About this ebook
It Only Takes an Instant for Love to Strike
Tragedy hits the Allenhouse family on a hot summer night in Ohio when a mother of four vanished. Eight-year-old Vada virtually grew up overnight and raised her three younger sisters while her father lost himself in his medical practice in the basement of their home.
Now, Vada is a grown woman, still making her home with her father and sisters. Her days are spent serving as an errand girl for Cleveland’s fledgling amateur orchestra; her evenings with Garrison Walker, her devoted, if passionless, beau.
Dizzying change occurs the day the Brooklyn Bridegrooms come to town to play the Cleveland Spiders and a line drive wallops the head of a spectator. The fan is whisked to the Allenhouse parlor, and questions swirl about the anonymous, unconscious man.
Suddenly, the subdued house is filled with visitors, from a flirtatious, would-be sports writer to the Bridegrooms’ handsome star hitter to the guilt-ridden ballplayer who should have caught the stray shot. The medical case brings Dr. Allenhouse a frustration and helplessness he hasn’t felt since his wife’s disappearance. Vada’s sisters are giddy at the bevy of possible suitors. And Vada’s life is awakened amid the super-charged atmosphere of romantic opportunity.
Tragedy hits the Allenhouse family on a hot summer night in Ohio when a mother of four vanished. Eight-year-old Vada virtually grew up overnight and raised her three younger sisters while her father lost himself in his medical practice in the basement of their home.
Now, Vada is a grown woman, still making her home with her father and sisters. Her days are spent serving as an errand girl for Cleveland’s fledgling amateur orchestra; her evenings with Garrison Walker, her devoted, if passionless, beau.
Dizzying change occurs the day the Brooklyn Bridegrooms come to town to play the Cleveland Spiders and a line drive wallops the head of a spectator. The fan is whisked to the Allenhouse parlor, and questions swirl about the anonymous, unconscious man.
Suddenly, the subdued house is filled with visitors, from a flirtatious, would-be sports writer to the Bridegrooms’ handsome star hitter to the guilt-ridden ballplayer who should have caught the stray shot. The medical case brings Dr. Allenhouse a frustration and helplessness he hasn’t felt since his wife’s disappearance. Vada’s sisters are giddy at the bevy of possible suitors. And Vada’s life is awakened amid the super-charged atmosphere of romantic opportunity.
Ratings and reviews
4.0
2 reviews
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June 21, 2010
I adored this book! I love the story of the sisters & just felt like it was a sorta "Little Women" kind of book. With each sister having such a different personality, I enjoyed learning more about all of them...
Vada - the oldest who took care of her sisters & virtually became their mother, when their mother left for another man. Vada then struggles with a new French baseball player that put some passion in her life... & it was so interesting to see how she so badly hated her mother for leaving for another man, but when she was faced with the choice herself with this new ball player, or her predictable, "boring" Garrison, the decision wasnt as easy as she thought. I loved Vada... I could understand the choices she was having to make & why she was questioning things... I just felt like I was back in time with this girl & watching her life develop.
Hazel - the "heavier" sister who so desperately wanted love & sent letters to men, afraid of what they would think once they saw her.
Althea - the sister who would never speak... she was so damaged by her mother leaving, she kept to herself & only communicated through pen & paper... what the stranger who got hit on the head does for her life!
Lisette - the baby... the beautiful one that knew she had all the men in the town wrapped around her finger.
It was an era when women's honor was big, horse & carriage were ways of transportation, when a man courted a future wife... it all seems to real in this book...
I loved the book did have a love story in it that was not "fake" - you know, the ending you KNOW is going to happen. I think I was so intrigued with this book because I DIDNT know what Vada would do... I didnt know which way her heart would lead her... didnt know the reactions of how the men in her life would go. I really enjoyed this book... hated to let the sisters go on the last page...
About the author
Allison Pittman is the author of Stealing Home, the Crossroads of Grace series, and her nonfiction debut, Saturdays With Stella. A former high-school English teacher, she serves as director of the theater arts group at her church. Allison makes her home in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Learn more about the author at www.allisonpittman.com.
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