The Sweet In-Between: A Novel [Paperback]

Sheri Reynolds (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009

"Tender . . . [a] sweet coming-of-age story, thanks to its young, wise-beyond-her-years, Scout Finch—esque heroine."
–Entertainment Weekly

Kenny Lugo has grown up in a family that’s not really hers. Her mother died of cancer when Kenny was very young, and Aunt Glo–who is, in fact, her daddy’s girlfriend–took her in when her father was sent to jail for drug trafficking. Now, as Kenny approaches her eighteenth birthday and the end of the government checks Glo has been receiving looms, she is desperate to prove that this house and these people really do belong to her. But when a senseless murder occurs next door in their small coastal town, Kenny can’t get it out of her mind. She has always been consumed by the ways in which she is different–and inherently unworthy–so the unjust death of a young woman with everything to live for becomes an obsession.

In the end, hers is a story of an unforgettable young woman whose redemption comes from a source she never would have imagined.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bestseller Reynolds (The Rapture of Canaan) delivers again with this story of an embattled teenage girl growing up in a Virginia tidewater town. Kendra Kenny Lugo has it tough: her mother is dead, her father is in jail, and she is what others might call gender-confused (the year before I cut off all my hair and started binding myself up). Living with her father's girlfriend, Aunt Glo, Kenny is approaching 18 and facing the possibility of being kicked out with a sense of impending doom. When their neighbor, habitually drunk Jarvis Stanley, accidentally kills a college girl, Kenny becomes fixated on the tragedy. Meanwhile, Aunt Glo struggles with painkiller addiction while raising her own kids, 12-year-old Quincy and teenaged Tim-Tim, and her runaway daughter's seven-year-old, Daphne. Kenny makes a fascinating, cagey narrator, revealing an unexpectedly dangerous family dynamic with a matter-of-factness that belies her fear and anger, and Reynolds weds expository memories with Kenny's day-to-day so seamlessly, it looks easy. Simple prose rich with subtext, convincing dialogue and a fascinating protagonist combine to produce a heartstring-plucker that's explicit, tender, sad and hopeful. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[A]s true as butter in your grits....[a] powerful drama with pathos, poetry, and, unexpectedly, hope."
—People

"[A] sweet coming-of-age story, thanks to its young, wise-beyond-her-years, Scout Finch-esque heroine."
—Entertainment Weekly

"Reynolds...is a gifted writer with a deceptively simple style and a keen ear for dialogue."
—The Boston Globe

“Reynolds moves so smoothly back and forth between the past and the present that her novel feels like a keg of dynamite sitting on a slow-burning fuse…as riveting as a fast-paced thriller.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Simple prose rich with subtext, convincing dialogue and a fascinating protagonist combine to produce a heartstring-plucker that's explicit, tender, sad and hopeful.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)



Praise for Sheri Reynolds

Firefly Cloak

“Reynolds’s newest novel delivers more of the rich southern atmosphere and coming-of-age drama that made The Rapture of Canaan (1995) an Oprah Book Club selection and bestseller.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“Reynolds is the newest and most exciting voice to emerge in contemporary southern fiction.”
—San Francisco Bay Guardian


A Gracious Plenty

“Reynolds is a wonderful storyteller and master of pastoral imagery.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Mesmerizing . . . Reynolds’s earthly insights make for a redemptive finale—but not before some satisfying storms of retribution.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“An imaginative tour de force . . . Pushing beyond the boundaries of her earlier work, Ms. Reynolds has created a life-affirming novel that gathers the joy and pain of living into a celebration of what it means to be human.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch


The Rapture of Canaan

“Ms. Reynolds’s poetic gifts are uncommonly powerful. In The Rapture of Canaan, she tells a truly rapturous love story and presents two unforgettable characters: the teenage heroine and her skeptical but stalwart grandmother, from whom she learns about the acceptance of loss, the pragmatism that must underlie any abiding love, and the place in every heart where God resides, waiting to reveal himself.”
—New York Times


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307393909
• ISBN-13: 978-0307393906
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #947,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SWEET READ, January 6, 2009

By 

Pamela A. Poddany "Book Freak!" (Toledo, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Sweet In-Between: A Novel (Hardcover)

The Sweet In-Between

I LOVE Sheri Reynolds books. This woman can write a story, spin a yarn, tell you like it is. She is entertaining and down to earth, she knows the human heart, she can make you laugh and make you cry.

We meet Kendra - "Kenny" - who is living with her "Aunt" Glo, who is actually her dad's girlfriend. Her dad is in prison and her mom is dead. Among the starring cast of characters are the children of Aunt Glo -- her sons, Quincy and Tim-Tim and her grandaughter, seven year old Daphne. Daphne's mom, Constance, Aunt Glo's daughter, has taken off and is on the road to destruction. Constance is into heavy drug use so Daphne is being raised by her grandmother. And let's not forget Tim-Tim's girl, Sneaky. She is also a great character and quite an addition to the family. And little Daphne? That girl can cuss like a trucker, all the while playing with her dolls.



Kenny loves her family. She misses her mom and her dad. She hates visiting her dad in prison and tries to get out of going every time they are allowed to visit. She worries about everything, but mostly she worries about Aunt Glo kicking her out when she turns 18. So, she decides to make herself the best person she can be and to always be there for Aunt Glo. She helps around the house, works hard, does whatever Aunt Glo asks/needs her to do, babysits Daphne, trying so hard to prove herself a necessary part of the family.

Kenny also has mixed up feelings regarding her sexuality. She hates her body and binds her chest up daily with Ace bandages, along with wearing her hair super short. She is the target of much bullying and is picked on at school constantly. She refuses to use the ladies room while at school. There is one teacher at her school who sees Kenny for the kind, sweet person she really is and this teacher reaches out to Kenny via a camera and having her assist in working on the yearbook.

The book opens with a murder taking place right next door to Aunt Glo's. Two college-aged girls mistake the other half of the duplex for a home they rented and tragedy strikes. This deeply affects Kenny and everyone else at Aunt Glo's home.

This is a WONDERFUL book. Kenny is one of the best characters I have met in a long time. Kenny is such a caring, loving, giving girl, just trying to do the right thing and love her 'family'. She is so confused and really has no one to turn to and talk with to help her through her many questions about her body and her life. This family is poor and struggling and almost trashy, but they all love and care for each other.

Miss Reynolds writes with such genuis that you can see the mildew and mold growing around the bathtub. You can see the smoothness of the water where the family is fishing. You can see poor Kenny struggling with the Ace bandage that she binds herself with. Such talent! Such a great author! Such a good book!

Miss Reynolds has written other books and they are:

Firefly Cloak
A Gracious Plenty
The Rapture of Canaan
Bitterroot Landing

I have read and enjoyed every single one of her books and that now includes this one. Check out these books and read them all. You will not be sorry!

Thank you!
Pam

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engagingly Delightful, December 22, 2008

By 

Robin Gage Evans "Gadget Lover" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sweet In-Between: A Novel (Kindle Edition)

The main character in this book, Kendra (Kenny) is immediately likable in her enigmatic way. Her ability to survive and cope under a series of life altering circumstances makes the book a thought provoking page turner. Great/fast read. I loved it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime poignancy, January 14, 2009

By 

Linda Cassidy Lewis (CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sweet In-Between: A Novel (Hardcover)

Sheri Reynolds has a true gift for pulling you into her characters and never letting go. If you can read this book and not ache to hug "Kenny" and tell her everything will be all right, not brace to fight anyone who does her wrong, not yearn to know how she's doing now, then fine character-driven tales are wasted on you.