A Sunday In June

Rating:
Summary: Great Prequel...
Review: A Sunday in June is the long awaited prequel to Stigmata. It is the story of the Mobley's "curse" that has besieged their family for generations. Set in 1920's Johnson Creek, Alabama and spanning four decades, the novel largely focuses on the two younger sisters, Mary Nell and Eva, who possess psychic abilities and often experience the same visions. Their visions throughout their childhood are prophetic and accurate, but one vision involving Mary Nell's future husband terrifies the girls and threatens to tear the family apart. Their destinies collide one Sunday in June and the sister's relationship changes forever.

At the same time, the oldest sister, Grace, discovers a trunk that contains artifacts from her ex-slave grandmother (Ayo). Ayo's spirit visits Grace causing her to relive Ayo's horrific middle passage, experiences as a slave (beatings, rapes, etc.) and will eventually drive Grace and her descendants to madness as detailed in Stigmata.

The book chronicles the lives of the sisters as they grow into adulthood and how their "gifts" severely influence their choices in life. It shows how ill-equipped the parents were at handling their daughters' talents and chose largely to dismiss the signs as insomnia or bad dreams. While I loved Stigmata, I liked A Sunday in June; although both books were well constructed with compelling plots filled with lyrical prose. A Sunday in June is not a quick read; it is one that must be absored slowly. The author's message is deep but rings loud and clear - the pasts affects us all and she emphasizes the importance of seeking resolution and healing from family trauma.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian circle Book Club

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: Every now and then a literary work comes along that is magical. "A Sunday in June" is such a novel. While being a work of speculative fiction, the book manages to address some tough and very real subjects. The taboos within these pages tend to be in the closets of many families. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that it evokes quite a few emotions (so get out your tissues.) It is a very fast and enjoyable read and is highly recommended.

Pamela Walker Williams
PageTurner.net

Rating:
Summary: The Sight¿
Review: In a world of the unseen, The Mobleys are plagued by gifts that are not privy to the norm. Grace, Mary Nell and Eva, the daughters of Frank and Joy, are constantly driven to odds against the world. Amongst shattered dreams and stolen moments, the three girls are brought full circle through turbulence, turmoil and adulthood.

Mary Nell and Eva share the sight of knowing the future. As little girls, they were inseparable; from the bed they slept in, to every waking thought. The painful process of growing up leads them through a whirlwind of events: Mary Nell gets married to the town's bad boy, her husband rapes her sister Eva at thirteen and Eva gets pregnant and has a baby. Although Mary Nell witnessed the rape with her own "sight", she still blames Eva for her husband's disloyalty. After being raped, Eva is never the same and longs for the same sisterhood bond she shared with Mary Nell. Through all of this turmoil, Mary Nell develops a deep-seated resentment and steals the very same baby from Eva that she could never give her own husband, developing a life of hatred and bitterness towards Eva.

Grace, the oldest, has the gift of knowing the past. Through this gift, she experiences hardship and pain, as the spirit of her dead great-grandmother Bessie and her alter-ego Ayo completely engulf her on a regular basis. Not only does the spirit give her insight and depth of the struggles she endured as a slave while in Africa and the States, Grace also has the ability to feel the same pain as her grandmother did, complete with scars, blood and bruises. Grace gets married, has kids and tries to move on, but eventually has to leave everything behind, trying to run from the one thing that has always had full rein over her life...

Phyllis Alesia Perry does an excellent job of giving a true-to-life depiction of how the myth of having "the sight" may actually be true. A SUNDAY IN JUNE is a well-written, captivating story with depth, feeling and compassion. The characters portrayed in this novel are finely-tuned, keeping the readers entranced within the story. A refreshing look into the mystical realms of the unknown.

Reviewed by Belinda
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers