Here's what the critics had to say:
- GOODREADS:A remarkable first novel…Serene…seeks through dreams and visions to recover her [lost] father and to deal with the conflicting values and beliefs of her tightly knit family and the society…unraveling around her.
- PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: "[Serene is] an imaginative young narrator...the oddity of [her] visions culminate in a heart-warming final chapter."
- CHICAGO TRIBUNE: "Rich turns of phrase and colorful imagery evoke...Sholom Aleichem or Isaac Singer.
- BOOKLIST: "[Serene‘s…] adventures are, at times, hilarious, at others, painfully sad, but always engaging and interesting”.
- LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Throughout events flow dramatically from the perspective of an innocent young girl.
- COLUMBUS DISPATCH: "Serene's [stories]...are distilled to their essences...Paul leaves readers hungry for more."
- OHIOANANA QUARTERLY: "One of the best ‘Coming to America’ stories I’ve ever read."
- JEWISH BOOK WORLD: "The story is fiction...readers feel 'this really happened.'"
GLASS HEARTS is available on Amazon.
GLASS HEARTS (Academy Chicago, 1999, 2012), an award-winning novel based upon my late maternal aunt's stories about how my mother's family survived the hardships of the Great War and finally came to America to begin a new life. The book was many years in the making and celebrates resilience and tenacity, characteristics that served my mother, aunts, and uncles very well and enabled them to thrive in their adopted home. I am proud to honor their heritage in this way.
Terri Paul