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Cherry Bomb
Through the combined efforts of a Rolling Stone Magazine photographer, a reporter for the Macon News, and a Catholic priest, a young runaway graffiti artist with a troubled childhood is given a second chance, when she is caught out as the author of street graffiti, and offered a place at the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design. Young and orphaned Mare leaves Macon, Georgia’s mean streets and embarks upon an uncanny course of artistic and personal discovery. When she meets world acclaimed, abstract expressionist painter, Elaine de Kooning, who has her own conflicted past, the two begin an alliance, unaware that their lives are already entwined. Against the formal artistic backdrop of SCAD, Elaine de Kooning mentors the edgy, sixteen-year-old Mare, who takes an intuitive interest in iconography, and enrolls in a workshop at a North Carolina monastery, in possession of a renowned weeping icon. In a surprising twist, it is here that past and present collide, as Mare is left to confront the dangling threads of her traumatized childhood, which ultimately weave together to create the fabric that heals her life.
- GenresFiction
255 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2017
4 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Susan Cushman
16 books96 followersCushman's eighth book, "Pilgrim Interrupted," releases June 7 , 2022. Her seventh book, "John and Mary Margaret," was published June 8, 2021.
Susan's sixth book, a collection of linked short stories titled "Friends of the Library," was published by Koehler Books in August, 2019. Her third anthology, "The Pulpwood Queens Celebrate 20 Years!," was published in December, 2019.
Susan's first novel, "Cherry Bomb," released in July 2017. Her first book, "Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer's," was released in January 2017. She was also editor of "A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be," (March 2017) and "Southern Writers on Writing," (University Press of Mississippi, May 2018.) Susan has essays published in over 10 journals and magazines and four anthologies.
Susan was co-director of the 2010 and 2013 Oxford Creative Nonfiction Conferences, and Director of the 2011 Memphis Creative Nonfiction Workshop. She lives in Memphis where she loves leading a writing workshop at a senior living facility and volunteering for Room in the Inn, which provides food and shelter for the homeless.
Susan's sixth book, a collection of linked short stories titled "Friends of the Library," was published by Koehler Books in August, 2019. Her third anthology, "The Pulpwood Queens Celebrate 20 Years!," was published in December, 2019.
Susan's first novel, "Cherry Bomb," released in July 2017. Her first book, "Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer's," was released in January 2017. She was also editor of "A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be," (March 2017) and "Southern Writers on Writing," (University Press of Mississippi, May 2018.) Susan has essays published in over 10 journals and magazines and four anthologies.
Susan was co-director of the 2010 and 2013 Oxford Creative Nonfiction Conferences, and Director of the 2011 Memphis Creative Nonfiction Workshop. She lives in Memphis where she loves leading a writing workshop at a senior living facility and volunteering for Room in the Inn, which provides food and shelter for the homeless.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 27, 2017
Honest descriptions of abuse, so be forewarned. However, it was wonderfully handled and beautifully written. A fabulous story of redemption, art, beauty, and healing. Lovely and one that I definitely think I will re-read.
Disclosure: I am blessed to know the author and am so excited for her.
Disclosure: I am blessed to know the author and am so excited for her.
August 13, 2017
This is being marketed as southern literary fiction, and it's that, certainly. But if that's not your genre, think of it as gritty YA and read it anyway. The young protagonist, Mare, is struggling with the effects of years of abuse, first in a religious cult, and then in a foster home. She runs away, takes to the streets, and finds the voice that her abusers had taken from her in spray paint and blank walls.
But graffiti isn't enough. She needs to express her pain, yes. But she also needs to find help and healing and wholeness. And she won't find that in an abandoned house or a dark alley.
For the sake of full disclosure, I should probably mention that the author is a dear friend, and the godmother of one of my children. But that fact doesn't affect my opinion of the book. You need to read it, not because I love the author, but because it's a wonderful book.
But graffiti isn't enough. She needs to express her pain, yes. But she also needs to find help and healing and wholeness. And she won't find that in an abandoned house or a dark alley.
