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My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books, where she spotlights a favorite book that she has read in the past.
I have chosen Lily by Cindy Bonner for my Favorite Read today!
From Kirkus Reviews
Bonner's beguiling first novel--about love between a hard- working farm girl and an outlaw in 1883 Texas--manages to be thoroughly romantic without romanticizing violence: a wonderful evocation of time and place and the voice of a strong, hopeful 15- year-old girl. Lily DeLony never meant to go wrong. Why, she wonders, did she have to be different from all the other decent people in town, and be able to see the good in Marion Beatty instead of just the bad? She was maybe more vulnerable than most--motherless and overloaded with endless responsibilities, with no softness or comfort in a hardscrabble life--but Lily is no one's victim or fool. She is moved not just by Marion's charm, good looks, and their stolen kisses but by his own terrible situation: the small town of McDade judges the whole Beatty family no good; Marion has been condemned for his wild older brothers' sins. Not only that: the Beattys get blamed for every violent crime that takes place in the country, even when Lily knows for a fact--or close to it--that they are being falsely accused. As she watches virtuous people, including her father, step over all moral lines in acts of vigilante violence, Lily takes Marion's part. By the time she finds she's been overly optimistic about his innocence, Lily has bit by bit given up old ideas of right and wrong and is committed to her outlaw for better or worse. Even readers who don't approve of Lily's love-choice will cheer for her all the way.It has been every bit of sixteen years since I read this wonderful story...and it has stayed with me! I, as a rule, do not read any historical fiction...I just don't like it. This book, however, sucked me right in to the days of the old west. Innocent 15 year old Lily falls in love with Outlaw Marion Beatty and they begin a whirlwind romance despite how others in the town, including Lily's family, feel.
Trust me, this book is worth the read. I am going to purchase a copy of it for my own library. I remember when I finished this book, I sat back, hugged the book to my chest, and let out a contented sigh.
- Hardcover: 350 pages
- Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; 1st edition (October 1992)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0945575955
- ISBN-13: 978-0945575955
5 comments:
Hi!
Sounds like a great book. I'll have to add this to my TBR list. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books
http://embracethewhirlwind.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/my-favorite-reads/
Will add to my pile sounds good.
I can tell that this wouldn't have caught my eye normally. It's funny, I don't like reading stories about the old west normally, but there are some rare occasions when I've found good old west books. I'll have to take your word for it on this one and see if our local library has it.
It does sound like a lovely book. I do like it when a book stays with you like that.
I love this cover. It reminds me of Marc Chagall.
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