I am excited to recommend a debut novel by Fran Cannon Slayton, a fellow member of the Class of 2K9. Fran celebrates her West Virginia railroad heritage in WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS (Philomel/Penguin), a coming-of-age story about Jimmy Cannon, who discovers his father's membership in a secret society. School Library Journal's Diane Chen compares the book to Richard Peck's A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO, calling it "fresh, smart, witty, warm, well-written, funny . . . an amazing novel."
This engrossing story is told on one specific day, All Hallows Eve, over the course of six years in the 1940s. I will be posting an interview with Fran on her launch date of June 11th (please visit http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k9 ), in which, among other things, she'll talk about her inspiration, writing from the point of view of the opposite sex, and how she made the yearly transitions flow smoothly.
Enjoy this wonderful read!
4 comments:
Sounds like a great read! I'm looking forward to checking out your interview, too.
I love the idea of telling the story from the same day over multiple years. And the comparison to Richard Peck is mighty fine praise indeed!
Thanks for your review, Edie!!
Looking forward to the interview Edie!
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