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UNDER THE SAME SKY
Author:
Brett
Smuckler
I
received a copy of this novel in the
mail from the young author herself,
Brett Smuckler, who was born and
raised in Maryville, so I was excited
to read a book from a local writer. Under
the Same Sky is a story with
amazing potential. Olivia and
Emmett’s relationship is so genuine
and relatable, and Olivia’s
childhood memories seem very
authentic. Smuckler’s writing is
informative, detailed and skilled. I
didn’t know much about Haiti or
living in Massachusetts, but now I
feel like I know both locations as if
I had been there. However, I do wish
the story has been longer, giving the
author more pages to develop her
characters. Some of the stages of
Olivia’s life seem a bit breezed
over, and her time in Haiti before the
capture is very briefly described.
This
story is very emotional and sad, and I
feel it could have had a greater
impact had I had a bit more time to
get to know Olivia’s character as an
adult, rather than form a picture of
who she was in childhood
recollections.
Nonetheless,
Smuckler’s first novel is impressive
and an inspiration for all young
writers living in East Tennessee.
~ Courtney Bowers, The Bookshelf
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An
edifying and enlightening read! The
characters in this deceptively intense
novel act out the dreams and
disappointments of youth in a setting
of entitlement and affluence. At first
it appears the young couple will
inevitably share their destiny
together. But as the story develops,
Olivia and Emmett find themselves
misdirected by other interests. All
this makes it difficult for Olivia and
Emmett to fully embrace the lives they
once anticipated. As they commit
themselves to their separate callings,
ironically, they are reunited by the
conflicts that separated them in the
first place. Only now, there are other
people involved and their relationship
both suffers and is strengthened by
the strain. Then tragedy strikes and
Olivia consciously elects to reconcile
her love for Emmett in a manner that
reveals her intuitive belief that,
ultimately, we all live and struggle
to survive under the same sky. It’s
an unabashedly idealistic theme and
treatment that the author handles in a
convincing style that makes reading
this novel a rewarding experience.
~ J.S. Bradford, Author
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