Book of Mercy on Blog Tour de Force

Book of Mercy By Sherry Roberts

I’m thrilled to host author Sherry Roberts and her novel, Book of Mercy, on SmartLit as part of the Blog Tour de Force! Please leave a comment below and your email address to get your very own copy of Book of Mercy.

My Review:

If your family is full of avid readers, and your house is stocked with books, consider this: On average, about 500 books are challenged every year in the United States, according to the American Library Association—and those are just the ones reported.

Among the books challenged or banned in the United States in 2010-11 were The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, as a parent claimed that it gave her 11-year-old daughter nightmares and could numb other children to the effects of violence; What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Guide for Parents and Sons, which was banned in 21 Texasschools after a parent complained about it; and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, challenged in Republic, Missouri schools because it is allegedly “glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex.”

In the recently released Book of Mercy, Minnesota author Sherry Roberts tackles the topic of censorship in a small town. Roberts’ story centers on a group of influential women—the Mercy Study Club—whose leader decides to remove “undesirable” books from the school library. The movement gathers support, and eventually, the school librarian is bullied into taking a select group of books off the shelves.

The plan goes off the tracks when Antigone Brown discovers the plot. Brown is a woman who has trouble reading road signs, keeps a stone in her pocket to help her remember right from left, and despairs of ever being a good mother to her unborn child. Brown is a quirky, smart, loveable everywoman that readers can’t help rooting for. The situations she finds herself involved in are messy and true-to-small town life. Though she is far from perfect, Antigone’s moral compass never wavers. The challenges she faces are formidable and her foes are deliciously evil.

“This novel is inspired by an actual book challenge that occurred in my daughter’s high school in North Carolina,” Roberts says in an interview via email. “She came home one day and said, ‘Mom, they’re banning books!’ A parent complained about The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes, and the school took it out of circulation. Eventually, the book was returned to the library shelves, after a public meeting and a review committee assessment. However, in the process, the English teacher resigned.”

Roberts adds, “Every parent has to face the same question that Antigone Brown ponders: how do we protect our children from the world but save the world for our children?”

Roberts is also the author of Maud’s House, and two non-fiction books about the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. She has contributed essays and articles to national publications such as USA Today. Visit Sherry Roberts’s blog:www.sherry-roberts.com. To read an excerpt of Book of Mercy: www.sherry-roberts.com/sherrys-books/the-ban-of-the-month-club-excerpt-from-book-of-mercy/

Available in paperback and eBook through www.osmyrrahpublishing.com, http://www.Amazon.com and http://www.BN.com
ISBN: 978-0-9638880-4-4

Article first published as Book Review and Interview: Book of Mercy by Sherry Roberts on Blogcritics.

Remember to leave a comment and your email to receive a free copy of Book of Mercy. Thanks for stopping by!

12 comments on “Book of Mercy on Blog Tour de Force”

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I think banning books is a crime of it self. If a person does not like a book that they have read of heard about don’t destroy the chance for others to read it and draw their own conclusions, just as said person(s) had the chance to do.

Thanks for a great review and more incite on book banning.

Ollie Moss
ollimo91@aol.com

I have to admit that until this past year I was unaware of the issue of banned books here in the US in this day and age. I was shocked. I understand that reading material should be age appropriate for a child, but in my mind this should be more of an advisory or permission by the parent for reading a book that is on that borderline; much the same way they require a parent to sign a permission slip for watching movies in the school. It is not appropriate to ban an item across the board. One 11-year-old is not necessarily at the same developmental level as another and to say if one cannot read it no one can is absurd. When my son was in the first grade there was a big deal made about the Harry Potter books, well I read them and was glad my son had an interest in reading this series and was proud that he wanted to make the effort, if it will make them hunger for more, I say go for it. If a parent is that concerned, read the book and make a personal decision for your child, but do not make that decision for my child. I am looking forward to reading Book of Mercy, it sounds like it takes a serious issue and fictionalizes it with a little humor and drama to make it interesting. Thanks for letting me rant on this issue LOL and for your lovely review.
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