As we enjoy this last long weekend of summer, preparing ourselves for cooler weather and perhaps a change in our daily schedules, how about rounding out your summer reading with Joyce Maynard's novel Labor Day? Henry is a 13-year-old boy living with his single mother Adele, the two of them struggling with a rather bare existence. On Labor Day weekend, as they are at Pricemart buying some back-to-school clothes for Henry, they encounter the friendly but mysterious Frank. Soon Frank reveals he is actually an escaped convict being hunted by law enforcement, but by then both mother and son have been captivated. They become his hostages, if willingly so, and Adele and Frank fall in love. The story is told through Henry's eyes, and we see the ways this peculiar Labor Day Weekend changes him both as it is happening, and later, when we get a glimpse into his future.
Not quite the breezy summer beach read you might have been savoring the last few weeks, Labor Day is a good transition into the cooler, more reflective days of fall.
0 comments:
Post a Comment