Book #59: Oh My Stars

Title: Oh My Stars


Author: Lorna Landvik


After living in Minnesota and reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon-bons,  I keep thinking I should like Lorna Landvik's books. And with the exception of Angry Housewives I haven't loved anything of hers that I've read, this book included. It was a fine read, but not a life-changing one by any means.


It's the story of Violet Mathers, a one-armed girl who was abandoned by her father and abused by her mother. She runs away from home with the plan to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, but somewhere in North Dakota, the bus she's riding in crashes, and she is taken in by Kjel (with whom she falls in love) and Austin, two musicians, and she becomes their manager. The rest of the book follows them as they travel around the country. It has a shocking ending which made me glad I kept reading but something in Landvik's tone is always a little bit too glib and sunny for my taste.


--originally published 9/7/06