Magnolias and Fireflies

John Cother has captured the small town Mississipppi life that, I, like JT and Lesi, experienced in the summer of 1965. Reading Fear of Spiders is like taking a walk under the magnolias, capturing fireflies in a Mason jar and drinking iced tea at the kitchen table. JT and Lesi, though siblings, are much like good friends from any small town where everyone knows each other's names, problems, joys and sorrows. Some might consider the trials that JT and Lesi face during that fateful summer to be a bit exaggerated, but folks from the South know that heartache and sadness are as much a part of life as sultry nights and lazy days. The books is a delightful read with just enough humor thrown in to make the reader believe again in the innocent exuberance of youth. Set to the strains of the Beatles' nostalgic "Yesterday," you'll find it hard to put down Fear of Spiders.



Claudia Hopkins, reviewer