Almost Paradise by Corabel Shofner
A friend recently said she has read Young Adult novels all her life. When another friend asked why, she said, “I find them more honest.” When I return to Memphis, I am carrying with me in the trunk of my car as a gift to my friend the novel, Almost Paradise, by Corabel Shofner. It makes me smile to think I will have introduced my friend to Ruby Clyde Henderson, and now I’m doing the same for you.
I must confess: I read a snippet of Almost Paradise when the novel was in the works. Corabel is my cousin’s cousin, no blood kin of mine, but she labels us “leap cousins,” which I love. At some point on the long road we call “getting published,” she shared parts of her writing with me. Ruby Clyde’s voice—Lord help me, it jumped off the page and grabbed ahold.
Now, such a wonderful voice could be hard to sustain. Or not supported by the plot. Or turn sappy at the end when it comes time to wrap things up. Without the other structural elements in place, voice is nice but not enough. The book will collapse of its own weight. Almost Paradise has all these necessary things, plus wonderful secondary characters, humor that never gets stale, and unexpected plot twists. It is simply delightful.
Okay, to be more specific: Ruby Clyde is twelve years old. She was born when her father was shot during a robbery, and her mother, witnessing the shooting, gave birth prematurely. This history affects her in ways gradually revealed as she tries to extricate herself from a situation that is humorous only because of Corabel’s deft telling. I believe the story is Middle Grade (which might be a subset of Young Adult?), but there is nothing babyish about it. We should all be so lucky as to have the wisdom of Ruby Clyde.
The story takes Ruby Clyde from a campsite in Arkansas to the rolling hills of Texas. It involves a bad boyfriend, a nun, and cowboy boots. It’s Southern. I don’t want to give any more away, except there’s a pig named Bunny. The folks at Farrar Straus Giroux (one of the Big Five in New York City!) knew a winner when they saw it, and I’m so glad they did. Thank you, Bel, for bringing Ruby Clyde into the world.
Almost Paradise, Corabel Shofner, Debut novel, Middle Grade, Young Adult
Luanne
Too bad I’m not teaching children’s lit anymore–it sounds great!
Ellen Morris Prewitt
I so enjoyed it, Luanne. It’s gotten a lot of good press, and I can see why.
Donna Weidner
I love reading middle grade too so I just checked it out on Amazon. Looks like a good one 🙂
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Yay! It’s a wonderful read. Hope you like it.
Susanne Fletcher
I’ve dipped into YA novels quite a bit, reading what my kids were reading. There’s great stuff to be found and this book sound like a worthy read.
Ellen Morris Prewitt
It’s been interesting to hear how many folks read YA. I read this animal series featuring rabbits when my niece was young—I kept reading them even after she’d stopped. 🙂
Chris
Sounds like a very interesting read. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Ellen Morris Prewitt
It is, and it’s VERY funny—I am a real fan of funny 🙂