The Redneck Riviera

Rating:
Summary: One tough lady
Review: Dolly Devereaux, the thirty-something divorced mother and lead character in "The Redneck Riviera" is one tough lady. I like her! Who wouldn't? (Except maybe the pothead she married whey they were both in their teens. His apathy enables their daughter, April, to run wild on the streets.) Dolly is a hard-working realist who has her priorities in order and keeps passions in check -- well, most of the time, anyway! She works long hours at menial jobs to earn her keep and care for her daughter. At the same time, she has her eye out for a handsome and prosperous boyfriend -- one way to climb the ladder of success -- but jumps at the chance to take on responsibilities of a store manager when fate cuts her some slack and she inherits her former boss's job.
The story revolves around two mother's love for their daughters and the power and challenges of the mother-daughter bond. April, Dolly's daughter, C.B. "Cue Ball" Correlli, April's drug-dealer-boyfriend, and a host of other strong, finely-chiseled characters play out a fast-paced, life-and-death adventure on the pages of "The Redneck Riviera." The reader will emerge from the reading enriched by the journey and in possession of a prized souvenir -- time well spent.

Rating:
Summary: sexual abuse, poverty, strip clubs, party drugs .....
Review: Redneck Riviera is an astonishing tale that delves into the world of at-risk teens and the world of drugs. The author explores the party-drug scene, ecstasy, crystal meth and other drugs revealing a behind the scene look at how easily available these drugs are. The illegal drug industry is also explored, the drug labs, the difficulty in finding and prosecuting them and the blatant use of young, lost teens as pawns in this profit focused business, not to mention the organized crime connections.
The main teenager, April, is going through a typical period of testing the world, but her safety net, an available and focused parent seems to be the missing link and that allows April to search outside sources for acceptance and love. April' mother, Dolly, is a single parent searching for her own love and acceptance and although her daughter is important to her so is finding Mr. Right. This is a fast paced story that deals with sexual abuse, poverty, strip clubs, party drugs and the attempts to repair the damage created over three generations and reconnect a family.

Rating:
Summary: The Truth Hurts
Review: These are scary times. "Make love not war" may have been the mantra of the 1960's and 70's, but gone are the days of mild marijuana and Boone's Farm Apple wine, Deadheads and Woodstock. Now teens attend "Raves", and the drugs of choice are ecstasy and meth. Ignorance really is the mother of all prejudice, not bliss. This is what a divorced mother named Dolly discovers in The Redneck Riviera. Not only is her daughter, April, rejecting every value that has been hypocritically proclaimed by her misguided mother, April is also quickly being sucked in by a racist, sexist, meth-cooking group of skinheads that the she has embraced as her new "family". Dolly is forced to put her own life and problems in the back seat and pay close attention to what is going on with April, instead of taking her for granted. The plot rolls right along, and even as the characters make good and bad choices, the believability level is very high, especially due to the details of setting and dialogue. As serious as the subject matter is, though, there are also funny moments in the novel when life's absurdities occur, especially in the scene with the pathetic, lecherous, middle-aged golfers. Do they really believe these young, beautiful girls are attracted to them? As layer after layer of self-deceit is peeled away from each character, exposing their lies to themselves, the truth, in all its ugliness and beauty is revealed. To be contrite, selfish, forgiving, accepting, or angry are the choices that ultimately have to be made when true integrity is tested. And the outcomes are surprising.

The research that must have gone into this book is awesome. But then again, this is the same author who wrote "Mary's World: Love, War, and Family Ties in Nineteenth-century Charleston", a non-fiction account of a Civil War plantation owners wife based on her actual diaries and letters. The diversity of Cote's writing ability is amazing and the originality of the setting and subject matter make you wonder what he'll write next.