Customer Reviews

Fireworks Over Toccoa

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In large pot add one part "The Bridges of Madison County", two parts "The Notebook", cover with Coca Cola and sprinkle with one heaping teaspoon pyrotechnics. Consume in front of a crackling fire with a bottle of your favorite wine, keeping tissues handy in case of overflow.

Author Stepakoff has crafted the perfect book. I was so riveted by FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA that I stayed up half the night reading. I won't describe the plot because the product description has already done that. What I will do is rave about how engrossing the characters were, and how gripping the plot, and how deep the heartache is in this fine little book which is destined to be a national bestseller. It has all the ingredients of a hit movie, as well.

The only drawback that I could find was one lengthy and overly graphic love scene, which may somewhat limit the scope of the reading audience. I know I would think twice before passing it on to, say, one of my mother's friends. And I most definitely would not want to be the high school teacher suggesting that his students read it, although I know they would LOVE it.

That said, the rest of the book is flawless. One will laugh, cry, think, and ponder their life's choices while reading FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA. Read this book as soon as you can get your hands on a copy. It's that good.

In Fireworks over Toccoa, we are transported back to the end of World War II, when Lily was awaiting the return of a husband she hadn't seen for three years, and had only known in marriage for two weeks. A few days before his return, Lily fell suddenly in love with Jake, a pyrotechnics specialist she met in a field, under the fallout of dazzling fireworks. Decades later, discovering a memento of past love, she tells her story to a museum curator and her granddaughter, Colleen, who is anxious about her impending marriage.

Unlike most reviewers here, I cannot rave about Fireworks Over Toccoa, although I recommend it with reservations. It is a mildly enjoyable read, oriented toward lovers of romance, with the same theme as Bridges of Madison County, but lacking R.J. Waller's flair with simple, evocative language.

However, the novel does have believable characters and realistic, natural dialogue. It allows us to experience yearning for all-encompassing soul-and-body love, to taste it fully but confront the difficult choice of whether to let it go. It enables us to enter into the minds of the characters, and experience both romantic fulfillment and the confusing clash of conflicting emotions, such as Lily experienced after an evening with Jake: "She just stared at him, pondering. Had he changed his mind? Had she imagined it? Was she the one initiating it? She suddenly realized that she was sitting in this car, but she wasn't starting it. She was ready to stay and ready to go."

On the other hand, we do frequently have to tolerate trite language, and occasionally ponderous descriptions: "As she looked up, light refracted in the tawny trails still lingering like viscous nectar from a great tupelo comb hewn and oozing and over the clouds."

Having spent time in kudzu-infested wilderness, I liked the magic of the kudzu-covered cabin. La Stella di Lily, fireworks formulas, and the coca cola glass art all were intriguing. The reference to the legend of the Cherokee princess was an effective although obvious metaphor. The lovemaking scene sensuously and tenderly evoked Lily's complete but momentary physical and emotional fulfillment.

But for the most part, Jeffrey Stepakoff's writing doesn't "sing"; it barely hums. Although the focus on fireworks in post-War Georgia is original, the story and characters are not. I also was distracted by unnecessary mundane details (the preparation of lunch) and extraneous characters surrounding Colleen whom we did not need to know. As a story within a frame - Colleen getting married and her grandmother's storytelling - it fully involves us in a past reminiscence, but leaves us feeling incomplete in regard to our character in present time.

While the author elaborates fully upon the pleasures of emotional awakening and romance, he presents the choice of duty in a few dry words, when he could have made the satisfactions of commitment and responsibility more appealing. Making the adult choice is not only sacrifice of personal desires. It has its own substantial and enduring rewards.

Lovers of escapist romance are likely to delight in this novel. Readers seeking quality fiction will probably be disappointed, but may still enjoy a few hours of Jake and Lily's fireworks.

Holy crap I love this book!!! From the first chapter, NO from the first page I fell in love. The moment I read on the back cover that Stepakoff had been involved with many wonderful TV shows, including Dawson's Creek, I was very curious about the story. I don't know if that is the reason I could not stop relating the book to other books, TV shows and movies but every time I turned the page I was reminded of something else I loved. I caught myself - unsurprisingly - remembering some of my favorite moments in Dawson 's Creek (Grams' one great kiss). Fireworks Over Toccoa has the Southern charm of a Sarah Addison Allen novel but the way it was told kept reminding me of Titanic.

I continued to think I would find something, just one negative thing, because this book couldn't really be this good and finally, towards the end, I knew it was going to be a bit too predictable (which isn't even the worst thing I can say about some books) and then BAM! my whole predictable ending was shot down, as well as a chance of finding a flaw in the story. This was truly a lovely, delightful and delicious story. It made me want to sit down with a Coca-Cola in a bottle and watch some fireworks.

I love that the story came about after Stepakoff began research for a TV pilot that never came to be. The characters were so real, and I was so lost in the story that I forgot to wonder which parts of the story were actually real.

Love it!!

I loved the voice in this book, a novel about Lily Woodward, living during World War II with a soldier husband, in a marriage pushed on her at an early age by her parents. She struggles with her wants versus her shoulds, much like The Bridges of Madison County. Do we do the right thing, or follow our heart? Lily struggles with this, too. You'll find yourself cheering her on, and won't be disappointed. I really enjoyed this one. While it wasn't the best book I've ever read, it was a very good read, and one I would recommend to friends. It's a great book to tuck in your bag for an in-flight read, or to read on the beach on vacation. It has enough romance and angst to keep you riveted. It's not a book I couldn't stand to put down for awhile, but it is one I always found myself coming back to. I think it would be enjoyed by mature women who don't mind a little romance and even some descriptive sex, and would not be appropriate for teen readers.

