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Found On 16th Avenue
Joe Vesely, an abused and orphaned teen raised in the underworld of Prohibition, is thrown into a strange new life in a unique immigrant community . . . and finds that what he is so desperately seeking will only come from the One he is running from.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
296 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published August 30, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 21, 2020
The book is ok. I found myself very interested in what happens to Joe and his new family. I loved how the book takes place in Cedar Rapids and captured a lot of the city's details. I look forward to driving through Czech Village to better visualize the story and characters. I'm Polish and not at all Czech, but I could easily imagine this being my family in the 30s. At times it was a little preachy, although if you're a fan of that sort of thing, you probably won't mind. I thought some of Joe's story of healing was a skosh unrealistic and maybe too simplistic. Maybe that is par for the course for Christian fiction? I'm not sure if that's how this book is classified. I read this for a book club pick and I'm not sure that I would have picked it otherwise. I'm interested in the character, so I'll probably read the sequel.
February 13, 2020
I live near Cedar Rapids and enjoyed reading about the area in the 1930s. My community library hosted the author and had a great turn-out for the event. Karen Roth is a great speaker and the first to admit that there are errors in her books, but her research was well done and showed in the detail of both characters and setting. I look forward to the next book.
April 17, 2020
Reading group selection. Wonderful book that we could relate to since we live in the same area. Also, for those of us not growing up in this area, it taught us a lot of history. A member of our book group invited Karen and she graciously accepted, to attend one of our book club luncheons and discuss all aspects of research and writing this book. What a wonderful treat!
August 3, 2018
Interesting to read about Cedar Rapids in 1933. The author worked the belief in God throughout the story, in a gentle way. Nice story.
April 6, 2010
Gritty and inspirational, Found on 16th Avenue brings to vibrant life the archetypical underdog we love to root for, but for whom we hold little hope.
If anyone "didn't have a chance" at a normal life, it was Joseph Vesely. Illigitmate son of a cast-out homeless woman, Joe scratches out an existence on the streets barely this side of survival, while he watches his mother waste away from a life of abuse and alcoholism. At her passing, he is taken to live with his aunt, uncle and grandmother--a Czech family who lives in a world he didn't realize even existed, let alone understands.
Set in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during the 1930s, Ms. Roth immerses us in the life and times of the town's Czech community as they eke out their own existence in the throes of the Great Depression. John Mark Martin, Joe's uncle, pastors a small church during the day and provides for his family by working in a factory at night. Joe's irascible grandmother, Josephina Vesely, and his stoic aunt, Kate, struggle to maintain a meaningful family life for their two sons, Johnny and Stephen. When Joe shows up on their doorstep, the family's delicate physical, spiritual and emotional balance is put to the test. Their meager larder must stretch to fill another hungry mouth, their patience to win the emotionally scarred and withdrawn youth into their hearts, and their faith to lift him where he needs it the most.
Ms. Roth does a fantastic job of pulling the reader into the story. Her characters are vivid and multi-dimensional, her descriptions acute. We recoil from the ambient stench of the factories along the river with John Mark as he trudges wearily home from his mid-shift. We choke and sweat through the dusty heat of a Midwestern summer as the boys chop and dig at the hard soil of the family garden. And we shiver in the sub-zero winter in the drafty house as Kate scrapes for just one more lump of coal to put in the furnace. But mostly, we hold our breaths as Joe takes one faltering step after another on the road to redemption.
What's really great about this story, though, is that it doesn't end at the back cover. Ms. Roth has blessed the reader with the continuing story of Joe's coming of age in My Portion Forever, the sequel to 16th Avenue. Get 'em both and do what I once again failed to do: read Found on 16th Avenue first . . . (sigh!).
If anyone "didn't have a chance" at a normal life, it was Joseph Vesely. Illigitmate son of a cast-out homeless woman, Joe scratches out an existence on the streets barely this side of survival, while he watches his mother waste away from a life of abuse and alcoholism. At her passing, he is taken to live with his aunt, uncle and grandmother--a Czech family who lives in a world he didn't realize even existed, let alone understands.
Set in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during the 1930s, Ms. Roth immerses us in the life and times of the town's Czech community as they eke out their own existence in the throes of the Great Depression. John Mark Martin, Joe's uncle, pastors a small church during the day and provides for his family by working in a factory at night. Joe's irascible grandmother, Josephina Vesely, and his stoic aunt, Kate, struggle to maintain a meaningful family life for their two sons, Johnny and Stephen. When Joe shows up on their doorstep, the family's delicate physical, spiritual and emotional balance is put to the test. Their meager larder must stretch to fill another hungry mouth, their patience to win the emotionally scarred and withdrawn youth into their hearts, and their faith to lift him where he needs it the most.
