Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Back to the Homeplace by William Leverne Smith Book Review


At the heart of this story is communications among family members: communication and lack of communication; parents with children, among children.

An extended family in crisis following the death of their matriarch must cope with this new environment. The year is 1987. The terms of an unusual will left by their parents bring four grown children, spouses, and other family members, back to the Missouri Ozarks farm where they grew up - the Homeplace.  Varied backgrounds and viewpoints ignite controversy and expose long kept secrets as each family member searches for his or her share of the family legacy. While the older family members stake their claims to land and fortunes, the younger ones search for love and acceptance.

Other issues: AIDS Awareness in 1987 issues; Support group for domestic violence incidents

William Leverne Smith was born and raised on a Midwestern farm. A passion for family history and genealogy studies provides background for his writing.
He and his wife live in a cabin in the Missouri Ozarks.

-Courtesy of William Leverne Smith

***
I was intrigued when I was presented with the opportunity to review the novel Back to the Homeplace by William Leverne Smith. Back to the Homeplace is set in the late 1980's in the Missouri Ozarks. An extended family has returned to 'the Homeplace' after the death of the family matriarch. The terms of an unusual will brings them back together, yet controversy ignites within the family as long kept secrets are exposed. As family members search for their share of the family legacy, the older members seek fortunes while the younger members seek acceptance. 

William Leverne Smith has a passion for genealogy and family history which manifest themselves as themes in this book. Smith was raised in the Midwest on a farm and currently lives in the Missouri Ozark Hills. He even has family here in Austin!

This is another book that dives right in and gets to the meat of the story, which I love. No time wasted. Smith also helps set the time period by starting every chapter with a few tidbits about whats going on in the world at the time. Themes include AIDS and Domestic Violence Awareness. This really helps to keep the story flowing. Smith's descriptive writing style keeps you captivated especially when it comes to dialogue between the characters.

In a way I can relate to the characters in this story, communication between family members can be difficult at times. Especially when children are grown and everyone lives their own lives, knowing the right thing to say isn't always easy. 

Back to the Homeplace is the first book in a planned series, keep an eye out for The Homeplace Revisited in late Spring 2011. You can visit the publisher, Vision to Action, at http://eduscapes.com/v2a. For the latest news on the Back to the Homeplace series and to sign up for the free newsletter, email the author at williamlevernesmith@gmail.com. Smith would love to hear from you and also invites you to visit his Facebook fan page. Just search: William Leverne Smith. You can purchase the book on www.amazon.com!

Thanks to the author, William Leverne Smith for the book sample to review. Congrats on the book!
*I received a sample of Back to the Homeplace to facilitate my candid and honest review. No other form of compensation was or will be given. All personal views are my own!


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