Patti Hill

Dear Readers,

Sometimes when you read a book, you find yourself between the covers, other times you find friends or family members. In Seeing Things by Patti Hill, I found my mother. Not that my mother is having eye problems or finds herself talking to Huckleberry Finn, but the streak of independence a mile wide is my mother. :-)

Birdie is very independent in spite of having Macular Degeneration. She still hikes mountains, cooks pie and goes dancing with a rather dreamy guy who is younger than her. Nothing will slow her down, until the day she falls down the stairs and breaks her ankle. Then her son insists that she comes live with him and his family in Denver. Birdie is only willing to go if they will take her dog Bee also.

Things start to get very interesting when Birdie starts seeing Huckleberry Finn. She isn't sure what to make of him. He doesn't act how she expects him to and when he finally speaks to her, she is really worried that she is going insane.

Fletcher, Birdie's grandson is the one bright spot in her day. They spend time listening to Huckleberry Finn on her Ipod as he needs to read it for school, driving lessons are next on the list and dog training lessons for a little fluff ball so Fletcher can meet the dog's owner.

So maybe now you can understand why I liked this book. I figure anyone of that age and with Macular Degeneration who is that active has got to be someone I need to meet. What fun! But Birdie knows she doesn't have all the answers and is surprised by some of the things she learns about herself and even others.


Wait until you meet the other degenerates or Bats as they go by or even Lupe, Birdie's son's maid. I really enjoyed this book and will find myself missing Birdie, Fletch and ole' Huck when I am done.

Happy Reading

Patti Hill

Dear Readers.
I have to admit that I didn't think I would like The Queen of Sleepy Eye by Patti Hill as much as I did. I totally enjoyed the story and even found myself a little sad that the story ended.
During the summer of 1975, Amy and her not so traditional mother head on a road trip to California so Amy can finally find the freedom from her mother. That is the only problem with this trip, Mom insisted in coming along.

When Mom's beloved Pontiac Bonneville Sports Coupe loses it's tranmission, they are stuck in the small town of Cordial. Colorado. Francie, mom, is ok with this and ready to make the best of it. She finds a job, strikes up a friendship and even finds a boyfriend, of course that is the problem. Mom isn't acting like she wants to leave and Amy can't wait to leave.

When Franie takes a job at the local funeral home Amy is sure that she will never see California. Not only is she stuck in this one horse town, she now has to spend her days and nights answering the death calls, as Mrs. Clancy so delicately puts it. How will they ever get a chance to leave? Will it ever work out and will Amy leave even if her mother doesn't want to?

Susan May Warren is quoted as saying this about the book, "More than a coming-of-age tale, it's about life and loss, love and forgiveness. and discovering there is more to the world than what we see." She is correct. It is one of those books you have to read to really experience it. I know that sounds funny, but this is a book you may not pick up on your own, but I recomend it to all who are looking for something a little different.

Patti has really found her stride with this book. I love the desciptions in it, you can almost feel the summer heat rising from the book just by the word pictures. Even the hippie commune is well pictured and I think I would be able to find this little town, just by how Patti paints it in words.

Happy Reading