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Book Review of The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder
brandyjp avatar reviewed on + 58 more book reviews


The opinions on this book are so vastly different, it's amazing. I wondered if I was reading the same book. I love Rebecca Wells and the other books she has written. I desperately wanted to like this book, and tried so hard.

The story suffers from a total lack of story and character development. The dialogue is so badly written, it's painful. I saw online that someone said Rebecca Wells was suffering from Lyme disease while writing this novel. If that's the reason this book is so poorly written, then it's the fault of the publisher and/or editor. This is a surface story. There is no depth to the characters, plot, storyline, etc. Several characters are introduced for absolutely no reason. Cally Lily didn't really need two brothers, they did nothing to move the story line forward.

The editing is non-existent. She puts her drunken best friend to bed to sleep it off and then she wraps her in a quilt to sleep on the floor. The story is confusing and frustrating, it was impossible to get into. No development, no depth.

Major incidents are thrown into the storyline, allowing you to believe that, for example, racism is a huge part of the story. However, racism never discussed again. The story is told, not shown, and the reader has a difficult time getting through the book. I struggled to finish this book, before finally giving up more than halfway through.