Fresh Air

Rating:
Summary: A story with primal power
Review: "Fresh Air" is, of course, a realistic, contemporary novel, dealing with such issues as child abuse and spousal abuse (as do many of Charlotte Vale Allen's other novels). It vividly re-creates settings that range from Hollywood to suburban Connecticut to Harlem. It's even Internet-savvy. But the key to its appeal is something age-old and fundamental -- a fairy-tale quality -- that's hinted at by the nicknames of the heroine, Lucinda Hunter: "Ella" and "Cinders," which add up to "Cinderella." Lucinda, a movie star's daughter, is like an exiled princess, isolated and living in emotional poverty, when, if she only knew it, a world of love and connection, her true kingdom, is within easy reach. Katanya, the little African American girl who frees Lucinda from her self-imposed prison, is the classic facilitator, the fairy, the squire, the wizard, who breaks the spell and makes a new life possible.
This big-hearted story features a wide variety of voices and interesting characters. Some of its people, when "Fresh Air" ends, we may feel we're only beginning to know -- but a sequel, evidently, is on the way. It'll be worth the wait!

Rating:
Summary: deep psychological drama
Review: For the most part, Lucinda Hunter has not left her Connecticut home in twenty-seven years. Rarely she will leave to go into town, but that takes quite a struggle for her to achieve. Shockingly, Lucinda is the daughter of the late great actress Lily Hunter and a noted screenwriter in her own right. However, when her mother died, Lucinda learned that her father was a black man. Unable to cope with not knowing whether she belongs to the white or black race, both or neither, she became a hermit.

Lucinda looks out her window to see a young African-American female playing in her yard. The girl invites Lucinda outside. Surprisingly she goes and soon a bond forms between the nine-year-old Harlem resident Katanya Taylor, in town as part of the FRESH AIR program, and the recluse. As they become better acquainted, Kat helps Lucinda overcome her agoraphobia one step at a time.

FRESH AIR is an engaging contemporary tale that showcases how modern communication systems enable an individual to hide from society as everything can be ordered on line. The story line focuses on friendship, as everyone needs someone to care about. Lucinda is an incredible lead character and though Kat acts more like an adult than a preadolescent, readers will find her charming too. The support cast provides the audience deep insight into Lucinda as Charlotte Vale Allen gifts her fans with a deep psychological drama.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Fresh Air
Review: Fresh Air is one of the most brilliantly moving books yet written by Charlotte Vale Allen. Having read Leftover Dreams, by her, also, I felt nothing could top it, but this book certainly did. The young girl in this book, Katanya Taylor has such an important impact on Lucinda Hunter that I felt myself wanting to be a part of their lives as well. I truly did not want to put this book down. Fresh Air and Charlotte Vale Allen deserve FIVE stars many times over.

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to love this book, but it irritated me instead
Review: I am working my way through all of Ms's Allen's 37 books and this is my 15th. The one I like best so far is Matters of The Heart and I wish she would write another pithy one like that. It is hard to believe that a woman could be a recluse for 27 years in this day and time. I loved what I learned about ordering on the net everything one could want or need. Ms. Allen is currently writing a sequel to this and I will probably read it too.

Rating:
Summary: A Little Girl Touches The Life of an Agoraphobic Woman
Review: I enjoyed mostly all of this book by Allen. Lucinda was the main character, who after her mother's death, and learning she was part black, became a terrible recluse. Going out of the house at all terrified her to pieces, and all she could do was stay buried in her own little world indoors.

When Katayna, a black little girl waves to Lucinda in the window, Lucinda is curious. So Lucinda goes out to see what the little girl wants, and strikes an instant strong friendship. This special friendship with Katayna, just might pull Lucinda out of her shell, and force her to examine her life in the past.
Little by little, Lucinda begins to go places and overcome her fear of whatever-which I never understood what it was.

A worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to love this book, but it irritated me instead
Review: I really wanted to love this book -- the story sounds so engaging and uplifting, with an inner-city child from the Fresh Air Fund opening up the life of a reclusive young woman. However, I ended up irritated by it instead: the twists and turns of the plot are so far-fetched, particularly the sudden and radical effect the child has on the life of the main character. The way in which the child suddenly appears and instantly rescues someone who's been deeply mired in agoraphobia for years just doesn't seem convincing -- the author is using a "deus ex machina" scenario to solve some very complex problems. The book tries hard to tug at the reader's heartstrings, but for me, the story just never rang true.

Rating:
Summary: Readable
Review: This is a hard book to review. On one hand, it is a very readable story- it is easy to while away a snowy afternoon turning the pages and absorbing yourself in this book. However, there are SO many faults with the plot. THe story is way too contrived- woman almost never leaves the house, does not speak to anyone over the phone except to place work orders, sees a little girl in her backyard, and within 8 days she is transformed. She's called old friends, made new ones, got a new job... And all because of a too precocious 9 year old girl! It has to be fiction. Never has there been such a neat, happy, ending, where all things are as they should be. Near the end of th book, Lucinda is remarking that she can't beleive it's only been a month...well, neither can we. It's totally impossible to beleive that this could happen to anyone.

But plausibility aside, the book has its moments. The language is simple, and for anyone who does not wish to see a bad ending, this is perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Readable
Review: This is a hard book to review. On one hand, it is a very readable story- it is easy to while away a snowy afternoon turning the pages and absorbing yourself in this book. However, there are SO many faults with the plot. THe story is way too contrived- woman almost never leaves the house, does not speak to anyone over the phone except to place work orders, sees a little girl in her backyard, and within 8 days she is transformed. She's called old friends, made new ones, got a new job... And all because of a too precocious 9 year old girl! It has to be fiction. Never has there been such a neat, happy, ending, where all things are as they should be. Near the end of th book, Lucinda is remarking that she can't beleive it's only been a month...well, neither can we. It's totally impossible to beleive that this could happen to anyone.

But plausibility aside, the book has its moments. The language is simple, and for anyone who does not wish to see a bad ending, this is perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Implausible, yes. Immensely engaging fairytale, YES!
Review: This story is completely transparent, sometimes contived in its name-dropping-for-authenticity-sake style, but it is nevertheless an enjoyable read that focuses on interior issues rather than suspenseful plot-driven drama. Too much surface, not enough substance with regard to agoraphobia and its limitations, as well as the tired romanticized plotline could cause realists to disregard its character-clarity. However, the omnivorous reader will find much to like in the self-ruminations of these individuals, implausibility, aside. I was looking for a light-hearted story without the "Nora Roberts" formula. The sequel, however, simply screams ROMANCE NOVEL. As much as I liked being in this flawed character's head, the author lost me at the end while she was setting up the sequel.