Rush Home Road

by Lori Lansens

Book Overview

Sharla Cody is only five, but has already lived a troubled life -- only to find herself dumped on an elderly neighbor's doorstep when her mother takes off for the summer. Although Sharla is not the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316069027
• ISBN13: 9780316069021
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.2" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 13 years and up

Customer Reviews

Excellent!!!!

This was an excellent book. I couldn't put it down!

Thou Shalt Rush Home

I only meant to read the first couple of pages to see what the story and writing style was going to be like when I opened this book, but I found myself immediately involved in the lives of Sharla Cody and Addy Shadd. Sharla is a five-year-old child and Addy is a seventy-year-old woman. Their lives are joined together when Sharla's mother asks Addy to watch the child for the summer, then abandons her. Having Sharla in her life and home brought back memories for Addy of her childhood in Rusholme, Ontario, Canada, and later years in Detroit, Michigan and Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Sharla reminds Addy of her own daughter that she did not see grow up. Although they had a rocky start, Sharla and Addy become friends as Addy bestowed some of her wisdom on Sharla. Sharla in turn learns to be a loving little girl now free of abuse. Most of the story is Addy reminiscing about her first love Chester Monk, her rape by a family friend, her lonely existence as the town outcast, her marriage, her children, friends and her job at the bakery. Addy's memories of these good and bad times surface as she dreams during her naps. While sleeping she has conversations with her brother, Lil Leam, who served as an advisor and helpmate to Addy. Unbeknownst to Addy, she is also talking aloud in her sleep and Sharla is taking in it all.I think the author did a fantastic job of making clear and precise transitions between the past and present. She includes a little history about the Underground Railroad and the city of Rusholme, a black community in Ontario, Canada. Her writing style easily engages the reader as the dialogue between the characters tells the story better than anyone else ever could. This book is highly recommended.

May make you re-think your next judgment of a person...

This novel is a page turner. I simply could not put it down, and read it all in one day. The story of an old lady with many stories to her life and a little girl with terrible stories of her own. You will want only the best for Addy and Sharla- and burn with the need for justice when the best doesn't always happen. Lori Lansens is a wonderful story teller, I found myself compelled to keep going to find out what would happen next, and sad when I awoke this morning to realize that I had already finished the book and the story was over. It is written in a rather spare style, which makes the events even more poignant. It is non-sentimental, and Addy Shadd is one of the best heroines I had recently read. Five stars is the least award I would give this wonderful book.

A MOVING READING BY AN ACCLAIMED ACTRESS

Acclaimed actress Ruby Dee has an enviable roster of credits: she co-starred with Sidney Poitier in several films, and she's an Emmy Award-winner. Miss Dee gives another award winning performance in the reading of this story of a 70-year-old woman who is forced to relive much of her painful past so that she might save a child. As a child herself living in Rushholme Addy Shadd learned the history of her community, which was settled by runaway slaves in the 1800s. When she is a teenager circumstances compel Addy to leave the home she loves. But, the name of her town becomes a mantra to her: "Rush home, rush home." Fate intervenes when a five-year-old girl, Sharla Cody, is left at Addy's trailer doorstep. Surely, Addy thinks, she is not up to raising this child, yet she takes the waif into her home and heart. Sharla brings more than a presence into Addy's life, she brings an amazing gift. - Gail Cooke