Review: Campaign Promises
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 6, 2012
Campaign Promises is a clever novella that provides the reader with a twenty year snapshot into the life of Lucy Jones, spanning from her senior year in high school in 1988 to her twenty year high school reunion in 2008. Told in the first person narrative, Lucy shares the evolvement and growth of her views on life, love and politics over the twenty years. The novella contains five snippets that marks Lucy's progression into adulthood every four years which coincides with a political election. Lucy is a liberal thinker, who draws a philosophical political connection with a life lesson in each snippet. Filled with idealism, realism and humor, the snippets into Lucy's life and the political landscape between 1988-2008, the author weaves a story about a girl who is trying to find her way and makes the right choices in her private and public life.As a person who graduated from college with a BA Degree in Political Science, I loved this little novella. Author Laurel Osterkamp provides the reader with an entertaining story that mixes a girl's coming of age with five trips down the political and societal memory lane between the years of 1988-2008. While the story revolves around Lucy and her two relationships with brothers Jack and Monty Brinker, it is so much more than the typical boy-girl romance story. Over the years, the reader can see the evolved connection between the political commentary and Lucy's life situation and her level of growth and maturity at each time period.In an essence, this novella captures Lucy's life and defines it within the significant political moments of atwenty year time period. The novella is filled with snarky and humorous political and pop-culture references that kept me snickering and smiling while I took a nostalgic walk down memory lane.Campaign Promises whets the reader's appetite with its five fast-paced vignettes, and is a perfect companion piece and lead into the novel, November Promise.