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The Twelfth Child by Bette Lee Crosby

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Twelfth Child (Serendipity #1)The Twelfth Child by Bette Lee Crosby

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes, you’re between books. Too close to sleeping to put on a headset and listen to the whispersynched Kindle book or the text-to-speech on the older Kindle while reading on the self-lit Kindle app on the tablet. The main issue is that it is difficult to sleep with the headset on, blaring into your ears. At the same time, having the reading lamp on will make you stay awake for sure. So, you pick out a book by an author you know will be easy enough to follow on Kindle app alone. Bette Lee Crosby holds out that kind of hope for me. I have read other books by her and followed with or without the audio help. She writes plainly yet elegantly. She writes compelling stories that draw you in.

And so it was I started this book a couple nights ago. And yes, it drew me in, without keeping me awake all night. I was able to read a couple chapters and drift off comfortably. Then the next day I pulled in the text-to-speech and read until I was finished. And, as usual, I was not disappointed in her writing.

Ms. Crosby can make you believe you are there, in the past as the story is set up with the mother of twins. The daughter (one-half of the twins) becomes the twelfth child of her misogynistic, chauvinistic father. His only hope of having the wished-for son, is the other twin. This man married and was left by or widowed by so many women (what reasonable woman would stay near that man?) and he had lost his sons to death and their mothers’ flights. But at last, he has a son. But this poor kid wants nothing to do with the rugged farm life. Instead, that annoying girl child could have done anything that boy did and then some.

Anyway… That girl had enough gumption to span a few storylines and her entire life, including the afterlife and the court drama included. Wow! What? No, the court isn’t in the afterlife. It is the contemporary here and now, not choosing where to go at the Pearly Gates. But her spirit sticks around to make sure it all turns out okay.

Quite a few times I was surprised that the story didn’t end. I would look at the percentages and find I had lots more to read. I’d wonder where we could go from there. But Bette Lee Crosby wasn’t about to let it go until the story was finished. I was so happy with how it ended. Nope. You won’t get any spoilers here!

I look forward to reading more by Ms. Crosby!

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