“We are all more than the worst thing we have done” Then there is Luke, the paraplegic lawyer Tawny, the teenage wannabe bad ass Mattie’s mothers former best friend Karleen, librarian ‘Aunt’ Fritter, JJ and the doggie Winstons. Queeg, Mattie’s stepfather who remains in Florida, is the most endearing. Mattie is both helped, and hindered, by a cast of several quirky characters. “I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I’m thinking about how fluid the border is between crazy and interesting, and hard it is to decide who belongs where.” Solving the mystery of her mothers childhood is what lets Mattie reconcile with her past and begin to change the course of her future. I loved her irreverent attitude, and snarky wit, she is smarter than she gives herself credit for, and I really enjoyed the growth of character over the course of the novel. Damaged by her difficult childhood, Mattie knows she is a mess, but feels destined to repeat her mother’s mistakes. She has a history of dating deadbeats, drinking too much, and doing the wrong thing. Mattie is a bold character snarky, foul mouthed and irresponsible, her former stepfather, whom she affectionately calls Queeg (as in Captain Queeg from The Caine Mutiny), compares her to a natural disaster. “I have ninja skills when it comes to screwing things up.
The Art of Crash Landing by debut author Melissa DeCarlo is a hilarious, audacious and surprisingly poignant story about loss, regret, secrets and forgiveness. Determined to learn why her mother fled her comfortable life, Mattie sets out to solve the mystery of her mother’s past, and perhaps forge a new path for herself. Stranded in town when her 1978 Chevy Malibu gives out, Mattie settles into her grandmothers house while waiting for probate to clear, and curious, begins to ask questions about her mother the locals are reluctant to answer.
With her worldly belongings crammed into six plastic trash bags, Mattie drives from the Florida panhandle where she grew up with her alcoholic single mother, to small town Gandy, Oklahoma. Thirty year old Mattie Wallace is homeless, jobless and pregnant, so an inheritance from the grandmother she never met is an unexpected life line. “When you’re ass deep in lemons, you start looking for a shovel, not a pitcher and a cup of sugar.” Status: Read from September 10 to 12, 2015 - I own a copy
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