What do readers think of The Sweet In Between by Sheri Reynolds? Write your own review.

It can be quite painful to be in-between, as Alice in Wonderland and Kenny Lugo in this novel clearly show. Whether she is a girl growing too quickly to fit into a house, as Alice was, or a girl ace-bandaging her growing bustline--neither is comfortable in her own skin. Kenny is still a frightened girl, believing herself to be all alone; and her neurotic gender-confusion proves it! But is it really just she against the world, or does she have allies who can help her through it? The author, Sherrri Reynolds does a masterful job showing just how confusing growing up can be, and how a little help from friends and family, even though imperfect, can really make a difference. Great sense of place--small town in Tidewater Virginia; excellent depiction of flawed, realistic characters.

I first fell in love with Sheri Reynolds as an author after reading The Rapture of Canaan, one of the best books I have ever read. The Sweet In Between is an unconventional coming of age story about an almost 18 year old young woman living with what could be termed society's misfits. Despite their meager economic circumstances and her gender confusion, the book proves that dysfunction and all of its baggage can sometimes substitute for idyllic, depending on one's perspective. The characters are rich in spirit although flawed, but through all of this Sheri Reynolds manages to prove that "family" can be defined in many ways.

I enjoyed this book enough to read it in one sitting. I love to read books where you see the story from the point of view of a young girl who is trying to find herself. However, while the story did a great job of depicting a small town girl who is a misfit and has troubles that she cannot discuss with anyone, I didn't feel like the story really went anywhere. This is the first book I read by this author and while this isn't high on my list of favorite books, I liked her writing style enough to look at reading 'The Rapture of Canaan' from what I hear is a much superior story.

I would however recommend this book to readers who have a few spare hours and enjoy stories with about small town life in the South from a girl's point of view.

I generally get frustrated with books about women who tell stories of "Woe is Me" and do not take responsibility for their lives. The subject of this book, Sheri Reynolds certainly does not fall into that category. Her maturity in decision making is amazing with the situations she encounters. When questioned about her "lifestyle" I love that she comes to the conclusion that she has no lifestyle she is just living her life. I did feel burdened with so many negatives that this young girl had to deal with and the author chose not to give her any breaks. There were many time that I had to keep reminding myself that she was 17 as she seemed younger in her interpretations. It is difficult to finish any book about a child where you have such concerns for her future.

This isn't Sheri's best book but it does have a message to people in all walks of life, it is easy reading, easy to put down and easy to pick up and start reading. Because of some language and sexual implications I would recommend for 17 years plus older readers. It has a personal message for many people so it can appeal to many readers. A book club would be able to discuss this book in detail about how other people in your life influence your behavior throughout your entire life. This book was not as interesting or moving as The Rapture of Canaan to me.

I truly wanted to love this "coming-of-age-in-the-Tidewater" tale by bestselling author, Sheri Reynolds...but I didn't. I didn't "hate" it either: I simply found nothing that hasn't been done before, and done better.The plot seemed thin; the cast of characters largely unsympathetic; the voice and/or depth of Kenny, the almost 18-year-old narrator, surprisingly lacking (as opposed, say, to Scout Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" or Frankie Adams in "The Member of the Wedding"); and the promised "unexpected" denouement a bit of a letdown.

This book won't put me off Reynolds for good--I enjoyed "The Rapture of Canaan"--but I hope she'll have more to offer next time.

I generally enjoy Sheri Reynolds, but The Sweet In Between will not be on my favorites list. This “dysfunctional Southern family” novel is long on dysfunction. Our heroine’s mother died of cancer, her father is in prison, and she has significant problems with OCD and sexual confusion; Dad’s girlfriend (with whom the heroine lives) is a drug and alcohol abuser with three kids of her own: a sex-obsessed older son, a skateboard-obsessed younger son, and a developmentally-delayed daughter. But why should we care? There’s not much action here; even a murder next door merely spawns more obsession and confusion. When someone does step in the help, the help comes from what the book jacket describes as “a most unimaginable source” – translate that “Where did these people come from?” While the writing itself is good, and Reynolds is particularly skilled in the use of irony and a sort of black humor, this wasn’t a book I enjoyed, and it’s not one I’d recommend.

It’s true: reviews of well-written books write themselves. The ones that “suck like a Hoover,” however, are hell to critique. After struggling with this little essay way too long, I can only say I’d rather do the Turbo Tax Limbo on April 14 than read another book by Sheri Reynolds.

And that’s just sad.

Sad, too, that I suspect even semi-comatose readers could have easily detected what I stubbornly refused to admit throughout this ordeal: That The Sweet In-Between was going south by page 20. (Unfortunately, I possess an unhealthy case of low self esteem. I had to give the author the benefit of the doubt; after all, wasn’t she’s published? Widely acclaimed? Moreover, hadn’t Oprah bestowed a coveted perch in her Book Club? But, finally, I couldn’t deny my gut reaction. There it was: Clumsy writing, an unseemly number of dead-end subplots, and a mob of unattractive, unsympathetic characters surrounding a central character so weirdly drawn and unlikeable that, when I finally got to the end, I was just relieved to have survived the ordeal.

The few revelations about Kenny, the star of this sordid story, didn’t even make much of a ripple, far less impact, on me. On paper, at least, there’s seems to be something for everybody. Let’s see. Sexually ambivalent, a father in prison, living in a claustrophobic beach town inhabited by a parade of other, one-dimensional characters just made for a film school dropout’s rejected script. Even passing references to her sexual victimization did little to elicit pity, particularly when she herself reveals (yes, Kenny narrates her tale; another really bad idea) her own apparent molestation of a younger character. (The only term I can think of here is — sorry — “icky.”) Did I mention that she lives with her dad’s pill-popping girlfriend and her assorted offspring?

What did I learn from the experience? Less really can be more.1 I truly can’t recall feeling this devoid of feeling upon finishing a novel — unless we’re counting embarrassed and duped.

I can only recommend to the publisher removing that sweetly innocuous cover illustration — and maybe adding a warning label for the jacket.


1 An excellent example is Go With Me by Castle Freeman, Jr.; of course, if you really do want more, splendid examples also litter bookshelves — Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, anything by E.L. Doctorow, etc.