Ms. Roth does a fantastic job of pulling the reader into the story. Her characters are vivid and multi-dimensional, her descriptions acute. We recoil from the ambient stench of the factories along the river with John Mark as he trudges wearily home from his mid-shift. We choke and sweat through the dusty heat of a Midwestern summer as the boys chop and dig at the hard soil of the family garden. And we shiver in the sub-zero winter in the drafty house as Kate scrapes for just one more lump of coal to put in the furnace. But mostly, we hold our breaths as Joe takes one faltering step after another on the road to redemption.
What's really great about this story, though, is that it doesn't end at the back cover. Ms. Roth has blessed the reader with the continuing story of Joe's coming of age in My Portion Forever, the sequel to 16th Avenue. Get 'em both and do what I once again failed to do: read Found on 16th Avenue first . . . (sigh!).
August 16, 2008
Roth, a reading and writing instructor at the University of Texas, San Antonio, was born in Cedar Rapids, IA and relives the childhood of her parents in the city's Old Bohemie Town during the Depression in this novel. While the book came out in 2006, it seems more relevent now as this part of town was hit quite hard in the flooding this summer and many have been reminiscing about the old Czech Village.
As a local, I loved all the local history tidbits, although most probably go unnoticed by most. I recognized Bill Zuber (a local boy who had a long career as a major-league pitcher) and Guaranty Bank (which is a minorly big deal locally), but if there were others they blended in with the more general details on what life during the Great Depression was like.
I was also impressed with the story itself. Maybe it's not fair that I expect so little from religious fiction, but I was pleasantly surprised that a story with so many realistic details also told a religiously uplifting story.
The story follows 14-year-old Joe Vesely following the death of his alcoholic mother, Marie. John Mark and Kate Starosta, Joe's uncle and aunt decide to take the boy into their home, along with Kate's mother (& Joe's grandmother) Josephine and Kate and John Mark's sons John Carl and Stephen. Having grown up in the homes of his mother's various boyfriends and finally ending up in a Hooverville shantytown, Joe is unaccustomed to the care and concern of this close-knit family. He soon meets an equally caring extended family in John Mark's brother Vincent and Vincent's neighbor's the Prasky's.
The book takes turn focusing on different members of the family, but ultimately this is Joe's story, with a lot of help from John Mark, pastor of one of the local churches, who took on a night job at one of the local factories when the Depression meant that the church offering plate could no longer keep his family fed.
I was really surprised at how much I liked this book and am looking forward to the sequel My Portion Forever, which continues following Joe into adulthood.
As a local, I loved all the local history tidbits, although most probably go unnoticed by most. I recognized Bill Zuber (a local boy who had a long career as a major-league pitcher) and Guaranty Bank (which is a minorly big deal locally), but if there were others they blended in with the more general details on what life during the Great Depression was like.
I was also impressed with the story itself. Maybe it's not fair that I expect so little from religious fiction, but I was pleasantly surprised that a story with so many realistic details also told a religiously uplifting story.
The story follows 14-year-old Joe Vesely following the death of his alcoholic mother, Marie. John Mark and Kate Starosta, Joe's uncle and aunt decide to take the boy into their home, along with Kate's mother (& Joe's grandmother) Josephine and Kate and John Mark's sons John Carl and Stephen. Having grown up in the homes of his mother's various boyfriends and finally ending up in a Hooverville shantytown, Joe is unaccustomed to the care and concern of this close-knit family. He soon meets an equally caring extended family in John Mark's brother Vincent and Vincent's neighbor's the Prasky's.
The book takes turn focusing on different members of the family, but ultimately this is Joe's story, with a lot of help from John Mark, pastor of one of the local churches, who took on a night job at one of the local factories when the Depression meant that the church offering plate could no longer keep his family fed.
I was really surprised at how much I liked this book and am looking forward to the sequel My Portion Forever, which continues following Joe into adulthood.
September 8, 2011
Wonderful book, takes you right to the heart of what is was like to be fighting to put food on the table and when nearly everyone was in the same boat, poverty-wise. Very true picture of Czech town and Cedar Rapids at that time. Am currently reading the next book by Karen Roth and am loving it just as much if not more than this one...love the continuation of the saga.
October 12, 2011
I do not read Christian fiction - so was not impressed with the story line or the characters of this book. However, being born and returned to Cedar Rapids, Iowa - the setting of this book, I enjoyed the history that was mentioned - Guaranty Bank, Art Collins, Bill Zuber as well as others.
December 4, 2015
This is an inspirational book--a genre that I don't normally read. Mildly interesting for its details on the history of the Cedar Rapids Czech community, the story's plot line lacks the sort conflict that keeps you reading. I did finish though.
April 26, 2009
a book i would recommend for people from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. if you're from here, you'll love it! but otherwise, i would only give it an "okay".
July 28, 2012
I did truly love this book, but it didn't really get gripping until almost the end. It does tell a very strong Christian message, but I learned a lot about my husband's heritage and culture.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews