"Promise Not To Tell," by Jennifer McMahon (Book Thoughts)

"Book Thoughts" should have posted last Monday. Unfortunately, my brain was in a fog. "Spreading The News," which was scheduled for today, will post on Wednesday.

Interweaving past and present, Promise Not To Tell is a story of friendship, secrets, murder, and redemption. At its center is Kate Cypher, a reserved 41-year-old school nurse who returns to the small town of New Canaan, VT, to care for her Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother. The night she arrives, a young girl is murdered. Slowly Kate is drawn into the investigation—and deep into the childhood she’s tried to escape—for the killing eerily echoes the death of another young girl: her childhood friend, Del. Poor, misunderstood, Del suffered the taunts of classmates who shunned her and called her “Potato Girl.” But in Del, 10-year-old Kate found a kindred spirit, until a painful falling out shattered their relationship shortly before Del’s death.

"Promise Not to Tell" is Jennifer McMahon's debut novel. I recently talked about her second novel, "Island of Lost Girls." What can I say? I never do things in order. Anyway, "Promise Not To Tell" is a suspenseful murder mystery/ghost story which alternates between the 1970s and 2002.

The story took unexpected twists and turns and gave my heart quite a workout, but I also found myself in tears at times. This novel is quite unforgettable.

Kate and her mother live in a teepee on a hippie commune in Vermont. Del Griswold, who lives on a neighboring potato farm, dubs Kate her 'deputy' and the mysterious girl becomes her friend.

Kate just wants to fit in at school, but hides the truth about her friendship with Del because of rumors of the potato girl who rides naked on her pony and other assorted tales. She isn't cool enough to be friends with the popular girls, but she makes them believe she knows all about Del and can reveal the outcast's secrets. At the same time, Kate tells Del the secrets she learns about the popular girls.

Del is shunned and tormented by the class, and is brutally murdered. Kate lives with the shame of betraying Del, but still thirty years later, denies they were ever friends.

When Kate returns to Vermont to care for her ailing mother, another young girl is murdered and Kate's past and present collide in unexpected ways. Del does not rest in peace.

"One potato, two potato, three potato, four--she's coming after you now, better lock your door."

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Do you have a book suggestion or your own published book you'd like me to read? 

Drop me an e-mail at deestan62@gmail.com.

"The House on Parchment Street" by Patricia A McKillip (Book Thoughts)

I know you're all anxiously waiting for me to announce the winner of the awesome YA novel, Shadow Dancer. One lucky person will be the recipient of the first book in Courtney Rene's Shadow Trilogy! Hopefully, they will love it as much as I did and HAVE to get their hands on the already released second novel, Shadow Warrior.  But I can't just announce the winner right away! Why don't you sit back, relax, and read this week's post, first. I promise I'll get to the winner...

I've decided to make Book Thoughts a monthly feature.

Since I read old books and new books in multiple genres, you just never know what I'll have to share with you.

I came across this month's book, "The House on Parchment Street," by accident. I have a friend who frequents garage sales and consignment shops and this past summer I asked her to pick up as many children's books as she could find so I could send them off to another writing friend who donates them to sick children. I kept a couple of the books she gave me so I could get a feel for different age groups and genres of children's books.

Carol, a quirky fifteen-year-old American girl, visits family in England. Her fourteen-year-old cousin, Bruce, lives in a three hundred-year-old house which he hates. Carol and Bruce don't get along at all until they discover they have both seen the ghosts in cellar. They work together to discover the reason why the ghosts are still roaming the property and in the meantime, discover things about themselves and each other.

"The House on Parchment Street" was first printed in 1973. 1973!! That's about the time I would have been eleven years old and just the right age to read this middle grade mystery book.

When I read the back cover, the story line appealed to me, and the cover intrigued me. There are also some great drawings by Charles Robinson, scattered throughout the book.

First of all, the book opens with Carol, sitting barefoot on her suitcase on Parchment Street. She had flown into London and then taken a bus into the countryside where her mother's family lives. She hadn't waited for her aunt and uncle to pick her up at the airport because she forgot. I found this a little unbelievable, but the whole barefoot thing really threw me for a loop.

When her uncle confronts Bruce about being spotted smoking a cigarette, the uncle says, "You're old enough to make those kind of decisions..." What??

Anyway, I found the dialogue herky-jerky and very preachy (except when it came to smoking cigarettes). There were entire paragraphs of dialog that weren't really needed in the story, and a whole lot of telling instead of showing, specifically with adverbs in the dialog tags.

I really liked the story idea and I don't mean to be harsh. I realize 1973 was a totally different time, but this book was reprinted in 1991, and the fact that parts of the story were not changed, surprises me. Needless to say, I was disappointed with the writing and I'm glad today's publishing industry demands quality writing for children.

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Do you have a book suggestion or your own published book you'd like me to read? Drop me an e-mail at deestan62@gmail.com.

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OopS! I almost forgot...No, I'm just kidding. Thank you to everyone who read my interview with Courtney and for leaving a comment. Ok, here goes...

Drum roll, please.....The winner of the Shadow Dancer giveaway is...Anne Johnson!

Congratulations, Anne!  I will be contacting you soon for your information so you can get your copy of Shadow Dancer.