For the sake of full disclosure, I should probably mention that the author is a dear friend, and the godmother of one of my children. But that fact doesn't affect my opinion of the book. You need to read it, not because I love the author, but because it's a wonderful book.
Read
March 11, 2018Totally Unexpected
Wow! Just finished this book! Even though it is full of heart wrenching bits, the feeling of hope and love prevail! I love a book that cannot be pigeonholed into any one genre. This one covers so many bases! The story has domestic abuse, betrayal, abandonment, a bit of art history, and even some religious history. But the overall story of one’s purposes and happiness shines through the dark.
(Actually more than one character has her own past and demons to deal with, and Susan Cushman will take you on their journeys. There is some mystery, too...just for good measure!)
I cannot wait to read another novel by this author!
Wow! Just finished this book! Even though it is full of heart wrenching bits, the feeling of hope and love prevail! I love a book that cannot be pigeonholed into any one genre. This one covers so many bases! The story has domestic abuse, betrayal, abandonment, a bit of art history, and even some religious history. But the overall story of one’s purposes and happiness shines through the dark.
(Actually more than one character has her own past and demons to deal with, and Susan Cushman will take you on their journeys. There is some mystery, too...just for good measure!)
I cannot wait to read another novel by this author!
November 1, 2017
My favorite novels have been written by authors who incorporate a bit of themselves into the story. They are the ones who take “write what you know” to heart.
Susan Cushman, a former Jacksonian who now calls Memphis home, is among those special authors. First came “Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s,” a collection of blog entries documenting her time as a caregiver for her mom who suffered Alzheimer’s. She now has penned her first novel, “Cherry Bomb,” a fictional story that includes elements similar to those in the author’s life.
The title doesn’t give much of a clue regarding the story, other than it’s the tag for a 16-year-old street graffiti writer nicknamed Mare. The girl was left by her mother on the steps of a Georgia child services office when she was 12. They had escaped from Heaven’s Gate, a cult hidden in the wood, a cult whose members, including Mare’s two brothers, later that day followed the leader in a mass suicide. Heaven’s Gate was led by Scott, the girl’s birth father. He was the first to sexually abuse her, a pattern that was repeated by Mare’s foster father.
Fast forward four years, when art has become Mare’s means of expression and she turns to street graffiti to release her feelings of abandonment. The teen’s depictions of a mouthless girl with big eyes overshadowed by a large man catch the attention of a local journalist and a well-known photographer.
Mare earns a spot in a state art school, where she meets Elaine de Kooning, a visiting professor who made her mark in the New York art scene. Through her teacher, Mare is exposed to religious artwork known as iconography. Together, they come in contact with a nun named Sister Susannah and her weeping icon of St. Mary of Egypt.
To tell more would give away the plot of “Cherry Bomb.” Just know that is a story of redemption, artistic expression and the power of forgiveness. It’s a familiar story, but one with unique twists and background. By the time readers turn the last turn, they will have a better appreciation for street graffiti, abstract expressionism and iconography.
Without preaching, Cushman gives readers a feel for the power of faith. Neither Mare nor Elaine has a place for religion in their lives, or so they think. As they learn about St. Mary and her story, their eyes are opened to more than just the Coptic style of “writing” icons.
Religion is an example of the author “writing what she knows.” Cushman is a member of the Greek Orthodox faith, and St. Mary is her patron saint. She’s also spent time learning the art of iconography first hand.
Just like her characters, Cushman had a troubled childhood. As she said in one interview, “Cherry Bomb” is “full of stories that reflect my own experiences, although the protagonist is much more than a conglomerate of my several selves.”
Refining her writing skills, she has discovered the faith and support to find her own identity, one that has a voice in her blog and now as a novelist. “Cherry Bomb” is the first novel, but it certainly won’t be the last from this talented writer.
