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The Starlite Drive-In
Start with a drive-in movie theater in the 1950s. Add a starstruck and lonely 12-year-old girl and a handsome drifter, and you have all the makings for a coming-of-age romance . . . a fine first novel from an author to be reckoned with."--"Richmond Times-Dispatch.
292 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
March 17, 2008
This small, unobtrusive 1997 paperback is easy to overlook. At first glance it appears to be one of those "fluff" romance novels that are used primarily as a means of escape. Had I myself come across The Starlite Drive-In most likely, I would have dismissed it without bothering to read the back cover. Fortunately, my mother picked it up during an after-Christmas browse through Bellevue's branch of the University of Washington bookstore. Although the writing is not polished or poetic, the story is so engaging that I could not help but quickly become entangled in the lives of the characters. The book's main players come alive and exist beyond the cover's boundaries. Calle Anne, the novel's narrator, is instantly likable, a twelve-year-old somewhat akin to Harper Lee's Scout, in both actions and the role each girl plays. While the story's main focus is the romance between Calle Anne's mother and a drifter, it is the surprising first love experienced by Calle Anne herself that is the real gem here. Set in the late'50's, a seemingly idyllic time that conjures up images of mothers clad in aprons, dishing out meatloaf, Elvismania, and teens for whom the A & W and a movie were the makings of a perfect date. I found myself longing to sit at a diner, sipping a brown cow, my legs dangling beneath a poodle skirt, feet bearing bobby socks and saddle shoes, keeping rhythm with that "...old-time rock and roll." Because the story is told in retrospect the book bears resemblance to TV's The Wonder Years. I recommend you read this novel on a cold winter day. You will feel the heat of a dusty, small-town Indiana summer, enjoy the thrill of a first love, and journey with an adult Calle Anne into the murder that forever changed her life.
December 29, 2011
Callie Anne wasn’t looking forward to yet another boring summer at the drive-in theater her father managed, but was it really going to be boring?
Callie Anne was pleasantly surprised that this summer was completely unlike any other summer once Memphis arrived. She was twelve, and Memphis was a drifter that had been hired to help her father with some of the chores at the drive-in. Callie Anne was enamored by Memphis, but didn't like how he seemed to care for her mother more than he cared for her. He was always polite to Callie Anne and her mother...so much nicer than her father who was gruff and condescending to them both.
The book centers on Callie Anne and her life with her domineering father and agoraphobic mother. Callie Anne is an endearing, innocent, tomboyish character and is the story's narrator. Through the author's skill, you can feel Callie Anne’s emotions when things happen to her...things that were caused either by her father's cruelty or from her mother's fears of venturing outside the house. Descriptions of the characters, their feelings, and every day events are very vivid and at times gripping. It is an enticing read that took me back to the time of drive-in movies and stay-at-home moms.
Callie Anne's mother, Teal, is a pathetic woman that you can't feel anything but sorrow for. She won't leave the house because of her fears, and her husband, Claude, is always critical to the point of being cruel to her.
Claude is not a likeable person at all...you will want to put him in his place. Memphis is a likeable character and brings a different component to the story....sweetness but wariness on the part of the reader. A few minor folks appear at times and add that extra touch needed to round out certain scenes. Aunt Bliss was Teal's rough sister and Virgil was the concession stand worker. Both Aunt Bliss and Virgil helped add essence to the story and to Callie Anne's character.
The book is a quick, nostalgic read that begins in Callie Anne’s adult life during a police investigation occurring on the drive-in’s property and then shifts to Callie Anne’s childhood. Her childhood is the main focus of the book, and is the connection to the opening pages.
I truly enjoyed the book's theme, the characters, and the storyline. The storyline was indeed interesting because it combined bitter and sweet, nostalgia, childhood fears, suspense, innocence of the era, and misfortune on each character's part each in his/her way.
5/5
Callie Anne was pleasantly surprised that this summer was completely unlike any other summer once Memphis arrived. She was twelve, and Memphis was a drifter that had been hired to help her father with some of the chores at the drive-in. Callie Anne was enamored by Memphis, but didn't like how he seemed to care for her mother more than he cared for her. He was always polite to Callie Anne and her mother...so much nicer than her father who was gruff and condescending to them both.
