.

This amazing story has so many compelling elements to it- there is the murder mystery, the love story and the true meaning of faith, friendship and family. The way it deals with faith and family also reminded me of Jennifer Haigh's gorgeous Faith, with its story of a priest mistakenly accused of a crime. The family that Hallie creates with people who are literal and figurative orphans is a beautiful one, and shows us that you don't need to be related to truly love someone deeply.

Like Constellation, Francis weaves her story elements together to a surprising conclusion. I did not see it coming in any way, and was as blindsided just as much as the characters were. The writing is lovely and the characters Francis creates are so real, I wanted to reach out to these lost souls. I don't know who I could call my favorite- Hallie _"dutiful on her dad's side, unruly on her mom's side", Gus, who cared deeply for his flock and yet led a tortured life, or "misfit princess" Mila, the murdered woman's daughter.

There are too many powerful scenes to choose a favorite- Hallie reading to young Gus, Mila visiting Gus in prison, Hallie ministering to her ill father, Nick's talk with Gus at the cottage- they all just touched my heart in a profoundly unforgettable way.

The Orphans of Race Point is the must-read book this year. It is big- over 500 pages- but you will find yourself lost in the lives of these loving, sometimes tragic, people. If you happen to see me anywhere, I warn you, I will tell you- READ THIS BOOK.

rating 5 of 5
My review of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is here.
My review of Faith is here.
Patry Francis' website is here.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Patry Francis' tour. The rest of the tour is here.

Tuesday, May 6th: The Book Wheel

Wednesday, May 7th: Tutu’s Two Cents

Thursday, May 8th: bookchickdi

Friday, May 9th: Sweet Southern Home

Monday, May 12th: Book-alicious Mama

Wednesday, May 14th: 5 Minutes For Books

Tuesday, May 20th: All Things Girl

Wednesday, May 21st: Doing Dewey

Thursday, May 22nd: BoundbyWords

Tuesday, May 27th: My Book Retreat