Early Word: Carolyne Letters

The Carolyne Letters

Abigail B. Calkin

PD: 09.24.13 by Book Sparks Publishing

Book Summary:

Amelia: young, naive, in love. Geoff: charming, narcissistic, intelligent. In a decidedly European affair, a young couple consummates a courtship destined for differences. The resultant pregnancy provides a haunting yet charming backdrop for the challenges of love and its often unwanted decisions.

In the first person and in a creative journal style, author Abigail Calkin explores three choices that Amelia can make—give birth, give the baby up for adoption, or abortion. The resultant exploration and mature reflection provides a unique and rich literary backdrop for the choices each young woman faces when pregnant.

My Thoughts:

I love the written word. I love that I was born into a generation that is consumed with technology. I only need 140 characters or less to send out a written message about my thoughts, feelings, disappointments, and/or celebrations into the world. Tweet! Social media has significantly impacted my daily life.  In the morning, I can connect with publications, blogs, Facebook and/or Twitter in order to find out what is happening in the world around me professionally and personally.  Simultaneously, I will be alerted on my I-phone that, House of Hades by Rick Riordan is scheduled to come out on October 8, 2013 and my grandmother is looking for Gluten-free recipes.

 It wasn’t long ago, that people were shy about what they revealed to each other. People were frightened to let other people know their true fears and doubts. They would hide behind a façade of being completely in control allowing others to believe in their confidence and knowledge. People thought their world was perfect, but was it really?

Throughout the 1960's, women, such as Amelia, sat riddled with the guilt, anxiety, and the weight of their choices. Pressured by society for her decision, Amelia was forced grow up a little quicker than she anticipated so she chronicles her thoughts throughout each day in a letter to herself and later to her daughter, Carolyne, explaining her decision. Each lettered entry allows the reader a side by side view of Amelia's thoughts as she's living them. Her anguish and torment flow through her words and really capture the essence of the perspective of those times.

Rating: 3/5

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review