ARC provided by Dogwood Press
Susan Cushman, a former Jacksonian who now calls Memphis home, is among those special authors. First came “Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s,” a collection of blog entries documenting her time as a caregiver for her mom who suffered Alzheimer’s. She now has penned her first novel, “Cherry Bomb,” a fictional story that includes elements similar to those in the author’s life.
The title doesn’t give much of a clue regarding the story, other than it’s the tag for a 16-year-old street graffiti writer nicknamed Mare. The girl was left by her mother on the steps of a Georgia child services office when she was 12. They had escaped from Heaven’s Gate, a cult hidden in the wood, a cult whose members, including Mare’s two brothers, later that day followed the leader in a mass suicide. Heaven’s Gate was led by Scott, the girl’s birth father. He was the first to sexually abuse her, a pattern that was repeated by Mare’s foster father.
Fast forward four years, when art has become Mare’s means of expression and she turns to street graffiti to release her feelings of abandonment. The teen’s depictions of a mouthless girl with big eyes overshadowed by a large man catch the attention of a local journalist and a well-known photographer.
Mare earns a spot in a state art school, where she meets Elaine de Kooning, a visiting professor who made her mark in the New York art scene. Through her teacher, Mare is exposed to religious artwork known as iconography. Together, they come in contact with a nun named Sister Susannah and her weeping icon of St. Mary of Egypt.
To tell more would give away the plot of “Cherry Bomb.” Just know that is a story of redemption, artistic expression and the power of forgiveness. It’s a familiar story, but one with unique twists and background. By the time readers turn the last turn, they will have a better appreciation for street graffiti, abstract expressionism and iconography.
Without preaching, Cushman gives readers a feel for the power of faith. Neither Mare nor Elaine has a place for religion in their lives, or so they think. As they learn about St. Mary and her story, their eyes are opened to more than just the Coptic style of “writing” icons.
Religion is an example of the author “writing what she knows.” Cushman is a member of the Greek Orthodox faith, and St. Mary is her patron saint. She’s also spent time learning the art of iconography first hand.
Just like her characters, Cushman had a troubled childhood. As she said in one interview, “Cherry Bomb” is “full of stories that reflect my own experiences, although the protagonist is much more than a conglomerate of my several selves.”
Refining her writing skills, she has discovered the faith and support to find her own identity, one that has a voice in her blog and now as a novelist. “Cherry Bomb” is the first novel, but it certainly won’t be the last from this talented writer.
ARC provided by Dogwood Press
October 4, 2018
Couldn't put it down...so real, so close to home, so beautifully written.
July 31, 2017
This debut novel is a sweet story of redemption that captivates the reader from the very beginning. I was riveted by Mare's experiences early in the novel and found myself rooting for her more and more as the story progressed. Cherry Bomb is an easy yet rewarding read and that offers both understanding of life situations that most of us never experience as well as a call to action to any of us who are able and find ourselves confronting those who need our help.
July 28, 2017
“Susan Cushman, in her marvelous first novel, tells the touching, parallel stories of two female artists, one famous, one not. The intersection of their lives, rendered with passion, acumen and concision, will entertain and enlighten you. The story moves as quickly as running paint, and, in the accumulation of detail, becomes a canny meditation on art and individuality, on spirituality and hope. Its indelible characters, especially its young graffiti artist, will take up residence inside you alongside Scout Finch and Frankie Adams.”
July 30, 2017
This is a wonderful debut novel. This book takes you through the lives of 3 artists who attempt to grapple with the pain and misery of their childhoods. They each use various art endeavors for solice. From throwing up graffiti to Abstract Expressionism to Orthodox Iconography. I learned much. Ms. Cushman is an artist and now she has some proven to be an artist with words also.
December 8, 2017
How satisfying it was to read Susan Cushman’s new novel that advocates for redemption and forgiveness, healing and reconciliation.
This literary novel (Dogwood Press, 2017) traces the life of a young woman in Macon, Georgia who uses graffiti to process the hurt that life has brought her. (I’m pretty much illiterate about graffiti, but the apartment where I live in New Orleans has as its patron saint Jean-Michel Basquiat, so I was pleased to see his name mentioned in the novel’s early pages.) The story follows homeless young Mare as she meets famous artist Elaine de Kooning.