While I loved the romantic aspect of this book, what impressed me most was the beautiful setting of the town of Toccoa, GA and the small town charm it exudes. The townspeople were sharply drawn and details made you feel like you have met them and you can picture them in the sure-to-be-made movie. The book begins with Colleen and Drew discussing their upcoming wedding and then shifts to Colleen going to visit her grandmother Lily and she is showing uncertainty regarding the upcoming vows. When Lily reads the headline in the day's newspaper she is startled to discover that a long ago buried explosive artillery shell with a formula written in Italian was found and is on display at the local museum. She and Colleen go to the museum and tell the Captain working there that the formula is actually a fireworks formula written especially for Lily years ago by her lover in 1945.
Lily was a married woman of three years and her husband was off at war and due home soon. Having lived in Toccoa in a wealthy family Lily was known by the entire town and her parents, she was expected to endure social niceties and behave with decorum. While driving home from the grocery store and pulls her car off the side of the road where she meets the man who is setting up a fireworks display. His name is Jake Russo and when Lily gets too close to his display he throws her to the ground to save her life and an instant bond is formed. They share dinner and friendship and much more in a four day span before her husband, Paul, is due home from war.
This book is romantic and delves deeply into the war time and how small town life was simpler and beautiful and brings it back to present day to wrap up Lily's story and how a chance meeting can change the course of one's life.

A good, warm and passionate love story, suitable for men and women...reminiscent of "Bridges of Madison County" in many ways.
The outcome may be evident, due in part to "Bridges of Madison County," but the story is moving and heartrending.

A story of two roads, two lives, coming together and of roads taken and not taken, told in the setting of War World II and a small Southern town, Toccoa. Georgia.

This books strikes a chord, in young and old, in men and women. A book well worth living as we consider some of our own roads, those taken and those not taken.

I was very excited when I first saw this book. Growing up in Georgia I thought it would be interesting to see how well the author covered the area and attractions. I was impressed with the author's ability to discuss the landscape and area of where he was from Buckhead to Toccoa. It was very accurate.
The story kept you connected the entire time and you felt the emotional forces that you should with a good novel.
The drawback to me is that the author is being compared to Nicholas Sparks. Nicholas Sparks is an author that connects above this level and brings out emotion when reading that you don't want to express as a reader but find yourself doing anyway. This author does not do that, however, that is not necessarily a bad thing... it is just not Nicholas Sparks.
I think the novel is a good read. I thought it was going to be more predictable than it was but a few twists surprised me along the ride.
One clear issue that I had was that each voice from the characters seemed to be smeared together. They were not give the distinction of their own chaper for their perspective, it was just kind of mixed in.
Overall a good book and I would still give the author another chance and read the next book he has come out if I had time.

I just finished reading "Fireworks Over Toccoa" by Jeffrey Stepakoff. This is the first book he has written, although he has been a successful playright for many years.

The story begins in the present time, and takes the reader back to the 1940's, right when America entered WW2. The setting is in Toccoa, a small city outside of Atlanta, and the story focuses on the life of Lily Davis Woodward.

Lily's father, Walter Davis, is a Coca Cola executive, and the family is considered very prestigious in their small town. Lily married very young, and her mother, Honey, has many expectations involving Lily's marriage. Lily's husband to be, Paul Woodward, is an employee of her father's, and was considered to be a good match for Lily.

Soon after Lily and Paul's wedding, Paul was sent overseas to help fight in WW2. Lily was left at home, like many women in those days, to set up their house and to contribute from home to the war effort. The sense of pride to be an American was deftly woven through this story.

Shortly before Paul is due to come home, a little over three years from the date he left, a family owned fireworks expert comes to town, to put on the grand 4th of July show for the members of the community. Lily hadn't remembered ever seeing a fireworks show, and in that day and age, the material used to make the colorful fireworks displays was needed for the war effort.

When Lily has a chance encounter with Jake Russo, who is in charge of the show, Lily learns all about the art of making fireworks, and her life changes forever.

I won't describe any more of the plot, as I feel it is best left for the reader to discover.

I feel that there was more that I liked about this story than what I didn't like. For the most part, I enjoyed the characters, and found the information about fireworks quite fascinating. I would have liked to have a bit more detail about Lily's three years without her husband, and some of her earlier years. I also felt that the ending fell a bit flat for me.

Overall, I think that this was a great first book for this author and is definitely a good read. If you liked the Nicholas Sparks or Nicholas Evans books, you will like this book.

My first encounter with Jeffrey Stepakoff was with THE ORCHARD, a delightful love story. FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA was even better. I lived with Lily throughout the book and cried with her at the end. I hunch many who read this book will share my feelings. It is lovely and sad and full of love.

If you love a good love story, read this one!

When you think about it, the focus of this book is the climax of Lily and Jake making love in the middle of a field. That took, what, three fourth's of the book. The set up of the story was of southern duty, loyalty to family, and in the end, loyalty to her war soldier husband. I can understand the desire and passion of waiting for a soldier for 3 years after the impulsive marriage. But to base the story around a love act, has no meat to the message. It was a good read, but wouldn't recommend the book to a true grandma-age lady. I'm proud of Lily's actions at the end of the story. Good message, but lacked a wholesome and ethical message. Thus the 4 star rating.