The Middle of Somewhere by Clifford Henderson

The Middle of Somewhere by Clifford Henderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a book that I had initially rated 4.75 stars, then immediately changed to 4.5 and then days later changed again to 4.75 stars. Why? Because I’d initially downgraded it because I thought I might be over rating the book – that I had just been caught up with the happy feelings and thoughts at the end of the book that I was in a kind of trance while rating the book. So I moved the rating down. But as days passed, I realized that the book was lingering with me. I had really enjoyed the book and still recalled the people in it and still wanted to wander amongst them.

So – the book – a 26 year old named Eadie flees her current situation. Flees her drugged up, probably cheating girlfriend Ruby and her horrible situation. Driving from San Francisco down to Tuscon to pick up a camper thingie, then sliding north towards Michigan to go to a ‘Womyn’s Music Festival’.

Slight problem, though. Car breaks down in a specific county in the panhandle of Texas. Literally next to a sign that says ‘Go with Go !’ – though it probably is supposed to say ‘Go with God!’ since it is a sign directly outside the local Baptist church. Two rather large women exit the church. Eadie doesn’t really want anything to do with them (her own prejudice coming to the forefront), but the two women – Heifer and Piggy get Eadie some help. First by getting the local car repair guy to get her car to his place, and her camper thingie back to Heifer and Piggy’s place. They are going to allow Eadie to stay there until her car is repaired.

Eadie has to get through a lot of prejudice, I mean her own, before she can resume with her life. And she does – her character metamorphizes or something.

Eadie meets a boy (what? NO! This is a lesbian Fiction book!!!) who is around . . . oh, 14? (oooh) that is somewhat mentally challenged, but a great kid. Buddy and Eadie meet, then meet again when Eadie goes to work at Buddy’s father’s store to help pay for her car repair (vaguely complicated – the church has a ‘Helping Hands’ fund – for whatever reason the Pastor, who Eadie eyeballs as a slick operator, extends funds to Eadie to repair her car on the condition that Eadie does some work – she was offered a few options and went with the one wherein she helped out at the local grocery store).

I don’t wish to convey each step of the way – to give a little plot outline, so I’ll move on. There are some great characters in this book. Another ‘less a romance than something else’ like the other two books I’ve read by this author, but of the three, this one has the ‘biggest’ romance story injected into it.

I both read and heard this book. I started off listening to the author read her own book – she does an outstanding job – but a) hearing instead of reading slows me down; b) I couldn’t listen as often as I could read (for reasons) so I ended up only doing about 40 to 50 percent of the book as an audio book, and the rest as a digital book.

Rating: 4.75

April 19 2017




View all my reviews