Ordinary Springs

by Lenore Hart

Still struggling to overcome her feelings of betrayal over the abandonment of her mother, Dory Gamble finds her life turned upside down once again by the arrival of strangers next door, an ailing man dependent on his beautiful and sophisticated wife, and her father's growing feelings for his new female neighbor. By the author of Waterwoman. Original.

367 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2005

About the author

Lenore Hart is the author of the novels Waterwoman, Ordinary Springs, The Treasure of Savage Island, Becky: The Life and Loves of Becky Thatcher, and The Raven's Bride. A B&N Discover book author and Shirley Jackson Award finalist, she's also series editor of The Night Bazaar Speculative fiction anthologies. Hart is fiction faculty at the Ossabaw Island Writers Retreat in Savannah. She lives in a somewhat haunted house on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with novelist David Poyer and some very entitled cats and peahens.

Reviews

[LInda L · Rating 4 out of 5]

REad this some time ago, but remember that I liked it a lot. Kind of a coming of age novel. And a good one.

[D Dina Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a smooth enjoyable read, and the characters and situation were engaging, though a bit predictable.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Dory feels that she has been replaced in her father's eyes -- by the married woman next door -- she decides she won't just stand by and watch. Yet what happens when she follows her father to the neighbor's house is horrifying...and yet the story doesn't end there.

After getting pregnant at 16, being sent to a juvenile detention center, and escaping, Dory makes a new life for herself and her daughter amongst the odd folks of a roadside novelty stop and diner. Yet, though the folks there accept and love her, she still feels unsettled about what happened with her father, and especially about whatever happened to her mother, a woman she'd never really known.

When Dory returns to her hometown of Ordinary Springs, she is faced with hard truths and realities, and works to uncover the mystery of her past. With vibrant, quirky, unique characters, the story reads quickly and easily, and seems like a great summer read.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book, although not that memorable. The settings were really well done, rich detail that painted a good picture of the various locales in my mind; and the author did a good job portraying the main character's various emotional states. The characters and plot didn't quite live up to it, though. Ordinary Springs is the name of the small town of the main setting, a regular Emotional Dysfunction Junction. All of the characters are revealed to be extremely screwed up, and they do weird things that seem to be out of character but end up being related to their extreme screwed-up-ness. There's supposed to be some kind of great mysterious tragedy underpinning all the screwed-up-ness, but it's kind of weakly resolved at the end.

[Adra Cole Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read. Her writing style can be a bit boring at times, but she does two things very well: she speaks to the time and the location with regional dialect and small-town talk, with consistency and true human appeal.

At times, this books reads a little to fantastical for me, but I suppose that's part of the charm. I didn't see the end coming, either, which was a pleasant surprise, I guess, since this book was fairly predictible, even with it's unorthodox characters and plot variations.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author understands human relationships and psychology. Much of the book is about choices and how what you choose affects yourself and those around you. It was a little bit of a mystery within a novel. Mostly, a well written book that made me care about the main character and want circumstances to turn around for her.

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know how you think the book is going to unfold even when you are on page 20? You know how sometimes you read just to find out if you were right? This wasn't one of those times. I couldn't get into this.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of age story, well written, really enjoyed this book.

[Nancy K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

been awhile since I read this one.

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of Age novel set in Ordinary Springs Florida in the 1950's. A young girl raised by her fathr in a small town where secrets abound.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book