Reviews

People Magazine, August 6, 2002

Wyse signing books in Dallas, TX.

By Michelle Tauber

If only Oprah hadn't canceled her book club, this debut novel surely would have made her face light up. Like many of Oprah's picks, this baleful, slight (186 page) take explores themes of childhood abuse and self-esteem through the eyes of a female narrator.

Growing up on a Texas farm, 11-year-old Lou Ann Campbell has a cruel, alcoholic mother and a father with a wandering eye. To keep her company, Lou Ann has five dolls--the "children" of the title--each one named after a baby her mother has miscarried. Despite the bleak subject matter, Wyse excels at capturing Lou Ann's hopeful spirit and precocious (but not overly so) voice. "it's true that our family is better than most," she observes. "We have a mother, a daddy and two children: one boy, one girl. We are all smart but not too smart for our own good." Wry and heartfelt, this is a quietly impressive debut. Bottom Line: Open this Box.

The Box Children is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are
used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Sharon Wyse. All rights reserved.
This book and web site, or parts thereof, may not be
reproduced in any form without permission.

Box children drawing by Chris Welch
Web site design by Glen Sanford
Content by Amy Sutnick Plotch Communications

Riverhead Books is a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.
ISBN 1-57322-996-2.

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