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Daisy Chain Defiance Texas Trilogy Book 1 Editorial Reviews
Source: Product Description
The abrupt disappearance of young Daisy Chance haunts the small town of Defiance, Texas. Fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper searches for answers in this gritty and compelling story of love and sorrow, revealing God's hand of redemption in impossible situations. Lyrical fiction from a bright new literary talent.
Daisy Chain Defiance Texas Trilogy Book 1 Customer Reviews:
Average Rating: 4.5 (129 reviews)
Rating: 5 (Coming of Age, Dealing with Ugliness, but Woven with Threads of Hope) Was helpful to 4 from 5 votes
Mary DeMuth's Daisy Chain transported me to Defiance,Texas, dropped me into the mid '70's and immersed me in the home of a wounded family. Jed is fourteen and has just lost his best friend and future wife. It's his fault, because he's weak and selfish and he wouldn't walk the little spitfire home because if he did, his daddy would be upset. And when daddy is upset bad things happen. Daddy is a preacher. Jed can't quite bring himself to stand up to daddy to protect his precious sister and his sickly, broken mom -- a mom who writes messages of love, encouragement, and sorrow on flower petals and leaves them by Jed's bed.
Jed's whole world is inside out and upside down. The town is holding its breath because Daisy is missing. And heaven is brass because God isn't listening to Jed, and apparently doesn't care to.
If this little sliver of drama turns you inside out and upside down you may not want to read this book. But if you are one who claims To Kill a Mockingbird or Peace Like a River as one of your favorite novels, you really owe it to yourself to look further into Daisy Chain. Tom Morrisey, Lisa Samson, Claudia Mair Burney, Charles Martin and W.Dale Cramer fans need to look in Mary DeMuth's direction as well.
This is a novel that will haunt me for weeks and months, probably landing on my 2009 favorite list. The characters are deep and rich, complex and challenging. The story is gut wrenching and awful, and beautiful and full of the power of love and faith and Jesus. I can't imagine anyone not being horrified and then blessed as this novel opens and blooms, bleeds, withers and fades. Technically, the only complaint I had was just a few moments of transition between the adult Jed and the younger versions of Jed, and a brief incident where a scene's timing didn't quite jive in my mind. And those issues are only because I read so many books for review and can't just get lost in pages and not look for flaws that might impede a reader's experience.
I so appreciated the depth of truth and faith in this novel. Daisy Chain could be a very tough book for some readers. Child endangerment, abuse, anger, bigotry, religious bullying, drinking and hints of sexual scandal are not buried under a layer of pristine Sunday-best white gloves. I do recommend Daisy Chain to anyone who hungers for honest fiction that doesn't leave one weeping over the hopelessness of a story without redemption and grace.
Rating: 4 (A Haunting Coming of Age Story) Was helpful to 2 from 4 votes
Mary DeMuth is a talented writer with a beautiful, lyrical style, even when she's writing about dark, ugly things. Jed Pepper not only has to deal with the disappearance of his best friend, Daisy, but he has to contend with a father who uses God's Word as an excuse to beat submission and obedience into every member of the family, and a mother who is too broken to stop him.
While Daisy Chain is skillfully written, it's often a hard book to read. I have no patience with men like Hap Pepper, and I don't understand women like Ouisie Pepper. This is particularly true when children are involved. There were times when I turned the page thinking, when is someone going to stand up to this man? Of course, it's a testament to DeMuth's talent as a writer that I had such strong feelings about the characters.
There were several threads left undone at the end of the book, which disappointed me. Because this is the first of a trilogy, I expect - and hope - they will be resolved by the final installment. You can be sure I'll be reading the next two books to find out! Overall, this is a powerful look into the life of one young southern man and how he finds redemption in a loving God.
Rating: 4 (Tough, haunting, well-written novel) Was helpful to 3 from 5 votes
I'll be honest. This was a hard, hard book to read. It is not a feel-good happy book. It's gritty and raw in places. It hurts. It is sad.
When I first finished this book, all I felt was angry. I was angry at the situations and events presented in the book, because I know that things like this might have actually happened to someone.
(And in truth, I was a little upset with Mary! But because I've read some of her other books and I've followed her blog now for a couple of years, I feel as if I know a bit of her heart. And she would not do this just for sensationalism's sake, or just to sell books. She's telling the stories God has given her to tell.)
I felt so terrible for Jed and Sissy. I loved them and my mama heart wanted them to come and live with me in my loving ministry home. To tell them not all preachers hit their children and wives.
On the plus side: The imagery is absolutely amazing. Her gritty descriptions of summer in Texas made me actually thirsty--and I was reading this during a February below-zero cold snap and snow fest in the northern plains!
I also adored the characters of Bald Muriel and Hixon. They were truly the body of Christ, the "Jesus with skin on" for Jed and for Sissy. I also loved how Mary wove in the beauty of working together in the body of Christ, church differences aside. The more I grow up (and at 39 I'm not done yet!), the more I realize this is what Jesus had in mind for His Church.
As you can see, I'm torn on this book. It's a tough read. It made me sad. It hurt my heart. Yet it is a beautifully-written book, full of characters capable of evoking a strong emotional response and vivid imagery.
Rating: 5 (Love in the Ruins) Was helpful to 1 from 2 votes
Emerging novelist Mary DeMuth reminds us a lot of Walker Percy, one of our favorite authors. Mary tackles tough subjects without flinching.
This is a dark book with dark themes: be advised. Is there any hope? Is there love to be found among the ruins? These motifs are woven through Mary's fiction as intriguing questions --- open-ended and real.
Well-crafted: Mary is an author to read and follow!
Dr. David & Lisa Frisbie
The Center for Marriage & Family Studies
Authors of "Raising Great Kids On Your Own"
We also recommend: The Maytrees: A Novel
Rating: 5 (Riveting Southern Fiction) Was helpful to 2 from 4 votes
I've been waiting impatiently for the release of Mary DeMuth's new book--Daisy Chain. It came last week, and what a compelling read!
Jed Pepper, a 14-year-old preacher's son, has one thing in common with Daisy Chance--their families are not normal. Aberrant would be a better description. In the opening pages, Daisy disappears, throwing Jed into despair and guilt because he didn't walk her home from their daily explorations.
With a cast of quirky and troubled characters, the book is about Jed's search for Daisy while praying for courage to stand up to his father's rants and frequent abuse.
It's difficult to read at times with raw emotions laid open on every page, but that's also what is so gripping about it. Each chapter draws you into the next as you hope life will turn out better for Jed. Glimpses of beauty and kindness woven into the tragedies gives the book many layers and a tender side.
Many things about Daisy Chain remind me of To Kill a Mockingbird. First, the southern setting, the poetic, sometimes haunting prose. Characters cast from their own unique molds change preconceived notions about worthiness and godliness. Even Jed and his sister, Sissy, reminded me at times of the younger Jem and Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is rich, bursting with truths about Jesus and chock full of wayward Biblical interpretations. Jed is tormented, confused, and sifts through the mess of his life looking for truth--the truth of God and the truth about Daisy's whereabouts.
Had Mary handwritten this book on a yellow pad, I can almost imagine her with pencil poised, gouging words onto the paper. The writing is strong, lyrical, and heart-breaking at times. I desperately cared for many of the characters, felt dirtied by others. We truly do live in a world where hope is the only answer.
Not all the threads are tied up in a nice package with a pretty bow, but knowing this is only the first book of the series, I too have hope that better things are ahead for the folks in Defiance, Texas.
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