Elaine de Kooning, of course, is a historical figure, whose life Cushman has fictionalized, while using many facts from her life. De Kooning recognizes Mare’s talent and mentors Mare as an artist. Mare and Elaine came to art by very different paths—one through MTV videos, the other via the Museum of Modern Art. Their interaction leads Mare to enter the more traditional word of art via art school, and to question what she really wants from her art and life. CHERRY BOMB follows the stories of these two women in alternating viewpoints, which enables us to watch as their life histories gradually intersect. It’s wonderful to watch the author weave them together.
I am not going to give away plot points, but I was fascinated with how Cushman brought together the world of graffiti and the world of icons. Icons are a deeply historical form of worship, which Cushman has worked in herself (she created the icon on the back cover of CHERRY BOMB). I didn’t know both graffiti and iconography use the language of “writing” and “stories,” rather than drawing and pictures.
Of course, I’m also drawn to Mare because of her homelessness during much of the story. Her living on the street is well-told, as is the way she copes in that life. Both Mare and Elaine struggle with deeply difficult backgrounds of sexual abuse and abandonment. Working their way to forgiveness of those who have hurt them is hard. St. Mary of Egypt, the patron saint of the author, figures prominently in this process. To include forgiveness of themselves in that journey is remarkable.
This literary novel (Dogwood Press, 2017) traces the life of a young woman in Macon, Georgia who uses graffiti to process the hurt that life has brought her. (I’m pretty much illiterate about graffiti, but the apartment where I live in New Orleans has as its patron saint Jean-Michel Basquiat, so I was pleased to see his name mentioned in the novel’s early pages.) The story follows homeless young Mare as she meets famous artist Elaine de Kooning.
Elaine de Kooning, of course, is a historical figure, whose life Cushman has fictionalized, while using many facts from her life. De Kooning recognizes Mare’s talent and mentors Mare as an artist. Mare and Elaine came to art by very different paths—one through MTV videos, the other via the Museum of Modern Art. Their interaction leads Mare to enter the more traditional word of art via art school, and to question what she really wants from her art and life. CHERRY BOMB follows the stories of these two women in alternating viewpoints, which enables us to watch as their life histories gradually intersect. It’s wonderful to watch the author weave them together.
I am not going to give away plot points, but I was fascinated with how Cushman brought together the world of graffiti and the world of icons. Icons are a deeply historical form of worship, which Cushman has worked in herself (she created the icon on the back cover of CHERRY BOMB). I didn’t know both graffiti and iconography use the language of “writing” and “stories,” rather than drawing and pictures.
Of course, I’m also drawn to Mare because of her homelessness during much of the story. Her living on the street is well-told, as is the way she copes in that life. Both Mare and Elaine struggle with deeply difficult backgrounds of sexual abuse and abandonment. Working their way to forgiveness of those who have hurt them is hard. St. Mary of Egypt, the patron saint of the author, figures prominently in this process. To include forgiveness of themselves in that journey is remarkable.
June 19, 2018
Fantastic debut novel by Susan Cushman!
The lives of 3 women are shaped by abuse, neglect and art. They each find themselves and the ability to find beauty through their art.
I loved the storyline and the characters. I was an art major in college and I loved the art references and even learned a few things about iconography!
The lives of 3 women are shaped by abuse, neglect and art. They each find themselves and the ability to find beauty through their art.
I loved the storyline and the characters. I was an art major in college and I loved the art references and even learned a few things about iconography!
February 3, 2019
Not what I was expecting. It was a great book!
March 4, 2018
In Macon, Georgia, a young orphan named Mare gives voice to her childhood trauma by spray painting graffiti on public buildings and signing each piece with the tag Cherry Bomb. Having been born to a cult, on a farm called Heaven’s Gate, twelve-year-old Mare and her mother escape the scene before tragedy hits, yet there is no haven for Mare, when her mother leaves her at an orphanage and never comes back. Placed with a foster family, things turn so badly that Mare runs away and takes refuge on the streets. This is the background of the novel Cherry Bomb; the story takes off with what Mare does next.
Armed with an artistic talent she is seemingly born with, Mare feels most alive when venting her angst by defacing public property, where her graffiti becomes the stuff of legends. A famous photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine wants to discover the culprit, and soon a local newspaper reporter and a parish priest join in the search. When Mare is caught out, it is the combined force of all three that hatches a plan to set Mare on a more productive path, and Mare is helped to acquire a scholarship to Savannah’s College of Art and Design. It is here Mare meets professor, Elaine de Kooning, an abstract expressionist painter of world-wide repute with a haunted backstory. Unbeknownst to both, they share a common denominator as the pair establish a student/mentor relationship. As Mare studies her craft, she is intuitively drawn to the painting of icons, leading her to enroll in an acclaimed weekend workshop at a North Carolina monastery, where a mysterious series of events unfolds. Past and present collide in this cloistered setting, and the uncanny threads of Mare and Elaine’s common story are woven together to reveal their startling connection.
There are strong themes of perseverance and search for identity in this modern day, plausible story. It is a story for art lovers, in that the reader is led through the minutia of the art world and comes away fascinated with the art of iconography as it evolves from an edgy youth’s street graffiti. In pitch-perfect dialogue, refreshingly au courant, this unique story has tinges of religious themes as seen through the eyes of Mare, the young sceptic. Growth, accountability, and the quest for redemption artfully culminate in a satisfying ending.
There’s a lot going on in this fast paced, gripping story, but in the hands of author Susan Cushman, never once is the story of Cherry Bomb overwrought. Cushman hooks the reader from the start with the likable, streetwise Mare, and gifts us with a story of survival, in a creative book both YA and cross-over readers will love.
Armed with an artistic talent she is seemingly born with, Mare feels most alive when venting her angst by defacing public property, where her graffiti becomes the stuff of legends. A famous photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine wants to discover the culprit, and soon a local newspaper reporter and a parish priest join in the search. When Mare is caught out, it is the combined force of all three that hatches a plan to set Mare on a more productive path, and Mare is helped to acquire a scholarship to Savannah’s College of Art and Design. It is here Mare meets professor, Elaine de Kooning, an abstract expressionist painter of world-wide repute with a haunted backstory. Unbeknownst to both, they share a common denominator as the pair establish a student/mentor relationship. As Mare studies her craft, she is intuitively drawn to the painting of icons, leading her to enroll in an acclaimed weekend workshop at a North Carolina monastery, where a mysterious series of events unfolds. Past and present collide in this cloistered setting, and the uncanny threads of Mare and Elaine’s common story are woven together to reveal their startling connection.
There are strong themes of perseverance and search for identity in this modern day, plausible story. It is a story for art lovers, in that the reader is led through the minutia of the art world and comes away fascinated with the art of iconography as it evolves from an edgy youth’s street graffiti. In pitch-perfect dialogue, refreshingly au courant, this unique story has tinges of religious themes as seen through the eyes of Mare, the young sceptic. Growth, accountability, and the quest for redemption artfully culminate in a satisfying ending.
There’s a lot going on in this fast paced, gripping story, but in the hands of author Susan Cushman, never once is the story of Cherry Bomb overwrought. Cushman hooks the reader from the start with the likable, streetwise Mare, and gifts us with a story of survival, in a creative book both YA and cross-over readers will love.
September 26, 2017
Cherry Bomb is Susan Cushman’s first novel, but it doesn’t read like a debut novel. It reads like the work of a master.
Cushman is no novice. Her previous books include an excellent and thoughtful work of non-fiction, Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s, and the edition A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be, which consists of essays by women authors.
Cherry Bomb is a complex narrative that switches points of view while holding your attention and keeping you moving from page to page. It deserves a literary prize.
Like Southern writers Caldwell and O’Connor before her, Cushman gives us a glimpse of the grotesque in humanity as manifest in a Georgia setting.
The plot goes something like this.
Mare is a teenager who has been sexually abused by her father, a self-proclaimed minister in a rural cult in Macon, Georgia. Before a mass suicide in which her two brothers die, she escapes with her drug-addicted mother only to be deposited with Children’s Services. She’s placed on a farm with an alcoholic farmer and his wife. Here she remains captive for some time and is repeatedly raped by the alcoholic farmer.
Mare escapes and lives on the streets of Macon, becoming a graffiti artist whose talent is recognized by a visiting photographer. With the help of her community, she finishes her GED and then lands a scholarship to Savannah College of Art and Design, where she studies under the highly talented and acclaimed New York artist Elaine de Kooning. They develop a friendship that meets both of their needs and discover they have more in common than they ever imagined.
Throughout the story, readers learn about art, religious iconography, and history, both personal and artistic. Life comes full circle as Mare returns to help others as she had been helped. One character reveals that life itself is the highest form of art that can be mastered only by experiencing all of it, the positive and negative.
Conveying this lesson through Mare and other characters in Cherry Bomb, Cushman offers readers their own form of salvation, a narrative about how to act and think better than those who have inflicted wrongs against you. Even if your life is tough, you can overcome, even thrive, and then give back to others.
Cherry Bomb is a must read. There are many surprises here; readers will be pleased, I think, when unresolved conflicts are resolved. We may not be any more comfortable about the pressing social issues portrayed in this book, but Cushman offers some hope.
Cushman is no novice. Her previous books include an excellent and thoughtful work of non-fiction, Tangles and Plaques: A Mother and Daughter Face Alzheimer’s, and the edition A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be, which consists of essays by women authors.
Cherry Bomb is a complex narrative that switches points of view while holding your attention and keeping you moving from page to page. It deserves a literary prize.
Like Southern writers Caldwell and O’Connor before her, Cushman gives us a glimpse of the grotesque in humanity as manifest in a Georgia setting.
The plot goes something like this.
Mare is a teenager who has been sexually abused by her father, a self-proclaimed minister in a rural cult in Macon, Georgia. Before a mass suicide in which her two brothers die, she escapes with her drug-addicted mother only to be deposited with Children’s Services. She’s placed on a farm with an alcoholic farmer and his wife. Here she remains captive for some time and is repeatedly raped by the alcoholic farmer.
Mare escapes and lives on the streets of Macon, becoming a graffiti artist whose talent is recognized by a visiting photographer. With the help of her community, she finishes her GED and then lands a scholarship to Savannah College of Art and Design, where she studies under the highly talented and acclaimed New York artist Elaine de Kooning. They develop a friendship that meets both of their needs and discover they have more in common than they ever imagined.
Throughout the story, readers learn about art, religious iconography, and history, both personal and artistic. Life comes full circle as Mare returns to help others as she had been helped. One character reveals that life itself is the highest form of art that can be mastered only by experiencing all of it, the positive and negative.
Conveying this lesson through Mare and other characters in Cherry Bomb, Cushman offers readers their own form of salvation, a narrative about how to act and think better than those who have inflicted wrongs against you. Even if your life is tough, you can overcome, even thrive, and then give back to others.
Cherry Bomb is a must read. There are many surprises here; readers will be pleased, I think, when unresolved conflicts are resolved. We may not be any more comfortable about the pressing social issues portrayed in this book, but Cushman offers some hope.
July 8, 2021
Cherry Bomb by Susan Cushman is an intriguing read. Sad, sad topics, but the story ends with healing and help for those in need. This is a story of forgiveness in order to move on in life.
The story opens with the young protagonist Mary Catherine Henry, Mare, part of a dysfunctional family and a religious cult. I thank Cushman for not being too graphic in the abuse in this novel. The reader gets the point that this is a horrible situation and that the characters need to flee, if they can, and heal and move on with their lives.
But we look to fiction for a story. And Cushman delivers. A tangled plot of three generations of abused women ensues. Each story unique and terrifying. But the author keeps the story from becoming a dark and sad catalog of abuse. Cushman offers hope to her reader by creating strong characters who, despite their many flaws, truly care for others and offer guidance.
I don’t like to give away too much in a review, but even Mare tries to help another young graffiti artist, as other women try to help Mare, giving her focus and a voice in the world. Cherry Bomb by Susan Cushman is a story where art can help others heal.
The story opens with the young protagonist Mary Catherine Henry, Mare, part of a dysfunctional family and a religious cult. I thank Cushman for not being too graphic in the abuse in this novel. The reader gets the point that this is a horrible situation and that the characters need to flee, if they can, and heal and move on with their lives.
But we look to fiction for a story. And Cushman delivers. A tangled plot of three generations of abused women ensues. Each story unique and terrifying. But the author keeps the story from becoming a dark and sad catalog of abuse. Cushman offers hope to her reader by creating strong characters who, despite their many flaws, truly care for others and offer guidance.
I don’t like to give away too much in a review, but even Mare tries to help another young graffiti artist, as other women try to help Mare, giving her focus and a voice in the world. Cherry Bomb by Susan Cushman is a story where art can help others heal.
February 8, 2018
I was lucky enough to get a review copy of this novel along with "A SECOND BLOOMING from a friend who was reading the latter for her book club. A Second Blooming is an anthology edited by Susan Cushman, the author of CHERRY BOMB, and after reading this novel, I now know why she was chosen to edit that anthology. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. The writing is superb, the story heartbreaking and vivid, and far too believable. The subject matter could not be more timely, in light of all the allegations of sex abuse being brought to the public's attention. We are all still so woefully uneducated in regards to how soul-crushing this sort of abuse is. Ms. Cushman's writes with such conviction and authenticity, that it crossed my mind while reading that this might even be based on events she'd experienced in her own life. I know that as soon as I completed this novel, I started on the anthology. I feel so enriched by this author's work.
August 24, 2021
My reading of Cherry Bomb by Susan Cushman was a unique and educating experience! What began with the disastrous story of a young girl's childhood of horrible abuse turns into a spiritual awakening, and terrific history of religious icons that most of us have heard of, but know very little about! The ending and everything that leads up to it becomes much more than any reader would ever imagine happening. I was astounded by this book, and the manner in which it was written!
I would recommend this book for all readers who are seeking something out of the ordinary. It will remain in my mind as a very special book, and one that took me for a spectacular ride!
Thanks, Susan Cushman for being my special angel for the past couple of nights! Very well done, and I am certain that a lot of your time was spent on research. I loved it!
I would recommend this book for all readers who are seeking something out of the ordinary. It will remain in my mind as a very special book, and one that took me for a spectacular ride!
Thanks, Susan Cushman for being my special angel for the past couple of nights! Very well done, and I am certain that a lot of your time was spent on research. I loved it!
December 20, 2019
Mare Henry has suffered through years of abuse at the hands of her father and her foster father. Her mother dropped her off at DHS when she was twelve, promising to return. She never did. Mare turns to graffiti art to share her pain and experiences with the world. This leads to a reporter helping the teenage runaway get into Savanna College of Art and Design, which leads her to find a mentor in her art teacher with secrets of her own.
This book surprised me with its depth of emotions. The characters were complex and the viewpoints switched from chapter to chapter. Also, I loved all the historical information about iconography. It added another layer of depth to the story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
This book surprised me with its depth of emotions. The characters were complex and the viewpoints switched from chapter to chapter. Also, I loved all the historical information about iconography. It added another layer of depth to the story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
November 22, 2017
This was a compelling read about three conflicted characters who find redemption and hope.
October 21, 2018
So different! Interesting and heart rending. The author writes what she knows in novel form and I was pretty much glued to the page.
March 20, 2019
Better than I expected! The ending was a bit contrived, but the book overall was very good and well written. I had the joy of meeting Susan at my book club and she is so engaging!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews