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kandicez's review against another edition
4.0
I recently read (re) [b:One on One|490136|One on One|Tabitha King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387743587l/490136._SY75_.jpg|150060], set in Nodd's Ridge, Tabby's equivalent to [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]'s Derry or Castle Rock. Actually, Nodd's Ridge is very close to both on the map. Chronologically, the events of this book take place before One on One, but this was published later. That may sound confusing, but I'm actually glad to have read One on One first. In that book we see Reuben as the main character's father, and we get very little insight into who he is, but Tabby makes us like him all the same. To get his backstory here, after the fact, makes me want to reread One on One. Clever little authoress!
Reuben Styles is a teenager at the beginning of the novel. America is becoming embroiled in Vietnam, and Reuben faces the possibility of the draft. His parents are much older than his friend's parents, and when his father is diagnosed with a fatal disease, the course of Reuben's life is set. Reuben is a good guy. He tries so hard to do what he thinks is right, but at the same time, within these pages, lives the life of a teen, young man, new husband, and father in a very relatable and realistic way. He has missteps, mishaps and regrets, but Tabby is very good at painting a realistic and detailed character study. Think Bob Ross's motto : No mistakes, just happy accidents. That's poor Reuben in a nutshell.
Because One on One came first, we know how things end up for Reuben. In some writer's hands, this could be anticlimactic, but in Tabby's I just wanted to know more. Why did Reuben react to this or that in such and such a way? How did he develop his patience? How did this good-hearted man become a single father, with that troubled daughter, and that basketball wiz son? How did he find the exotic love if his life in such a small, out of the way town? Who? What? Where? When? Why? We may not get every answer, but we get a lot, and the way in which the answers unfold is beautifully written. Tabby uses an impressive array of words, strung together to form a beautiful tapestry of human lives. A tapestry that I cannot wait to see finished. I will be working through all the Nodd's Ridge books, and I am certain I will mourn the last.
When I read One on One, not only was it riddled with mistakes, but it was out of print. This one doesn't seem to be either, which is good. It means the publisher realized Tabby could really write, and not just that she shared a bed and house with other writers. Over the last few months, I have learned so much about this wonderful woman. She is a supportive wife, even, if not especially, when the chips are down and in the shit, a cool mother, a fantastic philanthropist and humanitarian, and a magnificent writer!
Tabby reads one of my favorite [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] short stories, [b:The House on Maple Street: and Other Stories|6346098|The House on Maple Street and Other Stories|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348809568l/6346098._SX50_.jpg|6532494], for the audiobook [b:Nightmares and Dreamscapes|10588|Nightmares and Dreamscapes|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370950676l/10588._SY75_.jpg|150039], and her accent/diction is even more Maine drawl than his, if that's possible. I know there are those that can't stand to listen to him read his own work because of his voice, but I love it. His voice has become as recognizable to me as a relative's, and incredibly dear. Tabby's has as well. I'm very glad of that because I "heard" her read this book as I read, and I enjoyed it all the more because of that.
Reuben Styles is a teenager at the beginning of the novel. America is becoming embroiled in Vietnam, and Reuben faces the possibility of the draft. His parents are much older than his friend's parents, and when his father is diagnosed with a fatal disease, the course of Reuben's life is set. Reuben is a good guy. He tries so hard to do what he thinks is right, but at the same time, within these pages, lives the life of a teen, young man, new husband, and father in a very relatable and realistic way. He has missteps, mishaps and regrets, but Tabby is very good at painting a realistic and detailed character study. Think Bob Ross's motto : No mistakes, just happy accidents. That's poor Reuben in a nutshell.
Because One on One came first, we know how things end up for Reuben. In some writer's hands, this could be anticlimactic, but in Tabby's I just wanted to know more. Why did Reuben react to this or that in such and such a way? How did he develop his patience? How did this good-hearted man become a single father, with that troubled daughter, and that basketball wiz son? How did he find the exotic love if his life in such a small, out of the way town? Who? What? Where? When? Why? We may not get every answer, but we get a lot, and the way in which the answers unfold is beautifully written. Tabby uses an impressive array of words, strung together to form a beautiful tapestry of human lives. A tapestry that I cannot wait to see finished. I will be working through all the Nodd's Ridge books, and I am certain I will mourn the last.
When I read One on One, not only was it riddled with mistakes, but it was out of print. This one doesn't seem to be either, which is good. It means the publisher realized Tabby could really write, and not just that she shared a bed and house with other writers. Over the last few months, I have learned so much about this wonderful woman. She is a supportive wife, even, if not especially, when the chips are down and in the shit, a cool mother, a fantastic philanthropist and humanitarian, and a magnificent writer!
Tabby reads one of my favorite [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] short stories, [b:The House on Maple Street: and Other Stories|6346098|The House on Maple Street and Other Stories|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348809568l/6346098._SX50_.jpg|6532494], for the audiobook [b:Nightmares and Dreamscapes|10588|Nightmares and Dreamscapes|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1370950676l/10588._SY75_.jpg|150039], and her accent/diction is even more Maine drawl than his, if that's possible. I know there are those that can't stand to listen to him read his own work because of his voice, but I love it. His voice has become as recognizable to me as a relative's, and incredibly dear. Tabby's has as well. I'm very glad of that because I "heard" her read this book as I read, and I enjoyed it all the more because of that.
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