The Orange Blossom Special

May 9, 2005
The title of Carter's sympathetic if somewhat contrived debut novel (she's the author of a memoir, Nothing to Fall Back On
) refers to the first New York–to–Miami passenger train, a not-so-subtle metaphor for the American dream and the forward march of history, as the story hurtles from the late '50s and into the '80s. In 1958, comely widow Tessie Lockhart and her seventh-grade daughter, Dinah, uproot from Carbondale, Ill., to Gainesville, Fla., driven by a very American faith in the healing power of a fresh start. There, their lives intertwine with those of Gainesville's powerful Landy family, as Dinah's popular classmate Crystal Landy and her solemn older brother, Charlie, befriend Dinah. When the Landys' house burns down, killing their father, Dinah and Crystal form a special bond, speaking "the same language of loss" across the divide of class and social status. Even Tessie and supercilious matriarch Victoria Landy cement a rocky friendship, and over the years, a tumultuous love blossoms between Dinah and Charlie. Carter's plot skips lightly over the passing decades, which are marked by periodic eruptions of changing culture. Each incident of racial strife or Vietnam tragedy feels forced and representative, though, and as the novel barrels into the late–20th century like the titular locomotive, Carter sacrifices character development in her reach for historical import. Agent, Kathy Robbins.

June 15, 2005
Named for the first train to travel from New York to Miami, this debut novel from magazine writer and editor Carter (following the memoir Nothing To Fall Back On) will win her many new fans. The book's characters, though colorful and varied, are also united by their losses. Tessie, a young widow, moves to Florida to make a new start for herself and daughter Dinah. Once there, Dinah befriends a girl whose family has wealth but no real happiness, and Tessie meets Barone, a handsome businessman with the soul of an artist, whose wife is trapped inside a body slowly dying of a degenerative disease. Spanning the period between 1958 and 1986, this delightful story touches on several tough topics, including the Civil Rights Movement and the war in Vietnam. Graceful, heartwarming, and humorous, this is sure to be a staple on many summer reading lists. Recommended for all public libraries.-Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib., Chittenango, NY

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2005
Justly praised for her candid, humorous memoir, " Nothing to Fall Back On" (2002), magazine writer and editor Carter tries her hand at fiction in this affecting tale of widow Tess and her daughter, Dinah, who relocate to Gainesville, Florida, in 1958. They are soon virtually adopted by the wealthy Landy family, which includes pampered mom Victoria; teenager Charlie, who has the gift of second sight; and overweight, sassy seventh-grader Crystal. As the Landys help to ease their transition into southern small-town culture, Tess lands a good job and finds love with a jai alai mogul, and Dinah finds her soul mate in Charlie. Over the next two decades, they must all confront the changes brought on by Victoria's new business venture and Crystal's distress over Dinah and Charlie's relationship. The plot of this first novel seems overly thin at times, and the transitions between decades are sometimes too abrupt; yet there's no denying that the characters, drawn with fresh, often idiosyncratic detail, are instantly engaging. A light, funny read that also offers a distinctive sense of place.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)