Keep the Ends Loose

 

"Warm, funny, and uniquely perceptive, KEEP THE ENDS LOOSE is an irresistible novel filled with characters you might recognize – and will not forget."

This describes Keep The Ends Loose, the debut novel by Molly D. Campbell, perfectly. Charming and wonderfully endearing, you will feel at home with the characters whom Molly magically brings to life.

Molly has a writing style that is clear as the morning sun, and she creates characters that are anything but flawless. We open the book to meet Mandy, 15 years old, and not quite ready to take on the world. She doesn't want to - she likes her life the way it is: predictable and without any bumps in the road. But the summer before high school begins, all of that changes. Life throws some big surprises right in the middle of her family's lap.

We think we know the people we live with. Sometimes, we get the shock of our lives when we find out, we don't. But don't lose heart, Mandy sees just how far she'll go to keep her family intact. Along the way, she grows up, and it suits her.

Molly Campbell's Keep the Ends Loose left me smitten. I fell in love instantly with Mandy, and watching her lose almost everything over one summer, had me turning each page to see things through with her. 

Keep the Ends Loose is a story of hope, told with bright and sparkling humor. My heart grew two sizes as I witnessed Mandy come to see and accept her mother as human and not the perfect woman she had imagined her to be. Perhaps, she loves her mother even more intensely now. Together with her older brother, Adam, Mandy battles to come to a place of accepting her mother Winnie as someone who has made mistakes. 

This is a beautiful story, at times it yanked my heart out, as I sat along with Mandy as she processed the events of the summer. I know it's not easy to see our parents fail us, and the loyalty and devotion of child to parent in the pursuit of gaining family and togetherness once again, brought me close to tears.

Keep the Ends Loose is warm, funny, and satisfying. Life is complicated, and secrets simmer under every life's surface. Some of us grow weary of the heaviness of our past on our own, and that's when family is there to pull the seams together. Love and trust, none of it is ever effortless. Molly Campbell captures that universal element perfectly in Keep the Ends Loose. A compelling read, I had to stay up to finish it. Molly is a master storyteller.

A strong 5 stars.

I loved this book so much, I am thrilled I'm able to give a copy away! Please leave a comment below for a chance to win!

Molly D. Campbell is the winner of two Erma Bombeck writing awards. A long-time blogger and lover of quirky characters, she wrote her first book, Characters in Search of a Novel, with illustrator Randy Palmer. Molly lives in Dayton, Ohio, with her accordionist husband and five cats.

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