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The Redheaded Stepchild
 
 

The Redheaded Stepchild [Kindle Edition]

Kelly Hitchcock
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: $2.99 What's this?
Print List Price: $12.99
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Cady O’Donnell is The Redheaded Stepchild, the heroine without any grandiose heroic actions. In this disjointed collection of short stories, we follow Cady as she tries on every hat in the this-is-your-life store to see what fits and works best in the adventures she shares with her special head of hair. Each chapter acts a screaming independent connection between the most formative years of her life, as she meets, lives with, and loses one of the most influential people in her lifetime. Set in a rural community in Minnesota, The Redheaded Stepchild is an archetype of life in small-town America and a testament that the broken family is the new whole family, just as Cady O’Donnell shows how the unwanted stepchild can be a everyday hero.

About the Author

Kelly I. Hitchcock is an up-and-coming writer in the Austin, Texas area. She is author of various poems about the randomness of life, several short stories, random creative nonfiction works, and the coming-of-age novel The Redheaded Stepchild. She is world-renowned among a readership of five people and growing.

Raised by a single father in the small town of Buffalo, Missouri, Kelly has fond memories of cash-strapped life in the Ozarks that strongly influence her writing and way of life.

When she's not writing manuals for money or writing poetry and fiction for unmoney, or training for the Jailbreak half marathon, Kelly enjoys sewing, playing dodgeball, and politics.  She is an avid volunteer and fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Product Details

  • File Size: 264 KB
  • Print Length: 169 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1468144146
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B0063TDN42
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,165 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A glimpse into a vivid world January 10, 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I tend to read genre fiction, so when my friend recommended this, I put it off for awhile. When I finally did start it, though, I could barely put it down. Every chapter flowed into the next one, and I was excited to see which chapter of Cady's life would open to us next. Reaching the end was the only disappointment of the book; I wanted more!

I guess that's about the most you can say for a book, right? Once I started reading it, I wanted to keep reading it, and it left me wanting more.

Hitchcock's real strength lies in her descriptions, vivid imagery evoking the sights, colors, lighting, mood, smells and sounds of her locations: a seedy country bar in the middle of nowhere, a trailer park, a parent's bedroom.

Relationships also form a core component of this book, and it's delightful to watch them grow or shrink as we move forward and backward in time, discovering first an effect, then a cause, then another effect.

It's a quick, delightful, sharp and observant read, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Carise
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
After having read and reviewed a particularly unreadable book of short stories, a book that should have been written in invisible ink to protect potential readers from its awfulness, I scoured the internet for an antidote. I found one in Kelly Hitchcock's "The Redheaded Stepchild." By the time I got to page 4, I felt my blood pressure lower and the knot in my stomach dissipate. With wild gratitude I was reminded that yes, there are still amazing writers left in the world.

Hitchcock's power of observation is phenomenal. She has mastered the art of articulating minute details of human behavior that most of us perceive only subliminally if at all. I'm not talking about long, drawn out, boring details, but quick, rich, telling details that give the reader the kind of character insight one could only get from a lie detector test.

I don't think I've published enough reviews to expose myself as the harsh critic that I am, so you probably don't realize the magnitude of the compliment I'm bestowing on this author.

Here are just two examples of the many gems that delighted me:
..."It took him almost a year before he was able to give Katrina a hug, and even that was like watching a walking stick try to hug a caterpillar."
..."my mother's car looked as though it had been through menopause twice..."

The Redheaded Stepchild is a beautifully written coming of age story for readers of any age. The characters are multifaceted and well-drawn, the voice refreshingly unique, and the story poignant, hilarious, and horrifying all at once. And, as if the author doesn't already attack all of our senses with an uncanny eye for detail, she adds a disjointed timeline, jumping back and forth to pivotal events that define her protagonist.

We are fascinated by this because she does it deftly and because she innately understands that we are all the sum of the best and worst events of our lives, events that have no need to be told in chronological order for anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together. Of course, if you're used to reading books by authors who can't write a compound sentence unless the connecting words are "and then," you probably won't understand what The Redheaded Stepchild is about. The rest of you, beware! You may take longer than necessary to read this book because you might find yourself re-reading particular phrases and sentences (maybe whole paragraphs!) just to savor the deliciousness of Hitchcock's insane proficiency with language.

Bravo! Kelly Hitchcock is definitely an author to follow for years to come. I wish I could give this novel 10 stars. Redundantly, I affirm that I am a fan.

Denise DeSio, author of Rose's Will
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Highly Recommended January 29, 2012
By AD
Format:Kindle Edition
An excellent book from Kelly Hitchcock! I felt like I was journeying through life with Cady, feeling every emotion with her. I couldn't help but feel hopeful, yet jaded with Cady as she meets her new stepmom, and I understood the love hate relationship Cad had for her stepmom as Cady grew up. Kelly paints vivid imagery of the house Cady lived in, the town, her friends, her relationship with her Mother, and most importantly her relationship with her Father to make the story so realistic. I can't wait to read Kelly's next book!
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More About the Author

Kelly I. Hitchcock is an up-and-coming writer in the Austin, Texas area. She is author of various poems about the randomness of life, several short stories, random creative nonfiction works, and the coming-of-age novel The Redheaded Stepchild. She is world-renowned among a readership of five people and growing.

Raised by a single father in the small town of Buffalo, Missouri, Kelly has fond memories of cash-strapped life in the Ozarks that strongly influence her writing and way of life.

When she's not writing manuals for money or writing poetry and fiction for unmoney, or training for the Jailbreak half marathon, Kelly enjoys sewing, playing dodgeball, and politics. She is an avid volunteer and fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

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