Customer Reviews

Heart's Desire: A Novel

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After a year in college, Hallie Palmer has all summer to figure out how to pay for her next year at college. Because if she can't come up with some cash, she'll need to drop out after a semester and work full time. Fortunately, her foster father, Bernard, offers to let her work in his garden again--and a high-stakes poker game has come to Cosgrove County, Ohio--and Hallie is something of a gambler. But both of these offers come with strings. Bernard has broken up with his longtime lover, Gil, and is despondent to the point of playing suicidal opera arias. And the late-night poker games come with a bit of a moral dilemma attached.

Then there's the virginity issue. Hallie thinks she may be a sex-maniac because she can't stop thinking about sex. There's the boyfriend from school--the one she was just at the point of having sex with. Then there's the ex-boyfriend from high-school. The one who seems to have more girlfriends than he can shake a stick at. And the nerdy future Bill Gates who's had a crush on her since fourth grade. Finally, there's the town bookie's cute grandson--even if he is math impaired and seems to read and write stories about death (and Bernard picks him up with his gaydar). Between the difficulties of finding a suitable guy and Hallie's own ambivalent feelings toward sex, love, and forever, she starts to wonder if she's going to be carrying her virginity into old age.

Author Laura Pedersen has created a houseful of delightful and vivid characters. Bernard, his larger-than-life mother (who is always ready to protest for justice and point out the Unitarians who have served America and the world so well), Bernard's ex-lover, Gil, the alcoholic chimpanzee, his mother's Italian lover, and even the town cop are all fully realized and fun. Hallie's life is full as she attempts to deal with the people in her life--helping them, but also suffering from an over-abundance of their attempts to help her out as well.

HEART'S DESIRE has a strong chick-lit feel--it's very much the story of a young woman's growth, with a strong element of humor as well as solid emotional content. It's the kind of book that makes you stay up way too late at night--reading just one more chapter. I'm very happy to recommend HEART'S DESIRE highly.

I really enjoyed BEGINNER'S LUCK, the first book in this projected four-book series by Laura Pedersen. I love the intrepid teenage heroine, Hallie Palmer, and the author's straightforward, funny, clever writing style and turns-of-phrase. Laura Pedersen's books bring to mind the charm, eccentricity, and small-town appeal of BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE for an older teenage audience.

Hallie's story continues in the second book, HEART'S DESIRE, during the summer after her first year away at college. Hallie returns to the wildly eccentric, wonderful Stockton household, pre-occupied with (someday) losing her virginity, finding true love, and figuring out if the two are inextricably linked. She's also faced with new crises to solve, both in her old family and in her new one, and another 60-second mystery, in addition to figuring out how to fund her second year of art school (legally).

The Sex issue comes up again; actually, it is pervasive throughout HEART'S DESIRE, as 17-year-old Hallie grapples with the complexities of love and sex. Laura Pedersen again handles this subject exceptionally well, with humor and sensitivity.

I enjoyed the interviews with the author at the end of each book, and look forward to continuation of the Hallie Palmer series.

Enjoy!

Sherri Caldwell, co-author, The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss!

I hated to leave the Stockton household when Hallie went off to collage at the end of Beginner's Luck. But, when Hallie comes home after her first year at college in Heart's Desire, I came home, too. I missed Olivia and her way of teaching; Bernard and his way of cooking and Hallie and her way of trying to find her self, her money for school next year and her sexuality.

The characters are just as outrageous, funny and lovable as in 'Luck.' And the teen angst Hallie goes through is so real and painful, one has to feel for her.

What a wonderful series Pedersen has produced. I can hardly wait for the next one in the 'Hallie sagas.'

Heart's Desire is the continuing story of an adoring girl named Hallie Palmer. Hallie is struggling living away at college though her legal guardian stops by on a regular basis. But when Bernard Stockton appears during finals, he sticks around until he steals Hallie away. Once Hallie returns to her home town, she finds that her help is required everywhere. Bernard wants his love, Gil, to return to their peaceful home. Then he decides that he wants to adopt a baby. Olivia, Bernard's mother, and her lover are at odds over marriage. Hallie's sister seems to be in trouble. The Stockton's yard looks as if nobody tended to it in the months since she had left! Meanwhile, Hallie has her own problem.

Hallie is struggling to pay her college tuition. She tries to stay away from gambling. However, gambling brings in a lot more money than her odd jobs do. Hallie also is dealing with love. Ever since ending things with her high school love, Craig, she has not had a boyfriend longer than a few weeks. She is concerned with her virginity since others at college seem to sleep with just about anyone. And readers know when you ask Olivia for advice, you better be prepared with anything coming out of her mouth.

Laura Pedersen's books are always enjoyable and Heart's Desire is no exception. Readers will feel for Hallie as she struggles to find herself, along with money, during a very eventful summer. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel, Full House.

It's impossible not to fall for the winningly eccentric cast of characters in Laura Pedersen's laugh-out-loud sequel to her acclaimed novel BEGINNER'S LUCK. Pedersen reunites 17-year-old card-shark Hallie Palmer with the zany Stockton clan, including cause-obsessed sixty-something radical Olivia and her flamboyant son Bernard, whose unparalleled passion for antiques, old musicals and theme dinners makes for never a dull (or hungry) moment in the household. Add in a highly unusual pet --- Rocky, the alcoholic chimpanzee --- and hilarity ensues around nearly every corner. But underneath its witty repartee and humorous goings-on, this novel poses more serious questions of the heart that everyone can relate to, namely: "What does your heart desire?" and "How do you know when someone is 'the one'"?

If Hallie had the answers, she'd feel a lot more content as her first year away at college comes to an end and she finds herself more mixed up about love (and lust) than ever, despite her numerous string of short-lived boyfriends. In addition to her romantic woes and raging hormones, she also suffers from financial worries and must somehow find a way to come up with next year's tuition or be forced to drop out. With her parents cash-strapped from raising seven other kids and her previous high-yielding pursuits of horse betting and casino games ruled out now that she's gone straight, she accepts a summer job back in her hometown doing yard work at the Stocktons.

In spite of their eccentricities, they were the ones who had taken her in two years earlier and managed to reform her status as the town miscreant, a title she'd rightly garnered after dropping out of high school, running away from home and having several brushes with the law. Now, however, it's time for Hallie to return the favor by helping Bernard Stockton cope with his depression over the break-up of his twelve-year relationship with Gil, who had left him and started dating a woman. For once, Bernard doesn't have a Bette Davis quote or a blueberry blintz recipe in his arsenal that can bring back his usual good spirits and high humor.

And in another mark of just how much she'd matured since leaving for school, Hallie is approached by her frazzled mother (pregnant again, this time with twins) for help in trying to get her hard-partying younger sister back on track during a streak of adolescent rebellion. For the first time, Hallie glimpses the pressures and responsibilities that come with being an adult, and despite her shock at being on the giving, rather than receiving, end of advice, she rises to the challenge with typical aplomb.

While excelling at helping others with their troubles, Hallie falters when it comes to making sense of her own romantic life, and a new love interest combined with an ongoing attraction to her old high school flame doesn't help matters. Meanwhile, Bernard's decision to adopt a Chinese baby proves to be just what he needs to bring back his feisty show-tune singing, theme-party hosting ways of old. Convinced there's no obstacle that a good redecorating project can't overcome, he throws himself with new vigor into revamping the house and gardens to win over the adoption agency.

By summer's end, several surprising turns of events have transpired for both Hallie and the Stocktons as they come to mutually discover that love can arrive in unsuspecting ways and patience pays off in spades because "Your heart's desire may actually be an as-yet-undealt card." With its appealingly honest protagonist, clever dialogue peppered with hilarious one-liners, and buoyant combination of charm and feistiness, HEART'S DESIRE demonstrates the importance of friendship in deciphering matters of the heart.

--- (...)

This book is laugh-out-loud fun. After finishing it I immediately went back and reread BEGINNER'S LUCK and realized how many of the good lines and details I had forgotten, or rushed through too quickly the first time around. (Though it's not necessary to have read the first to enjoy this one.) Pedersen tells cheerful and sweet-natured stories that are a relief from all the rape, hate, incest, terrorism and war that we constantly see and read about - a refreshing change, or a temporary escape. The town is also wonderfully inviting and reminds me of growing up outside of St. Louis in the late 1950s. The books are intelligently written with well-developed likeable characters and I look forward to the next installment. These books are modern in that the characters all have to deal with real world problems of prejudice, a tough job market, expensive college educations, and yet the themes of love, home, and friendship are universal and thus they'll never go out of style. I also recommend them for teenage girls as the books deal with sex and that sort of thing with a good moral compass. It helps to be older in order to understand all the references to music, poetry, and literature. However, Pedersen does give enough context for most of these so that anyone can understand how they fit into the story.

As much as I loved BEGINNER'S LUCK and HEART'S DESIRE, having now finished the entire series, THE BIG SHUFFLE and BEST BET were my favorites, perhaps because by then I felt that I knew the characters so well. I'm glad Pedersen didn't introduce too many new people as she went along and concluded the main storylines that she started. Only I don't see why the series should end now. Perhaps a write-in campaign can continue the adventures of Hallie Palmer. There are so many things I loved about these books, top on the list being humor and humanity, but best of all was how Pedersen quietly and cleverly reversed the roles and Hallie takes the adventurous part normally reserved for the guy, and actually has a man give HER an ultimatum because she doesn't want to settle down without having the maximum amount of fun first.

