The Kari AnnAlysis

From Goodreads.com:
Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a favor to ask her hairdresser Dorrie Curtis. It’s a big one. Isabelle wants Dorrie, a black single mom in her thirties, to drop everything to drive her from her home in Arlington, Texas, to a funeral in Cincinnati. With no clear explanation why. Tomorrow.

Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own and curious whether she can unlock the secrets of Isabelle’s guarded past, scarcely hesitates before agreeing, not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives.

Over the years, Dorrie and Isabelle have developed more than just a business relationship. They are friends. But Dorrie, fretting over the new man in her life and her teenage son’s irresponsible choices, still wonders why Isabelle chose her.

Isabelle confesses that, as a willful teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell deeply in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family’s housekeeper—in a town where blacks weren’t allowed after dark. The tale of their forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences makes it clear Dorrie and Isabelle are headed for a gathering of the utmost importance and that the history of Isabelle’s first and greatest love just might help Dorrie find her own way.

My Thoughts:
Wow! This is an amazing book. It is the second that I have read for SheReads.org and they top notch at picking out books.

I instantly fell in love with this book because it was set in Kentucky and I love reading books that are in my backyard… you know what I mean. I was also intrigued by the race controversy, and how race played such a large role in society in the 1930s.

This book is told through present day, during Dorrie and Isabelle’s road trip. During the trip, Isabelle tells Dorrie the story of her life, starting when she was a teen in Kentucky. And Isabelle’s story is HEART-WRENCHING! How many of us have had a love they would go to the ends of the Earth for? For most of us, it may not have involved life and death decisions like it did for Isabelle, or sneaking around to spend time with the one person in the world we loved, but weren’t allowed to love. As we learn about Isabelle’s past, we also learn about Dorrie’s in the present. She is a single mother, trying to make a living as a hair stylist working in a neighborhood that probably isn’t the safest. And she’s in a new relationship.

There are secrets throughout this book and twists and turns that you may not expect. I certainly was caught off guard several times, but each little twist made me want to stay up a little longer past my bedtime to see what happened next. There were several nights I stayed up entirely too late because I couldn’t put the book down. Oh and make sure you have the tissues ready. I probably went through a half of a box while reading this book.

Now I think there are some people who may read the summary of this book and may be skeptical because of their views on interracial relationships. Let’s face it. It’s 2013, but there are still people from coast to coast who still do not approve of these relationships. But please don’t let that sway you from reading that story. No matter your thoughts on the situation, this book is at the top of my list so far this year and I will recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Julie Kibler knocked it out of the park with her debut and I cannot wait to see what she has coming down the pipeline. I give Calling Me Home 5 out of 5 bookmarks… and would give it 5++++ if that was the kind of thing I did

To check out more reviews on this book, head over to SheReads.org where my friends are also sharing their reviews. You can also sign up to win one of 10 copies. Winners will be announced on Friday. And don’t forget to stop by SheReads at the end of the month for a discussion on the book.

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Released: February 12, 2013
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