The book centers on Callie Anne and her life with her domineering father and agoraphobic mother. Callie Anne is an endearing, innocent, tomboyish character and is the story's narrator. Through the author's skill, you can feel Callie Anne’s emotions when things happen to her...things that were caused either by her father's cruelty or from her mother's fears of venturing outside the house. Descriptions of the characters, their feelings, and every day events are very vivid and at times gripping. It is an enticing read that took me back to the time of drive-in movies and stay-at-home moms.
Callie Anne's mother, Teal, is a pathetic woman that you can't feel anything but sorrow for. She won't leave the house because of her fears, and her husband, Claude, is always critical to the point of being cruel to her.
Claude is not a likeable person at all...you will want to put him in his place. Memphis is a likeable character and brings a different component to the story....sweetness but wariness on the part of the reader. A few minor folks appear at times and add that extra touch needed to round out certain scenes. Aunt Bliss was Teal's rough sister and Virgil was the concession stand worker. Both Aunt Bliss and Virgil helped add essence to the story and to Callie Anne's character.
The book is a quick, nostalgic read that begins in Callie Anne’s adult life during a police investigation occurring on the drive-in’s property and then shifts to Callie Anne’s childhood. Her childhood is the main focus of the book, and is the connection to the opening pages.
I truly enjoyed the book's theme, the characters, and the storyline. The storyline was indeed interesting because it combined bitter and sweet, nostalgia, childhood fears, suspense, innocence of the era, and misfortune on each character's part each in his/her way.
5/5
January 5, 2012
Sometimes a book evokes a time and a place so well, the reader feels like she's been dropped into it. That is the feeling I had reading Marjorie Reynold's The Starlite Drive-in.
Set in the hot, dusty summer of 1956 in a small Indiana town, I felt like I had to turn on the air conditioning to cool off, even though it was a cold winter day in New York City where I was reading the novel.
The book opens in the 1990s, where human remains are found at the old drive-in that Callie Anne's dad ran in the 1950s. Callie Anne, her dad Claude, and her mom Teal lived in a house on the drive-in property, and practically their entire lives revolved around around the drive-in.
For Teal, her entire life revolved around her house. Something happened to Teal a few years back; she became severely agoraphobic, unable to leave her home. This also meant that Claude and Callie Anne were stuck there too, something for which Claude resented Teal. He treated his wife and daughter poorly, yelling at them, talking down to them, calling them names; they walked on eggshells around Claude.
One day, a drifter named Memphis got a job working at the drive-in. Callie Anne, just beginning adolescence, fell hard for the good-looking, mysterious man. Memphis was a quiet man, but he had a connection with Teal. He didn't like the way Claude treated Teal, and began to fall in love with her. His presence at the drive-in changed everything for Callie Anne's family that summer.
Reynold's novel cast a spell on the reader. The characters are fleshed out and interesting, from the major ones like Callie, Memphis, Teal and Claude to the minor ones, like Teal's strong-willed sister Bliss, and Virgil, the young man who worked at the drive-in and with whom Callie begins a tender relationship. I liked how most of the characters were good at heart, but people with flaws, desires and hopes.
Although the story is told from Callie Anne's point of view, it was Teal's journey that moved me most. She went from a timid, lonely woman to someone who blossomed as she attempted to overcome her agoraphobia and open herself up to love. I loved her inner strength.
There is some action in the book, even a few scenes that will make you hold your breath. The story reminded me of The Last Picture Show (the movie, as I have never read the book), even down to the movie reference in the titles. It has a small 1950s town, characters with secrets, illicit love and a languid pace.
I think Callie summed it all up best when she said "I didn't know how to express what was really bothering me. It was tied up with loving Charlie Memphis and losing a dream and thinking life was too complicated and hard on people. There was even something to do with responsibility, but I couldn't make sense of it."
Life was hard on the people on The Starlite Drive-in, just like it is on many people. I have a feeling I won't soon forget them.
Set in the hot, dusty summer of 1956 in a small Indiana town, I felt like I had to turn on the air conditioning to cool off, even though it was a cold winter day in New York City where I was reading the novel.
The book opens in the 1990s, where human remains are found at the old drive-in that Callie Anne's dad ran in the 1950s. Callie Anne, her dad Claude, and her mom Teal lived in a house on the drive-in property, and practically their entire lives revolved around around the drive-in.
For Teal, her entire life revolved around her house. Something happened to Teal a few years back; she became severely agoraphobic, unable to leave her home. This also meant that Claude and Callie Anne were stuck there too, something for which Claude resented Teal. He treated his wife and daughter poorly, yelling at them, talking down to them, calling them names; they walked on eggshells around Claude.
