Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon [Paperback]

Debbie Fuller Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2008

When Marty Winslow's daughter dies of a devastating genetic disease, she discovers the truth- her child had been switched at birth. Her actual biological daughter was recently orphaned and is being raised by grandparents in a retirement community. Marty is awarded custody, but Andie refuses to fit into the family, adding one more challenge for this grieving single mom that pushes her toward the edge, and into the arms of a loving God. For Andie, being forced to live with strangers is just one more reason not to trust God. Her soul is as tattered as the rundown Blue Moon movie drive-in the family owns. But Tuesday night is Family Night at the Blue Moon, and as her hopes grow dim, healing comes from an unexpected source- the hurting family and nurturing birth mom she fights so hard to resist.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An unusual plotline and top-notch prose mark this talented novelist’s debut. When divorcée Marty Winslow’s adolescent daughter Ginger dies from Niemann-Pick, a debilitating hereditary disease, Marty discovers Ginger was not her biological daughter, but was switched at birth. Orphan Andie Lockhart is living with her beloved but ailing grandparents when the court gives temporary custody to Marty, her birth mother. Andie finds herself in a chaotic, financially strapped family that runs the Blue Moon drive-in movie theater. Thomas competently displays the heterogeneities of grief, from older sister Deja’s teen Goth rebellion to Marty’s endless baking, and the difficulty of revising what one has always assumed to be true. The mistake’s tragic cost to both families is shown throughout, but Thomas proffers redemption, albeit in tough, realistic doses. After some soul searching, Marty and Andie eventually find strength in their Christian faith. Point of view shifts sometimes encumber the story, and Thomas succumbs to drawing a conclusion for the reader toward the end. But competent dialogue, touches of humor, and sparkling character dynamics make this a welcome addition to the faith fiction fold.

--Publisher's Weekly

From the Back Cover

Switched at birth—and then switched back.

 

            When Marty Winslow’s 13 year-old daughter dies of a devastating genetic disease, she discovers the truth—her precious middle child had been switched at birth. After learning that her actual biological daughter was recently orphaned, she decides to fight for custody. Winning the court case was the easy part.

This still-grieving, single mom is torn between memories and realities. And she wants desperately for God to heal her family.

 

 

            For Andie, tall and blonde like Marty, being forced to live with strangers is just one more reason not to trust anyone. Her soul is as beat up as the rundown Blue Moon Drive-In the family owns.

But Tuesday night is family night at the Blue Moon. And as Andie’s hopes fade, healing comes from the last place she wanted or expected—the hurting family and loving God she fought so hard to resist.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers; First Edition edition (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802487335
• ISBN-13: 978-0802487339
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,719,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Debbie Fuller Thomas writes contemporary fiction from a historic Gold Rush town in California. When she's not carving out time from her day job to write, she enjoys singing with Colla Voce of the Sierras with her husband and spending time catching up with her two adult children. Her debut novel, Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon is a finalist for the 2009 Christy Award and American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year. Her next book, Raising Rain, will debut September 1, 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book!, August 22, 2008

By 

Char (Tulare, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon (Paperback)

I'm not a writer and have never written a review but wanted to put my 2 cents in. Every day I looked forward to my lunch hour so that I could grab this book and read a couple more chapters. The characters were all so interesting and so real. I found it so intriguing to read from Andie's point of view and then from Marty's. It's kind of like seeing flashbacks in a movie. Each flashback helps you to understand the complexities of the situation. This story has some humor, draws some tears and makes you fall in love with the characters who are desperately trying to figure out what they're suppose to do with the unusual circumstances in their lives. Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon is definately a book worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great New Voice in Christian Fiction, July 24, 2008

By 

Sharon K. Souza (Acampo, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon (Paperback)

Every mother's nightmare becomes reality when two girls are switched at birth in Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon. Debbie Thomas has captured the emotions of the major players, from the mother whose daughter is returned to her after the death of the girl she thought was her daughter; to the girl whose world has been turned upside down in the switch. Compelling from start to finish, with an element of faith that helps get these characters through the greatest challenge of their lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling story, gorgeous writing-LOVED it!, June 5, 2008

By 

Humor Lover "HL" (Roseville, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon (Paperback)

This poignant, wonderful debut novel by a great new writer (and beautiful wordsmith) was one of the most REAL and honest novels I've read in a while. Debbie Fuller Thomas is one gorgeous writer. Love her descriptive prose. And what an original, captivating story!

It begins (so I'm not giving anything away) with Marty, a single mom grieving the loss of her daughter from a genetic disease who then learns it wasn't even her daughter who died. (Yes, her daughter by virtue of having loved and raised her for 13 years, but not by birth. The hospital mistakenly switched her newborn daughter with another's.) And Marty's birth daughter, Andi, is very much alive, recently orphaned, and living with her aging grandparents--illegally in a seniors mobile home park. So the court awards custody (on a temporary/trial basis) of the teenaged Andi to her birth mother, Marty. What follows is an honest, heartwrenching, and very real tale of grief, love, anger, divided loyalties, and what makes a family.

I LOVED this book! It was so refreshing to read a novel in the faith market that wasn't of a middle- or upper-middle class family, but instead, a single mom struggling to make ends meet in a realistic, hardscrabble existence (without resorting to the cliches of making mom a druggie or alcoholic.) A mom whose husband left and who's doing the best she can for her children with what she has--which includes the aging Blue Moon Drive-In her father owns and Marty helps run when she's not checking groceries at the local discount grocery store.

This is a story about real people in the real world. Bravo, Debbie Thomas for painting such a masterful, realistic, and poignant picture. I can't recommend Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon highly enough! One of my favorite novels of 2008. Leaves so many others by more famous authors in the dust. Can't wait to read more from this talented author!

Also recommended: Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky and A Bigger Life by Annette Smith.