The Owl & Moon Cafe

Perfect! The book was rec'd quickly in perfect condition, excellent for gift giving. Highly recommend.

I always cringe whenever someone says they or someone they know is a writer and would you mind reading something they wrote and letting me know what you thought of it because I think this person is a really great writer and I respect your opinion.... Oh God. Not another one. The problem is that I can't lie. I've been hardwired (sometime during my early formation, no doubt) to spout the truth about a piece of literature and how I feel about it. This has led to some rather hard feelings by authors who expected me to put on my kids gloves when critiquing/reviewing their work. So when the son of Jo-Ann Mapson handed me a copy of his mother's latest literary offering, I felt the critical hairs on the back of my neck rise. Oh no. Would I have to crush any friendship I might have with this man by telling him his mother was a hack writer? That her prose stunk? That she needed to take a course on plotting? I opened The Owl & Moon Café with a heavy sigh, plunged in and ... ...was immediately enthralled. I'll have to be honest and say part of the attraction was that The Owl & Moon Café takes place in my hometown of Pacific Grove, California. But I've read stories by other authors that take place here and was, shall we say, less than impressed. The thing that really struck me was that this novel is a women's book -- covering the lives of four generations of women within the Moon family -- but completely engrossed me (a guy) with its excellent plotting, perfect characters, and flowing prose. The Owl & Moon Café is ground-zero for these women, starting with "Gammy", the widowed owner of the cafe and mother of Allegra, grandmother of Mariah, and great-grandmother to Lindsay. After losing her teaching job, embittered single mom Mariah returns to Pacific Grove to work at the café in order to support her brilliant daughter, Lindsay, and keep her in private school. But at the café Mariah has to deal with her aging and bible-thumping "Gammy," and her 60s-loving mother. Things quickly turn sour for Mariah as the family learns that Allegra (her mother) has leukemia and must undergo chemotherapy. But into Mariah's life comes a handsome Scotsman who sweeps her off her feet. Trouble is, though, he's only here for a short while. Lindsay, an 8th grader, is infatuated with Carl Sagan and science in general. She doesn't have many friends and stresses about everything. In fact, she's so worked up all the time that her stomach goes sour, often resulting in visits to the nurses office at school. She also needs to come up with a science project and when she learns of her grandmother's (Allegra's) cancer, she quickly comes up with a topic: medical marijuana. Allegra, forced to deal with her cancer, finally goes to the hospital only to meet up with a doctor she knows. Dr. Al Goodnough was the love of her life during her younger, wilder days and the two of them rekindle their passions during the treatment of Allegra's deadly cancer. But will she survive? All of

I've been patiently waiting for Mapson's next novel & I am happy to report that I was not disappointed. The Owl & Moon Cafe is now my favorite Mapson book (with Bad Girl Creek a close 2nd!). Mapson delivers a cast of colorful and quirky women and paints the coziest of settings. I especially liked the delightful voice Mapson gave to her youngest character, Lindsay. She did a fantastic job speaking from a young adult perspective. I was truly sad to finish the book and say goodbye to these women (as well as AL & Simon) who I had grown to love.

Okay, I admit I'm a bit partial. More than a bit. She's my friend. But, trust me when I tell you she's a dynamite writer. I would love her books even if I didn't know her. And this one is as wonderful as all the others. It's got her trademark down-to-earth, complex characters, absorbing and always fresh and original plots, plural intended because she writes the type of books I like to read, ones where, like life, many things are going on in the character's lives and all of them interesting and familiar. I haven't gotten my piece of fudge yet except fictionally, but I'm telling you, this book is like very, very good fudge, the kind my Kansas grandma used to make, the REAL kind, where you have to time it to get it right...this book is that, real and right and so, so good. Buy one for yourself and one for your best girlfriend. You won't be sorry.

One of the things I love about Jo-Ann Mapson's books are the way the characters seem like someone you know -- or wish you knew. In this novel we get to hear from two young girls (yep, Sally's back!), and Mapson is just as good at understanding teenagers as she is the cranky grandma. Nobody does dialogue better. Mapson has always reminded me of Larry McMurtry at his best. But she's stayed at the peak of her craft. Another funny and wise book from one of my favorite authors. (The fudge is dang good, too!)