One day, a drifter named Memphis got a job working at the drive-in. Callie Anne, just beginning adolescence, fell hard for the good-looking, mysterious man. Memphis was a quiet man, but he had a connection with Teal. He didn't like the way Claude treated Teal, and began to fall in love with her. His presence at the drive-in changed everything for Callie Anne's family that summer.
Reynold's novel cast a spell on the reader. The characters are fleshed out and interesting, from the major ones like Callie, Memphis, Teal and Claude to the minor ones, like Teal's strong-willed sister Bliss, and Virgil, the young man who worked at the drive-in and with whom Callie begins a tender relationship. I liked how most of the characters were good at heart, but people with flaws, desires and hopes.
Although the story is told from Callie Anne's point of view, it was Teal's journey that moved me most. She went from a timid, lonely woman to someone who blossomed as she attempted to overcome her agoraphobia and open herself up to love. I loved her inner strength.
There is some action in the book, even a few scenes that will make you hold your breath. The story reminded me of The Last Picture Show (the movie, as I have never read the book), even down to the movie reference in the titles. It has a small 1950s town, characters with secrets, illicit love and a languid pace.
I think Callie summed it all up best when she said "I didn't know how to express what was really bothering me. It was tied up with loving Charlie Memphis and losing a dream and thinking life was too complicated and hard on people. There was even something to do with responsibility, but I couldn't make sense of it."
Life was hard on the people on The Starlite Drive-in, just like it is on many people. I have a feeling I won't soon forget them.
June 26, 2018
***One of my favorite reads of 2018!***
I have never been to a drive-in movie theater. I want to go, but they are sadly, becoming obsolete.
This book is set in the great state of Indiana. I picked this book up at an Indiana goodwill.
I lived in Indiana for 5 years.
I was drawn in by not only the title but also the cover. That description won me over.
This fictional story is told to you from Callie Anne.
Her family operated the Star lite Drive-in back in the fifties.
Human bones were found underneath the ground where the drive-in set all those years ago.
Charlie Memphis comes to stay with the Benton family. He's a drifter and is hired to help with repairs at the drive-in.
The lives of The Benton Family is forever changed.
-----------------------------------------------
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this so much, but I was hopeful.
It had everything from romance, drama, even a few mysteries.
I enjoyed guessing the mysteries, but I was wrong on all of them.
The setting was set around this same time of year, Summertime.
It was easy to get into this story. I enjoyed the writer's writing style very much.
After I finished reading, I felt sadness.
Callie Anne had let me into intimate parts of her life.
I felt like I knew these people.
This would make a terrific movie.
November 21, 2010
I came by this book by accident, as it was lying in a box marked "to take away for free". The description on the back cover sounded interesting, what with the story taking place at a drive-inn theater, so I thought I'd give it a try. I finished this book fast and really enjoyed reading it. The story was unusual (at least for me) and though I knew the solution to the crime very soon, I was wondering how it all came to this end.
July 6, 2017
excellent just had to keep going no matter how tired wow what an ending shocker
January 20, 2012
I wasn't there when they dug up the bones at the old drive-in theater, but I heard about them within the hour. In a small town, world travels like heat lightning across a parched summer sky. Irma Schmidt phoned Aunt Bliss and delivered the news with such volume that her voice carried across the kitchen to where I was sitting.
After hanging up the receiver, Aunt Bliss peered at me through her thick bifocals. "With all those farms around there, they could be the bones of some animal."
I picked up the coffee mug, drained it, then set it on the worn Formica table. "They could be."
Pursing her lips, she stared hard at me. "I know what you're thinking, but more than one person disappeared that summer."
"Yes," I said reflectively, "that's true." But my heart was beating faster. (pg 1).
And so begins the story of The Starlite Drive-In by Marjorie Reynolds. Called Anne Benton knows the identity of the victim who mysteriously disappeared thirty-six years ago. In sweltering summer of 1956, when a handsome drifter named Charlie Memphis arrives at the Starlite to help Callie Anne's injured father run the theater. Both she and her mother, Teal, fall for Memphis's rugged style and gentlemanly manners, but Callie Anne's father - bitter in his role as caretaker for the rural drive-in and his agoraphobic wife - doesn't like the drifter's increasing interest in Teal.
