Summer Wood

I love Publishers Weekly!

Summer Wood - November 16, 2010

PW says, “Wood succeeds with surefooted prose; a lush, earthy California backdrop; and a sensitive story of nurturing and family.”  Here's the full text of their review:

Wrecker
Summer Wood, Bloomsbury, $20 (304p) ISBN 978-1-60819-280-9
New Mexico author Wood follows Arroyo with this affecting novel about the rearing of a lovable boy named Wrecker (for his destructive tendencies), who carries the scars of being abandoned at age 3 when his penniless, clueless mother, Lisa Fay, went to prison for drugs. It's early 1969 when Wrecker's uncle, Len, whose wife is brain damaged from an infection, becomes aware of the heft of his guardianship responsibilities as he cares for Wrecker at the Bow Farm hippie commune on the Lost Coast section of Northern California. To "help him go forward," the eccentric residents--young, no-nonsense Southern belle Melody; plaid-clad mother-hen Ruthie; and independent, "short and furry" Johnny Appleseed--of this unconventional cloister take Wrecker into their collective arms. Wrecker is confused and troublesome, and over the years often runs away, but eventually comes to appreciate his alternative family. Complications emerge with a hasty adoption, Len's wife's pneumonia, Wrecker's burgeoning adolescence, and his estranged mother's eagerness to reclaim her teenage son when she's released from prison after almost 15 years, just as Wrecker might be moving past his need to reunite with her. Wood (who was inspired by her own fostering experiences) succeeds with surefooted prose; a lush, earthy California backdrop; and a sensitive story of nurturing and family. (Feb.)