Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise: A Novel of Bright's Pond [Kindle Edition]

Joyce Magnin (Author)

Book Description

Newly widowed Charlotte Figg purchases a double-wide trailer sight unseen and moves to the Paradise Trailer Park with her dog Lucky. Unfortunately, neither the trailer nor Paradise are what Charlotte expected. Her trailer is a ramshackle old place in need of major repair, and the people of Paradise are harboring more secrets than Bayer has aspirin. Charlotte’s new friend Rose Tattoo learns that Charlotte played softball and convinces her to rally the women of Paradise into a team. Reluctant at first, Charlotte warms to the notion and is soon coaching the Paradise Angels. Meanwhile, Charlotte discovers that the manager of Paradise, Fergus Wrinkel, abuses his wife Suzy. Charlotte sets out to find a way to save Suzy from Fergus and in the process comes to a difficult realization about her own painful marriage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joyce Magnin is the author of The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow, chosen as one of the "Top 5 Best Christian Fiction Books of 2009" by Library Journal. She's written several short fiction and personal experience articles. She co-authored the book, Linked to Someone in Pain. She has been published in such magazines as Relief Journal, Parents Express, Sunday Digest, and Highlights for Children. Joyce attended Bryn Mawr College and is a member of the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Fellowship. She is a frequent workshop leader at various writer’s conferences and women’s church groups. She has three children, Rebekah, Emily, and Adam; one grandson, Lemuel Earnest; one son-in-law, Joshua, and a neurotic parakeet. Joyce leads a small fiction group called StoryCrafters. She enjoys baseball, football, cream soda, and needle arts but not elevators. She currently lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• File Size: 760 KB
• Print Length: 402 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1426707665
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (March 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004MYFTCE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,278 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 102 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise November 7, 2010

By Brenda Casto

Format:Paperback

This book starts out fast and holds your attention until the last page, Joyce Magnin is a new to me author, with a writing style that reminds me of Fannie Flagg, its a story of a lady really becoming the person she was meant to be, all it took was the death of her husband, and a move to a trailer park!

Charlotte Figg's husband Herman was the top Fuller brush salesman in his area, basically a unhappy man, Charlotte seemed oppressed by him, but a few pages in he drops dead in the kitchen floor, and even though Charlotte doesn't realize it yet her life is about to change for the better.

When Charlotte finds a life insurance policy in the bottom of Herman's salesman's bag, she knows at least she wont have to worry about money for a while. One of the first changes Charlotte makes is allowing a stray dog, whom she calls Lucky into her life. When Lucky steals the neighbors mail, Charlotte starts looking thru one of their magazines called Road Tripper, a RV magazine. When she comes across an ad that says nice looking double wide for sale with the contact person being Fergus Wrinkel at Paradise Trailer Park, she gets a bit of wanderlust, the picture included in the ad shows an eye catching trailer with wide window and awnings hanging with pots of pink and purple verbena. So she calls and purchases the trailer site unseen. So after selling her home, she heads for Paradise, where she is shocked at what she finds, instead of the pretty trailer in the ad she has purchased a run down mobile home that has racoons living inside it, when she complains to Mr. Wrinkel he informs her she is stuck with the trailer. Charlotte feels like such a fool, but soon she meets some people from the trailer park and they assure her that they will help her get her trailer fixed up.

She meets a quirky bunch of people at the trailer park from Rose Tattoo, to Ginger Rodgers, the trailer park residents each have their own issues. When Rose realizes that Charlotte used to play softball, she convinces Charlotte that they should get a team going in the trailer park. While everyone at the park suspicions that Mr Wrinkel his hiding something, Charlotte believes he is abusing his wife Suzie. When Charlotte encourages Suzie to leave Fergus, she realizes it wont be an easy thing to do, and when Fergus threatens Charlotte will she back off or will she continue to try and help Suzie?

Taking a trip to Paradise with Charlotte was a real adventure. The trailer park was filled with such a cast of characters, and Charlotte fit in perfectly. After the death of her husband, whom she was married to for 26 years, she was able to start living her life the way she wanted, and even though she sometimes made mistakes it seemed as if she had friends that were there to help her, and friends was something she never really had while Herman was alive. This story had some very humorous moments, but also some very serious ones as well, the one thing that Charlotte tended to do when she was upset or worried was bake pies. I really enjoyed the way the author allowed Charlotte to grow from a frumpy oppressed housewife into a lady with courage strength and a sense of who God wants her to be.

The author does an amazing job weaving this story in a way that allows the characters to capture your heart, I felt like I was visiting old friends while reading this book.

If you enjoy a story with a quirky cast of characters, that deals with a few tough topics then pick up this book, you wont regret it.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me a review copy of this book.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book! August 29, 2011

By CollieLady

Format:Kindle Edition

Charlotte Figg, the diverse cast of characters, her dog -- all were fully developed and differentiated. In real life, everybody has a story. The most unlikely looking people can turn out to be just wonderful and turn one's preconceptions upside down, and the author sure showed that in this book.

The plot was great -- it had depth, there were subplots to add complexity, and I didn't see any holes in it at all.

The storyline held my interest all the way through the book, which I was initially worried about since there was a softball team involved. I didn't want to have to slog through reading about a bunch of pitches and hits. The author did a great job of furthering the story via the softball team.

The story was not predictable and it was believable. It helped that my aunt once purchased a trailer in a trailer park in a far away state, sight unseen, and moved there. Even if I hadn't known anyone who did that, I could see that someone might do that -- Charlotte had to get to Pennsylvania somehow. She had guts, and I liked that.

I also liked how the various problems that came up were solved in such real, heartwarming, and unique ways.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters, wished I had a dog like Lucky, and was especially enchanted with the Hand of God statue. The characters were like real people whom I would like to meet. I felt like I knew them when I finished the book.

This was one of the most original, entertaining, and thought-provoking books I have read in a long time. It would be a great reading group selection because there is so much to talk about, and it is not boring. I am so glad that Joyce Magnin has written a few more books. I am looking forward to reading them all, and I hope she writes many more.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful! July 16, 2011

By D. Mayne

Format:Paperback

Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise evokes a wide range of emotions. I found myself laughing one minute and crying the next. As Charlotte moves through all the quirky scenes in the book, readers are slowly offered glimpses into her past to show her motivation. I love the subtle inspirational message, "the hand," the quirky characters I can relate to, the softball team, the pies...and, well, all the extra little touches that make this book so enjoyable! Joyce Magnin is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.