A Door of Hope

and

Inside the Privet Hedge

From the Summerwind Series

By Neva Coyle
Bethany House, $8.99 each

A Door of Hope: ISBN 1-55661-475-6
Inside the Privet Hedge: ISBN 1-55661-547-7

Series Takes Look at Laid-Back Fifties

As this century rushes to a close, a recent news article proclaims Americans most want a return to the 1950s. That's the decade of idealized family life, father working, mother at home, kids well supervised and well mannered, or so it seemed.

Neva Coyle has picked 1957 as the year for her new Summerwind Series in which young women graduating from high school begin their search for purpose, for spiritual meaning, and true love. That year also happens to be a time when changes of the future were beginning to emerge. Coyle writes moving novels of how these young women deal with these changes in A Door of Hope and Inside the Privet Hedge.

A Door of Hope tells the story of Karissa Hill, a popular member of the high school pep squad who secretly marries an older boy, the "man of her dreams," only to discover he has a dark side. Pregnant by the time she graduates, she endures his abuse until he accidentally dies in a swimming accident. Caught in the snares of family differences, she watches helplessly as her friends go off to jobs and college.

So far, it sounds like a teen novel, and it is a terrific choice for teens with its moving but not melodramatic depiction of Karissa's life. But A Door of Hope is as much the story of Karissa's mom and dad and of her in-laws as it is hers. Coyle makes clear that families are interwoven units, the failures of one generation affecting the other.

Inside the Privet Hedge, Book 2 of the series, has just been released. It is the story of Rhetta McCarron, a young woman who is determined to help her father manage the family orange-growing business even though nearby groves are being sold to developers. Rhetta has strong ties to her family and the farm, but holding on to the business is tough after her father falls two stories and is seriously injured. For Rhetta, the basic question is why she is not out on her own, especially when there are two young men interested in her. Coyle's writing is straightforward and fast-paced, but nonetheless moving, in both titles. Readers will know her best as co-author of million-copy seller Free to Be Thin, and she has written more than 20 other titles. In addition to writing, she serves her church as Coordinator of Departmental Ministries.