Kenly Alister is a Grownup. Unlike those who sail through life taking what they want regardless of how their actions affect others, Kenly cleans up other people's messes, picks up the pieces, and is the one who others turn to for solace. As the child of an alcoholic, she weathered abuse and sadness and emerged from childhood determined to bring comfort and happiness to those she loves.While in college she fell for Ross Lowen. Ross wasn't looking for someone to take care of him - he wanted a lover, a friend, and a partner. In Kenly he found not only all that but a woman whose capacity for love and kindness bowled him over.The last fifteen years have been good to them and Kenly basks in the glow of a wonderful marriage. An as an extral bonus she revels in their son who, even in his most arrogant, adolescent moments, still has the ability to take Kenly's breath away.This happy life is threatened when her dearest childhood friend dies and Kenly receives an old battered tin box, a relic of her childhood. Inside are the remnants of Kenly's past and a secret she has sheltered for decades. To reveal the secret means the destruction of her happy family - but can she continue to shoulder the weight of years of silence?The Tin Box is an achingly beautiful novel of one woman's desire to save all that she loves while honoring the past that made her into the woman she is.
I was given this novel as a gift and put it aside for a month until I could find time to read it, but oh, how I LOVED this story. I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put it down, and when I finally finished, I couldn't stop thinking about all the wonderful characters Ms. Kennedy introduced me to. When I checked out her website and saw her second novel, The Penny Tree, is coming out in April of 07, I marked it on my calendar. Can't wait to read it! Please keep writing.
I loved this book -- hope there's a sequel
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I loved the characters in this book. Kenly touched my heart, Tommy made me cry, Lexie made me laugh, and I found myself wishing I could pull up a chair and join them around Max Varda's fire pit. This was such a good story that as I got closer and closer to the end of it, I dreaded finishing the last page. I've recommended it to my book club and can't wait to hear what everyone else says. I'm not sure if Ms. Kennedy plans to write a sequel, but I hope so, because I'd love to see what happens in the lives of these characters!
Great first novel
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Kenly is the kind of woman you want as your best friend, caring, hopeful--but she has a secret. One of the great things about this book was the conversations it inspired among some of us who've read it. If the secret were yours, would you tell or not? Her quandry comes alive in the book and the characters are poignantly real. So real that sometimes, in a dilemma, I ask myself, what would Kenly do?
Hard to believe it is a first book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I took this book out of the library and it is hard for me to believe this is the author's first book. It is excellent. The characters are so real you feel as if you were there.
Moving and Insightful
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
I started this book last night and I couldn't put it down, the settings were so vivid (I felt like I was at the firepit) and the characterizations so profound, that I felt a connection to Kenly's story immediately. This is a terrific book - The writing just flows and the story propels you all of the way to the last page. I am looking forward to reading more novels that Holly Kennedy has written.
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