Between: 1 (Living Between the Cracks)

Living Between the Cracks is DAngelos first new series.Book 1 Between the Cracks follows the first thirty years of the unusual life of Grace MacGregor who decides at age five she wants to be a saint so she can float up and check out whats beyond the blue sky. Grace attends Catholic School and is enamoured with the romance of being the Bride of Christ as well as studying to become a missionary doctor in Africa. She is also obsessed with wanting to know about sex. Under spiritual duress Grace leaves the nunnery and marries the first man she sleeps with. Ten years later she finds herself divorced with sole custody of five children and no financial support. Grace temporarily moves everyone to an island in the Caribbean to clear her head with the intent of emigrating to New Zealand. When she returns to Canada to apply for their passports her life takes an unusual turn.To most who meet her Grace is a warm intelligent and generous woman albeit somewhat unconventional. Very few know that Grace has certain gifts; she often finds herself living between the cracks-the cracks between time and space. She lives centuries forward and backward travels through unknown universes and often disappears and lives full lives - some in parallel universes some not always human - and then she is back right here right now. The wrinkles in time that Grace falls into at the oddest moments fuel her fill her and emboldened her to persevere. Nothing in her outward life changes; however in her mind everything changes. Hold on to your hats as this endearing and often funny protagonist takes you beyond what we consider normal.DAngelos series Living Between the Cracks takes us on an adventure where we begin to question what is real and what is an illusion and does it really matter as you get totally involved in Graces life as she makes a heroic effort to embrace being full of grace.Kirkus Review says In this coming-of-age novel a young woman grapples with faith and unusual powers.Bradleys bildungsroman tells the story of Grace MacGregor. A brief prologue informs readers of Graces gifts which include sensing someones past and future and even traveling through time. Graces first-person narration is a detailed and largely realistic depiction of growing up after the Depression.This series opener is a treasure trove of details and vivid characters. Grace certainly has intriguing abilities. Bradley has a keen eye for detail. The novels main achievement is Grace whose unusual powers mirror her strange temperament. The author skillfully captures the earnestness and innocence of Graces divine aspirations. Please God I didnt mean to laugh at them she prays when a pool hall proprietress falls on top of a priest. Hope this doesnt ruin things as I study to be a saint? Moving through the years Bradleys chronicle reveals the youthful impatience to mature and be important but pauses here and there to sketch indelible portraits of human triumph and tragedy.A rich evocative tale of growing up in Canada.