The Sound of Summer Voices

Note: I have made some Mormon reader angry over my negative reviews of books attempting to prove the Book of Mormon, and I get a negative vote almost as soon as my review is posted. Oh, well. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks. A short review (recommendation) can be a good review if it leads you to reading a great novel. This 208-page novel leads you on as twelve-year-old Patrick Quincannon Tolson spends his time spying to find out the truth of his birth. It's tender southern story that follows the tradition of "To Kill A Mockingbird" without that story's darker implications. I loved both, however. Buy an old copy with the cover illustration of a boy in a tree spying down at a young couple kissing. It really captures the whole novel. If you haven't read it, you're in for a real treat. Also, check out the "Moonflower Vine," by Jetta Carlson. The Moonflower Vine

One summer day while sitting on the front porch and mulling over bits and pieces of information about himself and his family, eleven year old Patrick Q. Tolson concludes that one of his aunts is, in fact, his mother. This conclusion alarms him since it means that everyone in his family, his two maiden aunts, his Uncle Darius and even Mavis, the cook, has been lying to him for years. No doubt the woman they claimed had given birth to him and then died had, in fact, never existed. From this day on he uses his talents for eavesdropping to slowly but persistently search for the truth. He hides in trees and hunkers down in the back seats of cars listening and listening until his true origins become clear. When he finally learns the truth he also learns something about love, God and forgiveness. This gentle tale of a young boy's spiritual journey to his true identity will both charm and amuse readers as they follow Patrick back to his surprising beginnings.