That Summer

Jo Huddleston. Crossville, Tenn.: Sword of the Spirit Publishing, 2012. 217 pp. (Paperback).

Oh, no — not another “coming-of-age in the Great Depression” book. That’s what I thought when I saw the cover and read the blurb on this book. Gritting my teeth, I opened the book and began reading.

It WAS set during the Great Depression. And it WAS a coming-of-age story. But the similarities to those other books end there. Jo Huddleston has written an engaging story of a young man who escapes his father’s abuse only to be faced with moral choices he had never encountered before and was ill prepared to deal with. Rich with conflict and well-drawn characters, “That Summer” was one of those books that I didn’t get far away from until I had finished it.

This is Huddleston’s first fiction book, although she has published a number of short stories, nonfiction books and articles. “That Summer” is the first in the Caney Creek trilogy; the second, “Beyond the Past,” was recently released. I can’t wait to read it.