A disastrous turn of events change their lives forever, and it's up to the grown up Callie Ann to unlock the secrets of the decades-old mystery.
I received The Starlite Drive-In compliments of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. In my own personal childhood memories I can still picture the sights and sounds of those long-forgotten classic drive-in theaters and Marjorie Reynolds does such an exceptional job at bringing the reader back to a much simpler time as we journey along with Callie Anne's memory of what happened so long ago. I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to read more from Marjorie Reynolds. Her writing style flows so well that it takes the readers back in time and you actually become part of the story, which I love. For that reason I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars!
After hanging up the receiver, Aunt Bliss peered at me through her thick bifocals. "With all those farms around there, they could be the bones of some animal."
I picked up the coffee mug, drained it, then set it on the worn Formica table. "They could be."
Pursing her lips, she stared hard at me. "I know what you're thinking, but more than one person disappeared that summer."
"Yes," I said reflectively, "that's true." But my heart was beating faster. (pg 1).
And so begins the story of The Starlite Drive-In by Marjorie Reynolds. Called Anne Benton knows the identity of the victim who mysteriously disappeared thirty-six years ago. In sweltering summer of 1956, when a handsome drifter named Charlie Memphis arrives at the Starlite to help Callie Anne's injured father run the theater. Both she and her mother, Teal, fall for Memphis's rugged style and gentlemanly manners, but Callie Anne's father - bitter in his role as caretaker for the rural drive-in and his agoraphobic wife - doesn't like the drifter's increasing interest in Teal.
A disastrous turn of events change their lives forever, and it's up to the grown up Callie Ann to unlock the secrets of the decades-old mystery.
I received The Starlite Drive-In compliments of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. In my own personal childhood memories I can still picture the sights and sounds of those long-forgotten classic drive-in theaters and Marjorie Reynolds does such an exceptional job at bringing the reader back to a much simpler time as we journey along with Callie Anne's memory of what happened so long ago. I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to read more from Marjorie Reynolds. Her writing style flows so well that it takes the readers back in time and you actually become part of the story, which I love. For that reason I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars!
February 9, 2018
This book was suspenseful and kept me wanting to read more. The Starlite Drive-In
January 13, 2012
This is a beautiful account of rural USA in the 1950s. The Formica tables are in place and the soda fountains not far away. Poor Callie Anne is living an isolated life in the summer that Charlie Memphis appears. School’s out and Callie Anne sees her school mates only when they come to see a movie in her father’s drive-in cinema, but they are not real friends of her.
Both she and her mother take a liking to Charlie Memphis. In fact, Callie Anne dreams of marrying him. But he is wooing her agoraphobic mother, who is being badly treated and taken for granted by her moody husband. Callie Anne’s life is in turmoil when things come to a head.
The relationship of Callie Anne’s parents is difficult and this is noticeable for Callie Anne too. She doesn’t like the way her father treats her mother, but there is nothing she can do about it. She hopes to escape with Charlie, but when this doesn’t happen, she dreams of leaving with him and her mother.
I loved this window into the 1950s with its drive-in cinema, the quiet life, the father as head of the household who had to be obeyed, and also, Callie Anne’s first broken heart AND her first love. It’s great fiction that will appeal especially to women.
Both she and her mother take a liking to Charlie Memphis. In fact, Callie Anne dreams of marrying him. But he is wooing her agoraphobic mother, who is being badly treated and taken for granted by her moody husband. Callie Anne’s life is in turmoil when things come to a head.
The relationship of Callie Anne’s parents is difficult and this is noticeable for Callie Anne too. She doesn’t like the way her father treats her mother, but there is nothing she can do about it. She hopes to escape with Charlie, but when this doesn’t happen, she dreams of leaving with him and her mother.
I loved this window into the 1950s with its drive-in cinema, the quiet life, the father as head of the household who had to be obeyed, and also, Callie Anne’s first broken heart AND her first love. It’s great fiction that will appeal especially to women.
April 1, 2023
Obvious plot is obvious and not something I'm in the mood for.
The Starlite Drive-In walks a predictable line between 1950s nostalgia and the grim-dark "realism" of the late 1990s. It's there to show how unhappy everyone was and how every marriage was full of abuse and heartbreak. But it lacks the uncanny valley macro-lens that actual critical deconstructionist art pieces that were produced contemporaneously.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...
