Sea Glass Winter

November 15, 2012
A fast-paced novel about romantic relationships, parent-child relationships and teacher-student relationships. In addition to demonstrating an impressive grasp of the psychology of these relationships, the author spices up the various stories with interesting facts gleaned from an impressive knowledge of the glass-blowing art, culinary arts, physics and the game of basketball, as well as the business of finding and defusing bombs in Afghanistan. She appears to have firsthand experience, or perhaps has listened carefully to people who have had firsthand experience, with every kind of highly specialized activity her characters perform. The primary story involves the romance between Claire Templeton, an artist and single mother of a budding basketball star, and Dillon Slater, an ex-Marine who returned from Afghanistan, entered a program called Troops to Teachers, and began teaching high school physics and coaching basketball. Woven into this main story are the equally interesting and authentic subsidiary stories of the women Claire meets in the small Oregon town of Shelter Bay, where she moves with her son from Los Angeles in order to remove him from bad influences there. One woman has escaped an abusive husband with the help of an underground group dedicated to helping battered women. Another character runs the no-kill shelter for dogs where Claire eventually adopts a couple of canine companions, much to her son's delight. The descriptions and dialogue seem absolutely real. The narrative voice has a humor and rhythm that is fun to read; the teenagers walk the walk and talk the talk of real teenagers, and the conversations among the adults are witty, kind and meaningful. Dillon Slater, who possesses a high level of ethics and intelligence and a completely charming humor, is easy to fall in love with.

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December 1, 2012

Dillon Slater is retired from the military and now a high school science teacher and basketball coach who loves his work. His latest challenge, though, is Matt Templeton, a petulant basketball star recently arrived from Los Angeles and totally resentful of being in Oregon. Yet Matt's mother, glass artist and jewelry designer Claire Templeton, knew the move was necessary, and she is determined to make things work. Smart, pretty, and concerned for her son, she attracts Dillon's interest, and although she resists, he interests her, too. VERDICT Beautifully descriptive and gently paced, this heart-warmer captures coastal small-town flavor perfectly and nails the high school vibe. A perfect read for a long winter's night. Ross (Moonshell Beach) lives on the slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains.

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