All We Know of Heaven

by Sue Ellen Bridgers

In Depression-era rural North Carolina, Bethany Newell meets and falls in love with Joel Calder, but their lives soon take unexpected twists

212 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Makayla Phelps]

Such a good and heart-wrenching novel

[Dannielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how this book wound up in my classroom independent reading library or how it then somehow wound up on my desk, but it just wouldn't seem to go away, so I finally read it. This book caused my heart to physically ache, but also somehow gave me some peace in remembering that life goes in, from even the most painful of experiences. I'm not sure if the author was using "of" instead of "have because she was trying to emphasize dialect or if it was an error, but that drove me absolutely crazy. Every time I read "could of" instead of "could've," I was very distracted by the error. Other than that, it was definitely an emotional read despite mediocre writing.

[Tom Hooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrenching tale of a young woman whose mother is dead, and who is being raised by her aunt. She falls in love with a dark, young man. They have a baby. But the young man's darkness overwhelms him, and the repercussions are shattering.