The Starlite Drive-In walks a predictable line between 1950s nostalgia and the grim-dark "realism" of the late 1990s. It's there to show how unhappy everyone was and how every marriage was full of abuse and heartbreak. But it lacks the uncanny valley macro-lens that actual critical deconstructionist art pieces that were produced contemporaneously.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...
March 2, 2024
This book is a period book. If you were born in the 60s, this is true nostalgia A young girl living in rural mid-west who compares her experiences with the movies she watches each night on the drive-in screen. But life isn't like the movies. Everything doesn't always end well but it does end as it should. Parents are human and first love hurts. I enjoyed this book but some of the references may be dated.
September 12, 2016
Told as a flashback by the main character, author Marjorie Reynolds keeps you guessing as to the identity of the crime victim. Callie Anne's childhood recollections are typical of a 12 year old, but also very interesting, sometimes frightening. This story moves at a very quick pace...excellent writing!
April 30, 2020
I read this at a terrible job the winter when I was 19. The writing was so excellent, I remember being so bummed when I finished it. I will reread this soon.
May 13, 2018
"The full moon was casting enough white rays to catch grasshoppers by. It must have set the cicadas off because they were fussing in some oak trees." Simple, heavy, sweat-soaked sentences fill the pages of this overlooked modern classic by Marjorie Reynolds. It's a book about women's stories: femininity as it's made on the silver screen, and as it's lived in small-town Indiana in 1956. Callie Anne's pre-pubescent explorations of sex, romance, and growing self-awareness are deeply relatable.
The house at the drive-in is a prison, yes; but the subtlety of how Reynolds presents this prison is as painful as it is astounding. Teal, the mother, has, on the one hand, been isolated there by her panic attacks. The incredibly real depiction of something I experience was wrenching to see in print. On the other hand, Teal's husband has reacted to her illness with resentment, toxic anger, and abuse; the abuse becomes more of a prison than the illness.
Toxic masculinity reinforces Teal's anxiety disorder; and the patience and generosity of Memphis's healthy masculinity, in contrast, has all the healing power that is usually reserved for the 'woman's touch' in such narratives. A stunning subversion and analysis of romance tropes. The pacing is steady and masterful, inviting me to devour chapter after chapter with no sense of time passing or words wasted.
I want to give more words to the subtle beauty of how Callie Anne's observations of gendered roles on that big drive-in screen at the Starlite are dealt with as she explores her feelings for the 'leading man' Memphis, 'sidekick' Virgil, her pure-of-heart mother, her father the provider, sad Billy, and her take-no-shit Aunt Bliss. The way her understanding of this cast shifts as she goes from childish, stubborn assumptions, telling herself stories she's learned from other people and believing them, to uncertainty and maturity was beautiful.
A summer story, a story about white poor southern America, a story about women, about relationships, about men and gender roles and mental illness and abuse. Callie Anne's childhood does not end in this one summer. She learns that other people are more complex than she will ever know, peering ahead to adulthood with wisdom she didn't have before, and damn was the prose and the dialogue all beautiful.
"There are some things we gain at a terrible cost, and Memphis was one of them."
The house at the drive-in is a prison, yes; but the subtlety of how Reynolds presents this prison is as painful as it is astounding. Teal, the mother, has, on the one hand, been isolated there by her panic attacks. The incredibly real depiction of something I experience was wrenching to see in print. On the other hand, Teal's husband has reacted to her illness with resentment, toxic anger, and abuse; the abuse becomes more of a prison than the illness.
Toxic masculinity reinforces Teal's anxiety disorder; and the patience and generosity of Memphis's healthy masculinity, in contrast, has all the healing power that is usually reserved for the 'woman's touch' in such narratives. A stunning subversion and analysis of romance tropes. The pacing is steady and masterful, inviting me to devour chapter after chapter with no sense of time passing or words wasted.
I want to give more words to the subtle beauty of how Callie Anne's observations of gendered roles on that big drive-in screen at the Starlite are dealt with as she explores her feelings for the 'leading man' Memphis, 'sidekick' Virgil, her pure-of-heart mother, her father the provider, sad Billy, and her take-no-shit Aunt Bliss. The way her understanding of this cast shifts as she goes from childish, stubborn assumptions, telling herself stories she's learned from other people and believing them, to uncertainty and maturity was beautiful.
A summer story, a story about white poor southern America, a story about women, about relationships, about men and gender roles and mental illness and abuse. Callie Anne's childhood does not end in this one summer. She learns that other people are more complex than she will ever know, peering ahead to adulthood with wisdom she didn't have before, and damn was the prose and the dialogue all beautiful.
"There are some things we gain at a terrible cost, and Memphis was one of them."
September 21, 2024
In 1993 Callie Anne is 49 years old, she gets a call that the sheriff is at the drive in where she used to live. It is being razed and bones were found on the property.
The year is 1956 and Callie Anne is 12. She, her mother, and her father, Claude, live in the house on the property of the Starlite drive-in. Claude runs the theater and in the summer months in the evenings, sits in the projection booth and changes out the film as each one runs out. This summer, the owner of the drive-in theater hires Memphis, to do different type of handyman work around the theater. Callie Anne’s mom has agoraphobia and has not left the house in five years. Claude is abusive and angry and is mean to her mom. Memphis and her mom develop a relationship and fall in love, he helps her leave the house secretly and they take evening walks while Claude is in the projection booth. Everything comes to head one evening when Memphis and Claude have a fight. As we jump back to 1993, Callie visits her mom with the lighter that was found in the hole that’s being dug at the drive-in. It has the initials CM engraved on it. Her mother pretends not to know that it’s Charlie Memphis‘s lighter. So Callie plays along. It appears that Claude killed Memphis and pushed him in that hole and buried him. Pretending that he just skipped town, being the drifter that he was.
The year is 1956 and Callie Anne is 12. She, her mother, and her father, Claude, live in the house on the property of the Starlite drive-in. Claude runs the theater and in the summer months in the evenings, sits in the projection booth and changes out the film as each one runs out. This summer, the owner of the drive-in theater hires Memphis, to do different type of handyman work around the theater. Callie Anne’s mom has agoraphobia and has not left the house in five years. Claude is abusive and angry and is mean to her mom. Memphis and her mom develop a relationship and fall in love, he helps her leave the house secretly and they take evening walks while Claude is in the projection booth. Everything comes to head one evening when Memphis and Claude have a fight. As we jump back to 1993, Callie visits her mom with the lighter that was found in the hole that’s being dug at the drive-in. It has the initials CM engraved on it. Her mother pretends not to know that it’s Charlie Memphis‘s lighter. So Callie plays along. It appears that Claude killed Memphis and pushed him in that hole and buried him. Pretending that he just skipped town, being the drifter that he was.
September 11, 2021
I read this book in High School for a project. I had fresh intentions to try and enjoy a new mystery. While the book was not boring, the actual mystery of the book felt uninspiring and uneventful. It wasn't even a slow burn, the burn was simply a single lighter. The character development was decent, but it felt as the writer was disconnected to what a 12 year old actually thought. Her perspective of the plot events was watered down with her naïve understanding, until the concluding climax of the mystery, she's an adult. I feel the actually story could of been much more riveting if from the perspective of the father or mother. The actual coming of age story is decent, but predictable. Tomboy troupe starts to feel feminine with the budding of puberty and first loves. While I did not like the book, the actual writing of the book was beautiful and the authors descriptions were truly breathtaking.
This was my personal opinion. I do prefer mystery heavy books and this just seem like the mystery was an afterthought to the characters growing up story. Not my cup of tea. If you like coming of age stories, you may possibly like it as everyone one's tastes are different.
This was my personal opinion. I do prefer mystery heavy books and this just seem like the mystery was an afterthought to the characters growing up story. Not my cup of tea. If you like coming of age stories, you may possibly like it as everyone one's tastes are different.
January 1, 2024
3.5***
From the book jacket: When land developers uncover human bones at the site of the old drive-in, Callie Anne Benton realizes that she alone knows the identity of the victim who mysteriously disappeared thirty-six years ago. She recalls the tumultuous summer of 1956, when, nearly thirteen, she’s stuck at home with her parents during a long, hot summer in rural Indiana.
My reactions
I was completely hooked on this story from beginning to end. Callie is a wonderful character / narrator. She’s smart and observant, but also naïve and prone to flights of fancy. Living on the grounds of the drive-in, where her father is the manager, she’s watched too many movies, and her imagination tends to run away with her. The summer of 1956 is one where she begins to feel the stirrings of first love, but also witnesses the complexity of adult love. She doesn’t always understand what she sees but tries her best to piece it together.
It's a great coming-of-age story and told well. Brought back many memories of my family outings to the drive-in when I was a kid.
From the book jacket: When land developers uncover human bones at the site of the old drive-in, Callie Anne Benton realizes that she alone knows the identity of the victim who mysteriously disappeared thirty-six years ago. She recalls the tumultuous summer of 1956, when, nearly thirteen, she’s stuck at home with her parents during a long, hot summer in rural Indiana.
My reactions
I was completely hooked on this story from beginning to end. Callie is a wonderful character / narrator. She’s smart and observant, but also naïve and prone to flights of fancy. Living on the grounds of the drive-in, where her father is the manager, she’s watched too many movies, and her imagination tends to run away with her. The summer of 1956 is one where she begins to feel the stirrings of first love, but also witnesses the complexity of adult love. She doesn’t always understand what she sees but tries her best to piece it together.
It's a great coming-of-age story and told well. Brought back many memories of my family outings to the drive-in when I was a kid.
November 17, 2023
An interest coming of age story, set in the more innocent time of the 1950s. But was it more innocent, or just more blind to human nature? Callie Anne, the young girl who narrates the story, knows little of that nature. Not yet thirteen, she still believes in handsome princes. When one shows up, she’s instantly smitten.
It’s hard to totally believe that even a girl of that age could change her mind about people as often as she does. But perhaps it’s the changes in her body that create the changes in her mind. In any event, it’s a good story and a compelling read. And I love that it’s set at a drive-in theatre. What more could set the mood of that wonderful lost time? Could bring back that distant era?
My only quibble is of Callie Anne’s thoughts as an adult. I guess everyone wants to think well of their parents, but a woman of forty-nine must have learned something. One thing that she seems to have never learned is that her father was not a good man.
It’s hard to totally believe that even a girl of that age could change her mind about people as often as she does. But perhaps it’s the changes in her body that create the changes in her mind. In any event, it’s a good story and a compelling read. And I love that it’s set at a drive-in theatre. What more could set the mood of that wonderful lost time? Could bring back that distant era?
My only quibble is of Callie Anne’s thoughts as an adult. I guess everyone wants to think well of their parents, but a woman of forty-nine must have learned something. One thing that she seems to have never learned is that her father was not a good man.
June 27, 2024
This was a $0.25 book I bought at The DeSoto, MO Public Library. I’m not quite sure what reason a book makes onto their For Sale shelves, but I thought this looked like an interesting one and as luck would have it, it belonged to my favorite genre, Southern Chick lit, or in that same vein, as it tells the story of a 12 year old girl and her adventures in 1956 Indiana when she lived with her mother and father on the grounds of a drive-in movie theater.
The story starts with the girl as an adult and the finding of some human bones on the closed down drive-in theater property and the girl stealing a piece of evidence from the gravesite. The writer then flashes back to begin the story of how a drifter enters the family’s life and befriends the girl and her mother and slowly helps the mother break free from the prison of domestic abuse. The story has an unusual ending . From what I understand, this is the author’s first novel.
A quarter well spent.
The story starts with the girl as an adult and the finding of some human bones on the closed down drive-in theater property and the girl stealing a piece of evidence from the gravesite. The writer then flashes back to begin the story of how a drifter enters the family’s life and befriends the girl and her mother and slowly helps the mother break free from the prison of domestic abuse. The story has an unusual ending . From what I understand, this is the author’s first novel.
A quarter well spent.
July 21, 2017
2.5
I liked the depiction of Callie Anne and Teal's relationship, and the sense of a specific place and time. I found Claude Junior's character to be pretty two dimensional, and I also did not believe someone would be capable of changing from being an obvious bully and abusive personality to no longer behaving like one just because they got a lecture from the wife they have no respect for.
Ending with Callie as an adult was a letdown in a couple of ways. It was anti-climactic because of course we guess how it ends a good 200 pages earlier, and also the voice shifts from the POV inside the head of an intense young person to a pretty run-of-the-mill, somewhat distant and dispassionate POV of her as an adult...we end with the discovery that Teal is unable to accept reality and is in serious denial...was that supposed to feel like a twist? It just made the ending feel flat.
I liked the depiction of Callie Anne and Teal's relationship, and the sense of a specific place and time. I found Claude Junior's character to be pretty two dimensional, and I also did not believe someone would be capable of changing from being an obvious bully and abusive personality to no longer behaving like one just because they got a lecture from the wife they have no respect for.
