T R's Reviews > Sour Apples: A Novel for Those Who Hate to Read

The year is 1975 and 10 year-old Jimmy is up a tree, literally, with antics that right away have me smiling. I don’t lose the smile that turns into laughing out loud as I navigate the story through scenes like Jimmy telling his mother to paint her face before going to the new neighbors house, the innocent faux pas the boy makes thinking his new neighbor is a girl, a shopping outing and his friend Kevin messing with a mannequin, his dislike of the library and aversion to stacks of books, kissing a brown-eyed girl who also plays baseball, and a hilarious scene described as the three stooges fighting the Marx brothers. There is so much to smile about while reading this nostalgic-laced story that takes me back to the mid-seventies: the innocence, a time when baseball was the neighborhood game of choice, when a girl’s kiss was a big deal, but there is also moments of poignant sorrow when Jimmy’s lair meets a sad ending. Written in a simpler voice, this delightful read was a wonderful break from the heavy-themed tomes I’d been engulfed in of late, a really great shift that sat well in my cells. Much of the dialogue is reminiscent of the things sit-coms are made of and as I write I can see some of the scenes play out in my mind as if on an old television set. This one is worth a read!