****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I read “Finding Grace Kelly” years ago. When “The Night She Won Miss America” came out, I had to read it.Recently, I had a Michael Callahan book craving. I bought both “Finding Grace Kelly” and “Finding Miss America” again.I’ve read “Finding Grace Kelly” about five times, and I savor every word, every time I reread it. The first time I read, “Finding Miss America” I fell in love reading the first half, and then felt disappointed reading the second half.Upon rereading “The Night She Won Miss America,” I savored the entire book. I realized exactly why I felt let down by the second half upon my first reading. The plot starts upbeat with a sweet lemon cake invitation that leads to the unexpected adventure of Betty Jane Welsh becoming Miss America. Without spoiling the book, I’ll share what happens.In the second half, Betty’s adventure isn’t what she expected. Her life has changed completely since she entered the pageant and won the coveted crown. As the new Miss America, Betty makes certain choices she wouldn’t have ever imagined before eating that sweet slice of lemon cake. Her favorite dessert is now pedestrian in comparison to the Champagne celebrations, and the adventures that await. That’s all I’m going to share with you about the plot because you deserve the treat of reading it yourself.I will say that Michael Callahan is a gifted author who has the ability to time travel his readers into the past seamlessly. You can’t tell when and where he takes you, because his writing is so clear that even though it’s the 21st century, you feel as if you’re actually IN the place in time and space in the 20th century he’s written you in. I believe that Michael’s magic comes from being an accomplished editor at “Town and Country” and several other publications. His writing is both eloquent and exquisite. While his stories are character driven, I felt I was actually in Betty Jane Welsh’s beautifully made gorgeous clothes and shoes, his protagonists and the other characters voices, mannerisms, behaviors, and actions craft a palpable experience. You are living in the book with the other characters scene by scene from the beginning until the last period.“The Night She Won Miss America” is a work or art. It belongs on a bookshelf as a reminder of times when we actually read books by authors who wrote on typewriters. The experience of having the divine luxury of solely books. Only print. Smell the books, old fashioned typewriter papers, their ribbons, and smell the eau de perfum of the original Wite Out. Although Wite Out entered the scene of the 20th century in 1966, it will hold a key for everyone alive to step back in time.Thank you Michael Callahan for writing two of my favorite books. I have the your latest book, “The Lost Letter from Martha’s Vineyard A Novel”. I plan on taking a nice bubble bath tonight, putting on my pjs, getting into bed, and falling into your latest story.You’re a phenomenal storyteller. You’re an inspiration to me, and I pray one day to follow in your footsteps, in my own shoes, to have an editor akin to you to help me publish a novel that touches other’s hearts.P.S. I hope my “letter” finds you.
