Product Description

"Tender . . . [a] sweet coming-of-age story, thanks to its young, wise-beyond-her-years, Scout Finch—esque heroine."
–Entertainment Weekly

Kenny Lugo has grown up in a family that’s not really hers. Her mother died of cancer when Kenny was very young, and Aunt Glo–who is, in fact, her daddy’s girlfriend–took her in when her father was sent to jail for drug trafficking. Now, as Kenny approaches her eighteenth birthday and the end of the government checks Glo has been receiving looms, she is desperate to prove that this house and these people really do belong to her. But when a senseless murder occurs next door in their small coastal town, Kenny can’t get it out of her mind. She has always been consumed by the ways in which she is different–and inherently unworthy–so the unjust death of a young woman with everything to live for becomes an obsession.

In the end, hers is a story of an unforgettable young woman whose redemption comes from a source she never would have imagined.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #215216 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-27
• Released on: 2009-10-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .50" h x 5.20" w x 8.10" l, .39 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780307393906
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Bestseller Reynolds (The Rapture of Canaan) delivers again with this story of an embattled teenage girl growing up in a Virginia tidewater town. Kendra Kenny Lugo has it tough: her mother is dead, her father is in jail, and she is what others might call gender-confused (the year before I cut off all my hair and started binding myself up). Living with her father's girlfriend, Aunt Glo, Kenny is approaching 18 and facing the possibility of being kicked out with a sense of impending doom. When their neighbor, habitually drunk Jarvis Stanley, accidentally kills a college girl, Kenny becomes fixated on the tragedy. Meanwhile, Aunt Glo struggles with painkiller addiction while raising her own kids, 12-year-old Quincy and teenaged Tim-Tim, and her runaway daughter's seven-year-old, Daphne. Kenny makes a fascinating, cagey narrator, revealing an unexpectedly dangerous family dynamic with a matter-of-factness that belies her fear and anger, and Reynolds weds expository memories with Kenny's day-to-day so seamlessly, it looks easy. Simple prose rich with subtext, convincing dialogue and a fascinating protagonist combine to produce a heartstring-plucker that's explicit, tender, sad and hopeful. (Nov.)
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Review
"[A]s true as butter in your grits....[a] powerful drama with pathos, poetry, and, unexpectedly, hope."
—People

"[A] sweet coming-of-age story, thanks to its young, wise-beyond-her-years, Scout Finch-esque heroine."
—Entertainment Weekly

"Reynolds...is a gifted writer with a deceptively simple style and a keen ear for dialogue."
—The Boston Globe

“Reynolds moves so smoothly back and forth between the past and the present that her novel feels like a keg of dynamite sitting on a slow-burning fuse…as riveting as a fast-paced thriller.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Simple prose rich with subtext, convincing dialogue and a fascinating protagonist combine to produce a heartstring-plucker that's explicit, tender, sad and hopeful.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)



Praise for Sheri Reynolds

Firefly Cloak

“Reynolds’s newest novel delivers more of the rich southern atmosphere and coming-of-age drama that made The Rapture of Canaan (1995) an Oprah Book Club selection and bestseller.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“Reynolds is the newest and most exciting voice to emerge in contemporary southern fiction.”
—San Francisco Bay Guardian


A Gracious Plenty

“Reynolds is a wonderful storyteller and master of pastoral imagery.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Mesmerizing . . . Reynolds’s earthly insights make for a redemptive finale—but not before some satisfying storms of retribution.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“An imaginative tour de force . . . Pushing beyond the boundaries of her earlier work, Ms. Reynolds has created a life-affirming novel that gathers the joy and pain of livi...

Review
"[A]s true as butter in your grits....[a] powerful drama with pathos, poetry, and, unexpectedly, hope."
—People

"[A] sweet coming-of-age story, thanks to its young, wise-beyond-her-years, Scout Finch-esque heroine."
—Entertainment Weekly

"Reynolds...is a gifted writer with a deceptively simple style and a keen ear for dialogue."
—The Boston Globe

“Reynolds moves so smoothly back and forth between the past and the present that her novel feels like a keg of dynamite sitting on a slow-burning fuse…as riveting as a fast-paced thriller.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Simple prose rich with subtext, convincing dialogue and a fascinating protagonist combine to produce a heartstring-plucker that's explicit, tender, sad and hopeful.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)



Praise for Sheri Reynolds

Firefly Cloak

“Reynolds’s newest novel delivers more of the rich southern atmosphere and coming-of-age drama that made The Rapture of Canaan (1995) an Oprah Book Club selection and bestseller.”
—Booklist (starred review)

“Reynolds is the newest and most exciting voice to emerge in contemporary southern fiction.”
—San Francisco Bay Guardian


A Gracious Plenty

“Reynolds is a wonderful storyteller and master of pastoral imagery.”
—New York Times Book Review

“Mesmerizing . . . Reynolds’s earthly insights make for a redemptive finale—but not before some satisfying storms of retribution.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“An imaginative tour de force . . . Pushing beyond the boundaries of her earlier work, Ms. Reynolds has created a life-affirming novel that gathers the joy and pain of living into a celebration of what it means to be human.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch


The Rapture of Canaan

“Ms. Reynolds’s poetic gifts are uncommonly powerful. In The Rapture of Canaan, she tells a truly rapturous love story and presents two unforgettable characters: the teenage heroine and her skeptical but stalwart grandmother, from whom she learns about the acceptance of loss, the pragmatism that must underlie any abiding love, and the place in every heart where God resides, waiting to reveal himself.”
—New York Times


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Engagingly Delightful
The main character in this book, Kendra (Kenny) is immediately likable in her enigmatic way. Her ability to survive and cope under a series of life altering circumstances makes the book a thought provoking page turner. Great/fast read. I loved it.

Sublime poignancy
Sheri Reynolds has a true gift for pulling you into her characters and never letting go. If you can read this book and not ache to hug "Kenny" and tell her everything will be all right, not brace to fight anyone who does her wrong, not yearn to know how she's doing now, then fine character-driven tales are wasted on you.

fascinating extended family drama
In Virginia seventeen year old Kendra "Kenny" Lugo fears the near future. Her mom died years ago of cancer and her dad is serving time. She lives with her dad's girlfriend "Aunt" Glo who has two kids of her own (tweener Quincy and teen Tim-Tim) and her seven years old granddaughter Daphne, dumped on her by her oldest child. Glo survives her responsibilities thanks in part to prescription pain killers.

Kenny fears Glo will kick her out of her home once she becomes an adult, which is soon. The teen also struggles with identity issues especially hiding her feminine body. When their alcoholic neighbor Jarvis Stanley accidentally kills a college girl, Kenny obsesses over the deceased as her morbidity makes her believe Glo will kick her to the curb soon. Her plan is to soon become responsible and dependable; Glo will beg her to stay.

Told by the frightened Kenny, THE SWEET IN BETWEEN is a fascinating family drama starring a frightened teen filled with anger, remorse and fear. The rest of Glo's extended family is fully developed characters who enhance the at times subtle and other moments in your face story line. However, this is Kenny' tale as she sadly expects the worse but hopes for the best, which in this case is not being kicked out of the only shelter, albeit a relatively poor one, she knows at a time she wonders why she feels different from girls her age.

Harriet Klausner