Despite my natural pessimism, this book broke down my defenses and set me up to root for a well-earned, conventional kind of happy ending. But then it took a turn and became an altogether different story, leaving me to sputter along with the characters, “Unfair—this is not what I was expecting.” I was crushed. And then it found its way to another kind of happy ending, a richer, more satisfying one than I’d wanted in the first place. Last year Lily King’s novel Writers & Lovers won deserved acclaim for its heartfelt, realistic portrayal of a woman’s intellectual and emotional development. If A Small Crowd of Strangers doesn’t generate at least as much, it’ll be a crime.
— James Crossley, Madison Books
Oh man, I loved this book. It reminds me of when I first read Broken For You by Stevie Kallos. The story of Pattianne goes from New Jersey to Minnesota to Vancouver Island. She will remain one of my favorite characters in modern fiction, I will be thinking of her for a long time. Sadness, joy, injustice, and redemption combine to make up a wonderful tale of finding one’s place in the world.
–Cindy Heidemann, sales rep for Ingram Publishing Services
Joanna Rose won a PNBA Award in 1998 for her novel Little Miss Strange. Read more about the author and her work in the article below. A Small Crowd of Strangers is available through your favorite independent bookstores.