Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2017
272 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
Hurricane Katrina sets a teenage girl adrift. But a new life - and the promise of love - emerges in this rich, highly readable debut.
Bayou Perdu, a tiny fishing town way, way down in Louisiana, is home to sixteen-year-old Evangeline Riley. She has her best friends, Kendra and Danielle; her wise, beloved Mamere; and back-to-back titles in the under-sixteen fishing rodeo. But, dearest to her heart, she has the peace that only comes when she takes her skiff out to where there is nothing but sky and air and water and wings. It's a small life, but it is Evangeline's. And then the storm comes, and everything changes. Amid the chaos and pain and destruction comes Tru - a fellow refugee, a budding bluesman, a balm for Evangeline's aching heart.
Told in a strong, steady voice, with a keen sense of place and a vivid cast of characters, here is a novel that asks compelling questions about class and politics, exile and belonging, and the pain of being cast out of your home. But above all, this remarkable debut tells a gently woven love story, difficult to put down, impossible to forget.
"Starred Review. O'Sullivan's light touch and restraint will allow readers to follow Evangeline as she stands howling into the wind that howled into her." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. Told in a strong, purposeful voice filled with controlled emotion and hope, the impact of Katrina on families is as compelling as Evangeline's drive to regain her sense of self and belonging." - Booklist
"While the story is somewhat predictable, O'Sullivan creates suspense on several fronts and gives Evangeline a lyrical and endearing voice; as first love blossoms, 'A shiver runs through me, the way an egret's feathers ripple slightly in the wind as it's about to take flight'." - Publishers Weekly
"This tale reminds readers that there were millions of people all over the gulf affected by [Hurricane Katrina] and that for many, the horror of the event was only beginning, not ending, when the skies cleared. A compelling novel with a tender romance." - School Library Journal
This information about Between Two Skies was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Joanne O'Sullivan is a journalist for the Asheville Citizen-Times. She lived in New Orleans for several years and returns to southern Louisiana frequently. Between Two Skies is her debut novel. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and children.
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