Saving Cicadas [Paperback]

Nicole Seitz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

"It was about four years ago, the last trip we ever took together--my mother, sister, grandparents and me. Course, we didn't know it at the time. You never know something like that, like it's the last one you'll ever get, till it's just a memory, hanging like mist. This is what happened that summer, true as I can tell it. Not a one of us was ever the same."

Part road trip, part mystery, and completely unexpected, Saving Cicadas picks you up in one place and puts you down someplace else entirely. It's an eloquent reminder that life is a miracle--and even the smallest soul is a gift.

"...a surprisingly creative tale that will leave readers guessing until the end."

-River Jordan, author of Saints in Limbo

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This beguiling, inspirational family-first tale from Lowcountry native Seitz (A Hundred Years of Happiness) follows the revelatory and haunting journey of a single mother from South Carolina who discovers she's pregnant and needs to clear her head to plan her next step. Priscilla Lynn Macy quits her job and hits the road with her daughters, Rainey Dae, 17, who has Down syndrome, and Janie Doe, her precocious eight-year-old. Grandma Mona's in the backseat with her husband, Poppy Grayson. Janie's and Grandma Mona's perspectives on Priscilla's situation invigorate Seitz's folksy prose as Priscilla looks for Harlan Bradfield, Janie's dad, who took off one day on his motorcycle. The tribe ends up at the Macy ancestral home in Forest Pines, S.C., where Priscilla reconnects with her half-brother, Pastor Fritz Rosier, who helps her make peace with past mistakes and to decide about the future. Seitz has a gift for creating wonderful characters, especially the young girls, and while she's strident in her antiabortion stance, this tale's spooky sweet dénouement includes a magical twist about spirited little Janie that's marvelously memorable. (Dec.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595545034
• ISBN-13: 978-1595545039
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nicole Seitz is the author several novels - Beyond Molasses Creek, The Inheritance of Beauty, Saving Cicadas, A Hundred Years of Happiness, Trouble the Water, and The Spirit of Sweetgrass. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism, and also has a degree in Illustration from Savannah College of Art & Design. Her paintings are featured on the covers of her books. Visit her web site at www.nicoleseitz.com for more information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seitz Writes A Hit!, December 17, 2009

By 

Keith Brewer "Amber" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saving Cicadas (Paperback)

Saving Cicadas is a truly moving book. I always appreciate a book that can surprise me. I began to read this book with no clear expectations, but it soon became apparent that the author was trying to send a message. In a world that is almost completely pro-choice, I was very grateful to find that Ms. Seitz was offering both viewpoints. Not only does she represent the ideas and beliefs an unwed mother with limited options, but she also shows us how the mother's young daughters feel on the subject. It is easy to change our values as we become adults. Things that were once black and white become gray. We can delude ourselves into thinking that a woman should be able to choose whether or not she has a baby, that it isn't really murder. Ms. Seitz brings abortion to light through the eyes of child. Janie's questions and insight force the reader to dig deep and face the truth. I love this book because of the excellent writing, engaging characters, and strong sense of purpose. I would recommend it to all mothers and all those considering abortions. I feel that this book could also be very useful in talking to teens pregnancy and abortion. Ms. Seitz is a courageous author who is unafraid to speak out against social injustices. I applaud her efforts and praise her ability to tell a good yarn.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Book that Beats You Over the Head, December 31, 2009

By 

K. Andrews "Speed Reader" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Saving Cicadas (Paperback)

I picked up this book because I liked the cover and the blurb on the back sounded intriguing. The beginning of the book was OK - I liked Janie's precociousness, and was interested in the family's history. However, I do not think it was that well written - Seitz uses statements like "Little did we know what was to come would change our life forever" to keep a reader's interest, over and over again. The writing is choppy, and the book doesn't get actually interesting until the last few chapters. Also, while there is a twist at the end, anybody who has seen a very famous movie starring a former action hero (I don't want to say the title and give away the ending), would have seen the twist coming within the first few chapters.

Another problem I had with this book was the anti-abortion stance. When I picked up the book, I had no idea how religious the book would be or how much Seitz would use the story to criticize abortion. I'm not a religious person, and completely disagreed with Seitz' viewpoint, and didn't appreciate being tricked into buying some gimmicky 'God is Great' book. There should be some warning, along the lines of "Buyer Beware", so that unaware readers such as myself aren't clobbered over the head with Seitz' one-sided views on how women handle abortion.

And lastly, her descriptions of angels and heaven and God are completely cliche and bored me endlessly. Even if the book was too religious for my taste, I would have been able to appreciate good writing if good writing is in front of me. However, Seitz has poor descriptive abilities and too often relies on cliche.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Holy drivel, January 21, 2010

By 

D. Quinn (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Saving Cicadas (Paperback)

There are reasons that I avoid reading Christian fiction - this book encompasses all of those reasons, and then some. I was extremely disappointed with this novel, which did not bill itself as Christian-themed, but rather as a Southern family drama. Seitz did write some interesting characters, people whose lives I could have been interested in learning more about; her overly simplistic handling of Priscilla's unplanned pregnancy, however, and her preachy, anti-abortion message that read like bad propoganda completely turned me off even the most compelling moments in the novel - not that there were many to begin with. Add to these elements a lot of off-putting talk about God and angels and 'surprise' plot twists that were wholly predictable and you get a dull novel that I couldn't wait to finish. The book description and marketing plan should absolutely indicate the heavy-handed Christian content so that readers can make a more informed purchasing decision.