Pickering Place by H.M. Jones

 

What is a debut novel that you loved?

Chloe Mora is eighteen years old and has grown up in a small town in Iowa.  Her Tia Miranda has had surgery on her foot and could use help from Chloe getting around Boston.  Chloe can also use the opportunity to visit colleges.  She has never left home, and this will be quite the adventure.  Will Chloe find herself and love?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this book last month for a March pick for the JASNA Northwoods book club.

·       This was a modern retelling of Northanger Abbey. 

·       I enjoyed the great introduction where the author describes her love of the original novel.

·       I enjoyed that Chloe Mora loves all things paranormal like Twilight.

·       It was an interesting modernization of Northanger Abbey.  It kept all of the elements of the original story and brought it into modern times.  The General Tilney character, Mr. Bath, sends Chloe back to Boston on her own on a train with no money or cell phone.  This gave the same vibe as Catherine’s dismissal in Northanger Abbey.

·       I enjoyed Michael and Mindy Bath and their friendship with Chloe. 

·       This was a quick read.  I could call it a coming-of-age novel and a romantic comedy. 

·       I liked the multi-cultural aspects of this book.  It was nice to learn about what it was like for Chloe being of the two “brown” girls her age in her small town and the delights of going to a large much more diverse city.  Although there was a minus to this as a book club member pointed out that the Spanish phrases were use incorrectly in the dialogue.

·       The dialogue was very stilted.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but the writing seemed amateurish with one-dimensional characters.  This read like a first-time author’s work, that holds the promise for more interesting work in the future.

Book Source:  Purchased from Amazon.com