Review: Left me wanting more!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 19, 2012
This book was hard to review without including spoilers so here it is,and no, there are no spoilers.The story begins in 1911, in Caloosa, Florida and takes place over 20 years.Sitting on the pier with her cousin Virginia, watching the storm clouds gather, 15 year old Dinah dreams of getting out. She has her mind set on marrying a gentlemen and moving into town. Anything is better than living here, in the back of beyond. As the skies open up, they make a dash for shelter and are joined by a young man. Virginia is smitten with Zach, the handsome, blue-eyed river rat. Dinah just gives him the cold shoulder.I fell in love with Joyce's writing. It is so descriptive. Here is a little taste.The brief afternoon storm drifted out to the Gulf, and the sun returned to glorify the earth. Hissing and steaming, the thirsty soil drank greedily of the life-giving moisture, while the air, a heady combination of sun-baked earth and wildflowers, packed a one-two punch to anyone who dared take its lushness for granted.Back to the story. Zach is just passing through but events occur that keep him in Caloosa. As he is heading out of town he hears shouting on the river and discovers two men and a young boy in danger of drowning. He manages to get all three to dry land, but only one survives. The two victims are Dinah's father and younger brother, the survivor is her uncle.Having lost her mother at an early age, Dinah is now alone. With nothing to keep her there, she decides to head out with Zach, but her aunt has other plans and convinces her to stay.Zach decides to settle in Callosa and moves into Dinah's spare room to help with repairs and such. He tries his hand at several jobs but nothing seems to fit. He decides to look up an old aquaintance for help in getting into college. He gets accepted and so begins his journey.Meanwhile, back in Caloosa, a tinker comes calling on Dinah and he is selling more than his wares. Months  later Zach returns to discover Dinah is pregnant and her Aunt Clara believes he is the father. This is where the saga really takes off.I felt many things about Dinah. She never holds back and gives as good as she gets. As Zach puts it, "That girl can flatten a man's ego faster than a ton of bricks." At times I wanted to hate her, other times I wanted to shake her and slap some sense into her.Zach made me laugh. The back and forth between him and Dinah was hilarious. From Zach, "To tell the truth Dinah, my life would be rather dull without you to complicate it." Growing up with three sisters, he knows how to get a rise out of her.Joyce writes with such feeling and her knowledge of the south and the era is evident in her words. My emotions ranged from laughter to sorrow to frustration and even anger as I followed Dinah's journey over the course of 20 years. There is never a dull moment and I would be happy to read more. I would like to know what happens to Dinah over the next 20 years. I feel she is just getting started. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone looking for a genuine taste of life and adventure.Here are a few excerpts that tugged at my heart.The baby wrapped his chubby arms around her neck, wrinkled his button nose,and laughed, revealing six tiny teeth the size of seed pearls.She wanted more of the world; all he wanted was her.