Fresh Air

"Fresh Air" is, of course, a realistic, contemporary novel, dealing with such issues as child abuse and spousal abuse (as do many of Charlotte Vale Allen's other novels). It vividly re-creates settings that range from Hollywood to suburban Connecticut to Harlem. It's even Internet-savvy. But the key to its appeal is something age-old and fundamental -- a fairy-tale quality -- that's hinted at by the nicknames of the heroine, Lucinda Hunter: "Ella" and "Cinders," which add up to "Cinderella." Lucinda, a movie star's daughter, is like an exiled princess, isolated and living in emotional poverty, when, if she only knew it, a world of love and connection, her true kingdom, is within easy reach. Katanya, the little African American girl who frees Lucinda from her self-imposed prison, is the classic facilitator, the fairy, the squire, the wizard, who breaks the spell and makes a new life possible. This big-hearted story features a wide variety of voices and interesting characters. Some of its people, when "Fresh Air" ends, we may feel we're only beginning to know -- but a sequel, evidently, is on the way. It'll be worth the wait!

For the most part, Lucinda Hunter has not left her Connecticut home in twenty-seven years. Rarely she will leave to go into town, but that takes quite a struggle for her to achieve. Shockingly, Lucinda is the daughter of the late great actress Lily Hunter and a noted screenwriter in her own right. However, when her mother died, Lucinda learned that her father was a black man. Unable to cope with not knowing whether she belongs to the white or black race, both or neither, she became a hermit.Lucinda looks out her window to see a young African-American female playing in her yard. The girl invites Lucinda outside. Surprisingly she goes and soon a bond forms between the nine-year-old Harlem resident Katanya Taylor, in town as part of the FRESH AIR program, and the recluse. As they become better acquainted, Kat helps Lucinda overcome her agoraphobia one step at a time.FRESH AIR is an engaging contemporary tale that showcases how modern communication systems enable an individual to hide from society as everything can be ordered on line. The story line focuses on friendship, as everyone needs someone to care about. Lucinda is an incredible lead character and though Kat acts more like an adult than a preadolescent, readers will find her charming too. The support cast provides the audience deep insight into Lucinda as Charlotte Vale Allen gifts her fans with a deep psychological drama.Harriet Klausner

Fresh Air is one of the most brilliantly moving books yet written by Charlotte Vale Allen. Having read Leftover Dreams, by her, also, I felt nothing could top it, but this book certainly did. The young girl in this book, Katanya Taylor has such an important impact on Lucinda Hunter that I felt myself wanting to be a part of their lives as well. I truly did not want to put this book down. Fresh Air and Charlotte Vale Allen deserve FIVE stars many times over.

Fresh Air is a heart-stirring story of loss, or more accurately, coping with loss. The loss of people dear to us and also the loss of one's identity and purpose. It's also a story of how society's restrictions are allowed to dictate the terms of how people live; how no matter how liberated we think we are we will make compromises in order to conform to standards set by others in order to achieve or maintain our position in life. After more than twenty-five years in virtual solitude Lucinda opens the door to the enchanting nine year old Katanya and thereby begins her re-entry into the world at large. Although beset with great fears she strives determinedly to overcome them; at first because she wants to help Katanya and then finally in order to reach out for a more complete life for herself. The main character, Lucinda, is a well-defined portrait of vulnerability and strength; a person of immense generosity and forgiveness. She has a fine-honed sense of justice and a very intelligent sense of humor. In short, she's a real person that you can't help but care for and about; something absolutely required for a reader of fiction. You will want to shelter her and lean on her too. There are moments when you'll laugh out loud; there are scenes between Lucinda and Katanya that will make you cry. Charlotte Vale Allen devotees will be blown away by her latest outstanding effort and readers new to Ms. Vale Allen's work will proclaim themselves fans long before they turn the page on the final chapter. It's apparent that the author lives a lifetime with the characters that she brings to light between the cover of this most gratifying and flawlessly written novel. In a manner of speaking, a huge bouquet of roses to the author of a very entertaining and compelling book.

Vale Allen never goes for the obvious in her books. She always reaches for something deeper, something truer. In this case, we have a woman whose discovery of the truth of her origins robs her of her former youthful certainty--with the end result that she becomes a near-recluse, rarely able to leave her house. Lucinda is a beautifully drawn character, good-hearted, fear-bound, and isolated. When Katanya Taylor, an almost ten-year-old on her first trip away from Manhattan (courtesy of The Fresh Air Fund) wanders into Lucinda's garden and waves to the woman inside, signaling to her to come out, what ensues is a genuinely touching tale of how two people--one young, one middle-aged--alter each other's lives in quietly profound ways. Without ever being manipulative, the author allows the characters to take center stage and it's impossible not to care about them. I'm always taken by the depth of Vale Allen's insights and the essential optimism that is central to each of her (very different) novels. A visit to her site states that a sequel is underway. That is grounds for celebration because these characters merit another visit. This is a wonderful, wonderful book.