Holiday Chick, by Amber Carter, begins in the first person perspective of Aden, a 21-year old Bible camp counselor. After her father is in a life threatening accident, Aden is compelled to return to the sleepy Minnesota town of Holden, where her family now calls home.
The novel is slow to start, not picking up until Aden hits rock bottom. Her heart is broken and she feels obligated to leave her friends and beloved camp job. Feeling like the prodigal daughter, Aden’s home is no longer a place where she belongs.
As a character, Aden is wonderfully complex. She wants so much more from life, and yet searches for it in God, boys, drinking, and even her family’s acceptance. Her stubborn vulnerability will grasps at readers’ heartstrings, masterfully composed by Carter’s vivid descriptions and down-to-earth dialogue.
Carter interweaves varied perspectives and points of view, switching from the present to past memories, and back again. She also begins each chapter with a play list of songs from all genres that masterfully provides the tone and backdrop for the plot to follow.
As the novel continues, readers will be drawn into a colorful cast of small town characters and Carter’s realistic yet creative details and descriptions. Aden soon becomes the reluctant center of intrigue and attention at the heart of this small town. She loves, loses, and loves again. She matures, painstakingly becoming the woman she has always longed to be. Readers will be ensnared by her joys, her ambitions and her struggles, wishing for her happiness and holding their breaths in anticipation at each lonely step along her way.
Holiday Chick is a long novel, and while slow in some places, it is a page-turner in others. The novel authentically reflects real every-day life in this way, and in one moment, everything changes. This is a memorable coming-of-age tale that all can relate to.
Reviewed by Julia Sorrentino for IndieReader