Giveaway & Review: Leaving Unknown by Kerry Reichs

Maeve Connelly is on a road trip of epic proportions with her foul-mouthed cockatiel, Oliver, as navigator. Traveling across the country from her home in North Carolina, with the ultimate goal of reaching Los Angeles, Maeve has planned her journey to include stops in as many towns as possible that have unique names. Toad Suck, Arkansas; Truth or Consequences, New Mexico; and Ding Dong, Texas are all part of the plan until her 1970 Plymouth, affectionately named Elsie, breaks down outside of Unknown, Arizona. All Maeve wants to do is earn the money for Elsie's repairs and get out of Unknown, but the warm-hearted and eccentric residents are pulling her in more every day. With Leaving Unknownas her ultimate goal, Maeve finds a job at the local bookstore, and takes on the daily running of a rooming house in exchange for her own place to live. As Maeve becomes more entrenched in Unknown life, she also starts to find a focus for what appears to have been a day-to-day existence for many years. Kerry Reichs slowly reveals the source of Maeve's wavering lifestyle through flashbacks and revelations Maeve shares with her new friends. Ultimately Maeve does manage to get out of town, only to realize that she has left her heart and soul in Unknown.

I absolutely loved Leaving Unknown, and it is now the third book on my Top Ten of 2010. To many it may seem to be a standard "finding your place in the world" story, but to me it struck many personal, resonant tones. Besides having me laugh out loud constantly, I appreciated that romance was not at the heart of this piece of "women's fiction", although there was some that helped Maeve move out of her floating existence and into real relationships. Because I felt such a personal connection to Maeve and her story, I may be a bit prejudiced toward Leaving Unknown, and I encourage you to visit the other blogs on this TLC Blog Tour. Some of them are giving away copies of the book!

CAUTION: Small spoiler below!!
As a cancer survivor, Leaving Unknownis the first novel I've ever read where the feelings of the patient have been expressed so accurately. Cancer patients are usually portrayed as brave or sad, and I've never been exposed to a literary character before Maeve who seemed so true and richly faceted.
Official FTC Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review other than an advance copy of the book.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

• Leave a comment about a favorite book you've read this year. Be sure I have a way to contact you.
• This giveaway is open to US residents only.
• Giveaway will end on June 4.
• For extra entries you can be a Follower, Tweet about the giveaway, post it to Facebook, or mention it on your blog. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. +1 each

More great books, are shared every week at Cym Lowell's Book Review Party Wednesday!