FORMS OF SHELTER
Perched amid the leaves of the Osage orange tree in her stepfather's backyard, Beryl Fonteyn observes the life around her--Mama's desperate attempts to gain Jack's approval by writing her novel, which he mercilessly critiques; her brother Stevie's unhealthy fascination with acting out events from the Bible; and Jack's obsession with his bees--all the while imagining that her runaway father will one day return. But as Beryl's adolescent turmoil collides with the confines of Jack's eccentric home, a shattering secret will divide their loyalties--and in one irrevocable moment the home that Beryl's family has found, their shelter in the storm, will be torn apart forever. . . .
Rarely has an author confronted more honestly one of the deepest betrayals of the notion of family….A deeply moving piece of literature
Los Angeles Times
Desertion, madness, incest and murder appear in one form or another, not announced by choruses and messengers as they would be in Greek tragedy, but occurring little by little, as they usually do in life. Davis-Gardner skillfully renders the fine lines that cross sympathy, intimacy, and menace, without ever crossing into melodrama… A wise novel.
Washington Post
Told with an integrity that makes it compelling…The reader gains full confidence in characterizations that are both complex and especially well rendered. This novel confirms the praise given Ms. Davis-Gardner’s first novel.
New York Times
The author has the sense of the unsayable.
Biba, France
Angela Davis-Gardner…has the savoir faire of the French novelists of the 19th century..
Figaro, France
