Huelga House [Paperback]

Bonnie Hearn Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

It is 1965, and the Delano Grape Strike has divided California's Central Valley, an area that depends on agriculture for its economic survival. When student activist LaDonna Tuttle is murdered, her brother, Coy Lee, travels to Delano in search of her suspected killer, someone who works as an organizer for Cesar Chavez and his union of farm workers. Coy pretends to join the striking workers, where he finds more questions than answers. Where has he seen the defiant union worker before? And why does she distrust him so much? What did his best friend fail to tell him the night of LaDonna's murder? Why has his friend's wealthy, flamboyant mother really financed his trip to Delano? Who is trying to frighten Coy into leaving town? What began as an act of revenge becomes a fight for survival as more acts of violence are committed, and Coy is entangled in a forbidden love affair. His search for the murderer culminates at the union's Huelga House, where he discovers a secret that can destroy his life and his world. Set during one of the most tumultuous periods in California's history, Huelga House is a story about hating, healing, and the price we pay for both.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Amid farmworker strikes and illicit love affairs in California's San Joaquin Valley during the 1960s, Coy Lee Tuttle, a grape-grower's son, hunts down his sister's suspected killer, a protester from the ranks of Cesar Chavez. Coy Lee undergoes a political coming of age as he discovers a devastating secret about his family in Bonnie Hearn's Huelga House, another debut novel.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Bonnie Hearn has worked since 1982 as an editor/writer for The Fresno Bee, a major California newspaper, and as a columnist/contributing editor for three national magazines. A national writing conference speaker and contest judge, she is the author of four nonfiction books, three of them for writers, and teaches a writing workshop in Fresno. Her work has appeared in publications such as Writer's Digest, Family Circle, Writing For Money, American Writers Review, ByLine, Editor-Writer and Pig Iron.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Salvo Press (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930486219
• ISBN-13: 978-1930486218
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,232,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Times They Were A-Changing, November 30, 2001

By 

A. Brudner (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Huelga House (Paperback)

In his quest to hunt down his sister's suspected killer, college student Coy Lee Tuttle is compelled to come to terms with his beliefs, his friends, his family, and his world -- the volatile world of farmers, migrant workers and union organizers in 1960's California. Bonnie Hearn has written a page-turner that stays focused on the mystery while evoking images and memories of such things as the draft, protests, union organizing rallies, Dylan, and a period when our country itself was coming of age. Huelga House is a well-written, moving and compelling find.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Central California in Conflict: A Fight for Survival, September 17, 2001

By 

J. Alger (Oro Valley, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Huelga House (Paperback)

Hearn has captured the turmoil that affected California farmworkers and owners in 1965. This was a tumultuous time, a time when traditional farmworking practices were challenged, a time that changed farm labor relationships forever.

Hearn's characters take on a life of their own as she leads the reader on a suspenseful journey to solve the murder of the protagonist's sister, a farm labor activist. It is high interest, exciting, historically accurate and just plain good reading. Huelga House is an excellent, well-crafted story. You won't want to put it down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Story, June 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Huelga House (Paperback)

This coming of age and mystery story transforms us to the San Joaquin Valley in California during the grape strike. I found it very interesting and a captivating read.