Hallie Palmer, now a college student, has had one crazy year. She has already begun to reform her former gambler ways by concentrating on other problems, as finding the tuition money she desperately needs, dealing with her legal guardian Bernard, and trying to figure out her own relationships. As the 2nd oldest in a family of 8 children, it's up to her to find the money to go to college. Bernard employs her as the gardener and doing yard work. Hallie also has to come up with a plan to get Bernard reunited with his ex-boyfriend, Gil. But Hallie has romantic problems of her own and can't seem to keep any guy interested. Hallie's freshman year is surely full of surprises.

When I first started reading Heart's Desire, I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. The crazy characters, including a chimp named Rocky, were entertaining and the dialogue was funny. The story got better during the middle and once I got to that point, I couldn't put the book down. As the character is a college student, older readers will relate to Hallie more. I didn't read the prequel, Beginner's Luck, but I think it would be more helpful in understanding the story and the characters. I think that if you stick with the book, you'll be glad to read it. I'm looking forward to reading more about Hallie Palmer.

Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
(...)
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews

Had not heard of HEART'S DESIRE until we read it in my book club. Immediately read BEGINNER'S LUCK afterward. Two fun and wonderful books. All mixed together is humor, love story, coming of age, little mystery, great depiction of small town Ammerican life, ruminations on friendship and family, hilarious dialogue. Can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy these charming and clever stories. They made me laugh and smile and think.

It's impossible not to fall for the winningly eccentric cast of characters in Laura Pedersen's laugh-out-loud sequel to her acclaimed novel BEGINNER'S LUCK. Pedersen reunites 17-year-old card-shark Hallie Palmer with the zany Stockton clan, including cause-obsessed sixty-something radical Olivia and her flamboyant son Bernard, whose unparalleled passion for antiques, old musicals and theme dinners makes for never a dull (or hungry) moment in the household. Add in a highly unusual pet --- Rocky, the alcoholic chimpanzee --- and hilarity ensues around nearly every corner. But underneath its witty repartee and humorous goings-on, this novel poses more serious questions of the heart that everyone can relate to, namely: "What does your heart desire?" and "How do you know when someone is 'the one'"?

If Hallie had the answers, she'd feel a lot more content as her first year away at college comes to an end and she finds herself more mixed up about love (and lust) than ever, despite her numerous string of short-lived boyfriends. In addition to her romantic woes and raging hormones, she also suffers from financial worries and must somehow find a way to come up with next year's tuition or be forced to drop out. With her parents cash-strapped from raising seven other kids and her previous high-yielding pursuits of horse betting and casino games ruled out now that she's gone straight, she accepts a summer job back in her hometown doing yard work at the Stocktons.

In spite of their eccentricities, they were the ones who had taken her in two years earlier and managed to reform her status as the town miscreant, a title she'd rightly garnered after dropping out of high school, running away from home and having several brushes with the law. Now, however, it's time for Hallie to return the favor by helping Bernard Stockton cope with his depression over the break-up of his twelve-year relationship with Gil, who had left him and started dating a woman. For once, Bernard doesn't have a Bette Davis quote or a blueberry blintz recipe in his arsenal that can bring back his usual good spirits and high humor.

And in another mark of just how much she'd matured since leaving for school, Hallie is approached by her frazzled mother (pregnant again, this time with twins) for help in trying to get her hard-partying younger sister back on track during a streak of adolescent rebellion. For the first time, Hallie glimpses the pressures and responsibilities that come with being an adult, and despite her shock at being on the giving, rather than receiving, end of advice, she rises to the challenge with typical aplomb.

While excelling at helping others with their troubles, Hallie falters when it comes to making sense of her own romantic life, and a new love interest combined with an ongoing attraction to her old high school flame doesn't help matters. Meanwhile, Bernard's decision to adopt a Chinese baby proves to be just what he needs to bring back his feisty show-tune singing, theme-party hosting ways of old. Convinced there's no obstacle that a good redecorating project can't overcome, he throws himself with new vigor into revamping the house and gardens to win over the adoption agency.

By summer's end, several surprising turns of events have transpired for both Hallie and the Stocktons as they come to mutually discover that love can arrive in unsuspecting ways and patience pays off in spades because "Your heart's desire may actually be an as-yet-undealt card." With its appealingly honest protagonist, clever dialogue peppered with hilarious one-liners, and buoyant combination of charm and feistiness, HEART'S DESIRE demonstrates the importance of friendship in deciphering matters of the heart.

--- Reviewed by Joni Rendon