Pen Pals

Rating:
Summary: Olympic Effort
Review: Carol Hegberg's new novel, "Pen Pals," introduces us to first love amidst the pressures of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team. This novella-length story is filled with the poignancy of young love while taking the reader on a journey from sacrifice to forgiveness. Its length does not shortchange the reader by revealing a tight, well-written story.

Marie Masterson, the eighteen year old main character, shares her story with us of her longtime pen pal, Gunter Hoffman, a German adolescent of similar age who has corresponded with Marie for seven years. At long last Marie travels to Germany as part of her budding career in gymnastics and for a chance to finally meet her friend, Gunter. The resulting relationship that develops between these two friends sends Marie rocketing into adulthood with all the life decisions that are associated with that journey. The choices she must make and how she deals with those pressures are just one of Hegberg's skills in weaving a tale of morality and values.

"Pen Pals" is filled with moral dilemma and a testing of values as we follow the human condition. This book would make an excellent basis for family discussion and the development of young adults. It harkens back to a more innocent time in our society when the decisions were no less difficult than today, but the element of choosing the right path was always clear. What Marie loses in her life is more than compensated for by the wisdom she gains.

Much like an accomplished gymnast, Carol Hegberg, a seasoned editor and now a novelist, performs exceptionally with the writing of "Pen Pals." Her beginning is artistic and flawless. She then launches into her story with clean, sharp moves that never wobble, building on the strengths of her characters. Then she closes with an equally satisfying dismount, leaving the reader fulfilled by paying off the story's earlier promise. This first effort is clearly worthy of the gold medal.


Rating:
Summary: Author?s New Novel Worthy of the Gold
Review: Carol Hegberg's new novel, Pen Pals, introduces us to first love amidst the pressures of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. This novella-length story is filled with the poignancy of young love while taking the reader on a journey from sacrifice to forgiveness. Its length does not shortchange the reader by revealing a tight, well-written story.
Marie Masterson, the eighteen-year-old main character, shares her story with us of her longtime pen pal, Gunter Hoffman, a German adolescent a few years older, who has corresponded with Marie for seven years. At long last Marie travels to Germany as part of her budding career in gymnastics and for a chance to finally meet her friend, Gunter. The resulting relationship that develops between these two friends sends Marie rocketing into adulthood with all the life decisions that are associated with that journey. The choices she must make and how she deals with those pressures are just one of Hegberg's skills in weaving a tale of morality and values.
Pen Pals is filled with moral dilemma and a testing of values as we follow the human condition. This book would make an excellent basis for family discussion and the development of young adults. It harkens back to a more innocent time in our society when the decisions were no less difficult than today, but the element of choosing the right path was always clear. What Marie loses in her life is more than compensated for by the wisdom she gains.
Much like an accomplished gymnast, Carol Hegberg, a seasoned editor and now a novelist, performs exceptionally with the writing of Pen Pals. Her beginning is artistic and flawless. She then launches into her story with clean, sharp moves that never wobble, building on the strengths of her characters. Then she closes with an equally satisfying dismount, leaving the reader fulfilled by paying off the story's earlier promise. This first effort is clearly worthy of the gold medal.

John Albion is a novelist and business writer from Milwaukee, WI. His latest novel is Beyond Fate (Author House, 2003).

Rating:
Summary: Pen Pals
Review: This is a delightful love story, partly set in Munich, Germany, and partly in the US. The protagonist Marie is a 18-year-old gymnast on her way to the Olympic trials but for an unorthodox reason (which is learned later in the book) her coach allows her to travel to Munich to visit her pen pal. She wins an Olympic berth but must forfeit because she is pregnant by her German pen pal, Günter Hoffmann. After the Olympics, she writes Günter about her pregnancy but he never contacts her until, by letter, he tells her he is married. Seven years later he and his wife visit America and stop by to see Marie. During their visit Günter meets his son accidentally and is excited he has a son. He and his wife could not have children. Marie doesn't believe him and thinks he only wants to take him away from her. After his visit, Marie finds her letter, which tells of her pregnancy, in their basement where it had slipped between the walls. To help heal the situation and not thinking of herself any longer, Marie flies with her son to Munich to give him to Günter. This is an amazing first novel, one in which you can read about real-life Germany and parts of the Olympic and gymnastics preparations, and still feel the trauma over lost love. Love can conquer all even though the man and woman cannot live as husband and wife. I recommend this highly.