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Tallie Brock dreams of leaving her hometown of Eden, going to Hollywood and becoming a star.
Her mother used to say 'the sky's the limit' - but that was before she left home to make a movie in Los Angeles and returned six months later without whispering a word about it.
Now her mother is gone, and Tallie works part-time at the Klip-N-Kurl beauty parlour. So when the Klip-N-Kurl announces it's having a Glamour Day, Tallie thinks this might just be her ticket out of Eden.
Instead, it is the start of a journey of heartbreak and discovery that begins and ends with Tallie's own mother ...
Leaving Eden is a wonderfully compelling novel focusing on the secrets, dreams and love that bind a mother and a daughter.
About the Author
Anne D. LeClaire has worked as a radio broadcaster, journalist, columnist and has taught creative writing all over the world. She is a mother of two and a pilot.
Hoping to land a role as Natalie Wood in a television biopic, actress Deanie leaves her family in Eden to go to Los Angeles, but then succumbs to lung cancer, leaving her daughter Tallie missing her mother so much 'that it hurt to take a full breath'. Tallie dreams of flying to Hollywood and becoming an actress to follow in her mother's footsteps. Hungry to learn as much about life as she can, she takes to listening to the conversations of significant adults in her life and recording her often cliched but endearing observations, which are interspersed through the story as 'Tallie's Book'. When she sees a sign offering a professional makeover for 20 dollars she's convinced her career of stardom is about to begin. LeClaire's characters are well-developed and sympathetic; they include Martha Lee, Deanie's best friend whose face is ugly enough to stop a truck; Raylene, Tallie's straight-shooting boss at the Klip 'n' Kurl beauty parlour where she works; Lenora, who can read the future in your shampoo bubbles, and handsome Spaulding (Spy) Reynolds, whom Tallie swoons over. Although set in Virginia in 1992, this touching and perceptive coming-of-age story is reminiscent of an earlier era, memorable for its affectionate survey of the bonds of family and friendship that keep communities together. (Kirkus UK)
ISBN: 9780752842837
ISBN-10: 0752842838
Audience:
General
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 273
Published: 20th November 2003
Dimensions (cm): 19.700 x 12.900
x 2.300
Weight (kg): 0.279
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