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SPARE CHANGE by Bette Lee Crosby

Not sure what I expected, but it was so much more. Good things do come in small packages.

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In the 20’s it was unusual for a woman to be unmarried, work and live on her own. Olivia had never considered herself a spinster, she just liked her life. She didn’t want to be one of the herd or do what was expected of her. She was terrified of kids. Her father had disowned her at 26 and her mother told her that no one would want an old woman.

It was totally unexpected when she met Charles Doyle. They fell for each other at first glance. When he proposed, she choked on the chocolate truffle she was eating. She told him no and it broke her heart. He told her he didn’t want kids. And if she didn’t want to clean or cook, no problem. Those things weren’t important to him. He had a son he hadn’t seen in fifteen years and a grandson he had never met.

She was very superstitious. During the wedding ceremony, a hail storm broke out. Charlie blew it off, so she did too. She was afraid of the number eleven. On the tenth day of marriage they arrived in Miami for their honeymoon. On the eleventh day, she talked him into staying low-key, taking no chances. They went shopping, she was thinking that nothing could go wrong shopping. He snuck off and bought her a surprise. Back in the room, he told her to close her eyes and he put the necklace around her neck. When she what it was, her heart fell. Opals were bad luck. He died that night.

Susanna Doyle told her husband she had to be in New York City for her singing career. Benjamin knew he would lose her if they went anywhere near there, so he’d played a stalling game with her. He would promise her they would go, then find an excuse not to.

When she became pregnant, life got even worse. To get even, when the baby was born, she named him Ethan Allen, after the furniture store she worked at. As Ethan grew older, their fights became so vicious that he built a fort out back to get away from them.

One day at the diner, he noticed Mister Scooter, the owner, touching his mom’s butt. He asked her about it and she said if he kept quiet, she would make sure she always had enough spare change for him to go to the movies.

Susanna was very excited because Benjamin had promised they would go to New York City in September. When September rolled around, he found another excuse not to go. She had been working and saving the money, so she told Ethan they were going without him, but not to say anything so he wouldn’t find out and try to stop them. She went to the bank for her money, but Benjamin had already closed the account.

Susanna immediately went to Scooter, telling him she wanted to run away with him and Ethan to New York City. He thought about his own kid, for only a moment, and said okay.

Ethan was eleven years old and his mom had always promised him she would never run off without him. But that night, Ethan’s whole world changed.

5 STARS – Would Buy It For Them (lol)

I don’t know why I was drawn to the cover, title, then the blurb. Something tugged at me.The cover conveyed such a sense of sorrow from the boy. I loved the second reference to spare change, but you will have to read the book to find out what it is, and why the title is so very appropriate.

I am not much for a story without some murder, killing, death, blood, gore, mystery, magic; in other words, some kind of action or adventure. This was a different kind of murder story, more a story of a woman alone, and a boy with no home and no one to love him. The murder was just a small piece.

For a short book, Bette made me feel like the story covered a lifetime. I kept reading faster and faster. I was afraid for Ethan and then both him and Olivia. She put so much story into a small book. Plot was detailed and suspenseful. I kept waiting for…..

The characters were amazing. Her descriptions left me feeling like they were my neighbors. I felt like I knew them. They were realistic and reminiscent of a time when we knew our neighbors. Such a feel good book. Made me tear up and cry because of its sweetness. I know my neighbors and speak to them, but I am a solitary creature, so it really surprised me that I felt such strong emotions while reading the story.

How do you get an eleven year old boy to trust you? I felt Ethan’s fear and panic. To win him over, it took much empathy, patience and compassion. So much, packed into its 280 pages. I know I keep repeating myself, but I still can’t get over how much this book affected me.

I received this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Not only was the author gracious enough to send me a paperback, she also autographed it for me. I love to add another book to my collection.

Giveaway – Bette Lee Crosby is offering for the giveaway:

International – ebook of Spare Change – OR – US and Canada a signed paperback. As always the entry is easy. Leave a comment telling us what you do with your spare change and an email address.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. The Winners Are:

Kimba – won the signed paperback Alana – won the ebook

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful, warm and touching comments. I hope you will continue to follow fundinmental.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bette Lee Crosby’s work was first recognized in 2006, when she won the National League of American Pen Women Award for unpublished fiction with What Matters Most. Her novel, Cracks in the Sidewalk, received the 2009 Royal Palm Literary Award and then went on to win the 2011 FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal. In 2011 Spare Change received the Reviewer’s Choice Awards and it garnered a second Royal Palm Literary Award. Her books have earned numerous five-star ratings with readers acclaiming them as heartwarming and captivating.

Most recently, Bette completed a memoir written for Lani Deauville, a woman the Guinness Book of Records lists as The World’s Longest Living Quadriplegic.

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To get your copy of Spare Change or any of Bette’s books, simply click on the covers below.