Ending with Callie as an adult was a letdown in a couple of ways. It was anti-climactic because of course we guess how it ends a good 200 pages earlier, and also the voice shifts from the POV inside the head of an intense young person to a pretty run-of-the-mill, somewhat distant and dispassionate POV of her as an adult...we end with the discovery that Teal is unable to accept reality and is in serious denial...was that supposed to feel like a twist? It just made the ending feel flat.
May 27, 2019
This book has been on my shelf for years. I don't remember where I got it, but my husband picked it up and read it a couple of weeks ago. I noticed that he could barely put it down, so I asked him about it and he said it was "intriguing."
Turns out that this is quite a remarkable little gem, especially for a first novel. It's a coming of age story, it's a psychological story, it's a mystery. It's about family dynamics and it's about attraction, early in life and later in life. It's nostalgic and it's bittersweet. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Highly recommended. I'm going to look for more work by this relatively obscure author. I think this book is underrated.
Turns out that this is quite a remarkable little gem, especially for a first novel. It's a coming of age story, it's a psychological story, it's a mystery. It's about family dynamics and it's about attraction, early in life and later in life. It's nostalgic and it's bittersweet. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Highly recommended. I'm going to look for more work by this relatively obscure author. I think this book is underrated.
June 23, 2025
Reading this book made me feel like I was watching a black and white movie 😍 I felt like I could feel each characters emotion. I also felt that each character held such an important purpose for the story's plot. I could not put this book down because each chapter ended in a way that kept me wanting more. I do not want to go into too much detail just because I don't want to spoil it for others!
Although the way Reynolds crafted the storyline was beautifully written, I felt that the very end was rushed. I wish more time was taken to expand on what was happening.
I will definitely be reading more of her books✨
Although the way Reynolds crafted the storyline was beautifully written, I felt that the very end was rushed. I wish more time was taken to expand on what was happening.
I will definitely be reading more of her books✨
August 6, 2025
Extremely well-written, but I was bored with the plot. I'll happily read something else by the author, but this wasn't a great mystery, it was more of a bleak nostalgia trip to the 1950's Indiana- which sounds like it would be awesome to my history-loving self, but it was not.
It's like if Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird was witnessing spousal abuse, and I mean that in the most respectful way possible. The author is talented as a writer, but the plot wasn't captivating enough for a mystery and wasn't what you'd look for in a nostalgic trip.
It's like if Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird was witnessing spousal abuse, and I mean that in the most respectful way possible. The author is talented as a writer, but the plot wasn't captivating enough for a mystery and wasn't what you'd look for in a nostalgic trip.
January 27, 2018
A coming-of-age story based on a 1950s drive-in in a small Indiana town and a James Dean-type drifter who comes on the scene with tragic consequences for him and the marriage of the parents of the narrator, who is looking back on events from decades later after the discovery of bones on the site. It’s realistic and the writing is smooth but it’s not totally involving as the tragedy takes a long while to develop.
August 10, 2021
This book starts out innocent enough and is told through the eyes of a 12 year old girl. She ends up with the weight of the world on her shoulders because of betrayal and the secrets she feels she must keep in order to keep her family safe and together. This was a great book that will take you back to what you thought was a more simple place and time. It turns out the sins, hiding, coverups, love and abuse of people are the same no matter the time or place. Appears to be based around the 1950's.
January 25, 2022
Quite a good read; a definite page turner for sure. A very good book for its genre - it just wasn’t what I usually go for in books; though there were a fair amount of thrills. It’s a fun retrospect & a good read for an open Sunday.
November 12, 2022
This was such a strange and wonderful book. It’s told in the style of a flashback and I’ll admit I had to flip back to the present more than once but it was a good read. I’m just sorry it took so long for me to finish it
April 17, 2023
The book brought one back to the times of Drive-In theaters and into the life of a 13-year-old girl. That character actually took me back to my youth and how childlike I was at that age! But there's also a twist in the story -- you'll see !!!!
July 7, 2023
This was a very fun coming of age book to read. Lots of feelings and emotions and awkwardness that comes being 12 turning 13. The story between her parents and Memphis was riveting and sad. I enjoyed this book.
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March 9, 2025Eis um trecho que me fisgou: “…Não sei por que as pessoas tem de ser tão duras com uma pessoa por ela ser calada e tímida…” Concordo com essa frase e além da palavra "duras" acrescentaria a palavra implicantes.
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