Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon

June 2, 2008
An unusual plotline and top-notch prose mark this talented novelist's debut. When divorcee Marty Winslow's adolescent daughter Ginger dies from Niemann-Pick, a debilitating hereditary disease, Marty discovers Ginger was not her biological daughter, but was switched at birth. Orphan Andie Lockhart is living with her beloved but ailing grandparents when the court gives temporary custody to Marty, her birth mother. Andie finds herself in a chaotic, financially strapped family that runs the Blue Moon drive-in movie theater. Thomas competently displays the heterogeneities of grief, from older sister Deja's teen Goth rebellion to Marty's endless baking, and the difficulty of revising what one has always assumed to be true. The mistake's tragic cost to both families is shown throughout, but Thomas proffers redemption, albeit in tough, realistic doses. After some soul searching, Marty and Andie eventually find strength in their Christian faith. Point of view shifts sometimes encumber the story, and Thomas succumbs to drawing a conclusion for the reader toward the end. But competent dialogue, touches of humor, and sparkling character dynamics make this a welcome addition to the faith fiction fold.

May 5, 2008
An unusual plotline and top-notch prose mark this talented novelist's debut. When divorcée Marty Winslow's adolescent daughter Ginger dies from Niemann-Pick, a debilitating hereditary disease, Marty discovers Ginger was not her biological daughter, but was switched at birth. Orphan Andie Lockhart is living with her beloved but ailing grandparents when the court gives temporary custody to Marty, her birth mother. Andie finds herself in a chaotic, financially strapped family that runs the Blue Moon drive-in movie theater. Thomas competently displays the heterogeneities of grief, from older sister Deja's teen Goth rebellion to Marty's endless baking, and the difficulty of revising what one has always assumed to be true. The mistake's tragic cost to both families is shown throughout, but Thomas proffers redemption, albeit in tough, realistic doses. After some soul searching, Marty and Andie eventually find strength in their Christian faith. Point of view shifts sometimes encumber the story, and Thomas succumbs to drawing a conclusion for the reader toward the end. But competent dialogue, touches of humor, and sparkling character dynamics make this a welcome addition to the faith fiction fold.

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