All That is Hidden by Laura DeNooyer-Moore
Description
“All That Is Hidden is a beautiful novel, the kind of book that sweeps you up in its story, makes you fall in love with its characters, and breaks your heart along with theirs.” -- Writer’s Digest
Are secrets worth the price they cost to keep?
Ten-year-old Tina Hamilton finds out the hard way.
She always knew her father had a secret. But all of God’s earth to Tina are the streams for fishing, the fields for planting and harvesting–a world snugly enclosed by the blue-misted Smokies. Other than the seasons, nothing ever changed.
Until the summer of 1968.
Tina’s life changes forever. Trouble erupts when northern exploitation threatens her tiny southern Appalachian town.
Some folks blame the trouble on progress, some blame the space race and men meddling with the moon’s cycles, and some blame Tina’s father.
A past he has hidden catches up to him as his secret settles in like an unwelcome guest. The clash of progressive ideas and small town values escalates the collision of a father’s past and present.
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MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK
All That is Hidden by Laura DeNooyer-Moore is a story told through the eyes of Ten year old Tina Hamilton. Set in the Appalachian Mountains during 1968 is a fun time for me to hear all of the happenings in this small town, and we get a glimpse of family and a different kind of fun because kids back then were doing activities outside such as fishing, running around with friends and usually getting into trouble. We have made many trips to the area and as I read about the lifestyle, food, young boys and their ways. But here in this book you will find secrets, and lots of them. I did however find several places in the first several parts of the book that was slow and difficult to connect to the characters. But it got better.
I enjoyed this book very much. All of the characters were interesting and seasoned well throughout the story. The flash back for me to the late 1960’s was a lot of fun for me, I always love reading things back in the day that I can relate to. The story has 5 parts, and it could be written as a book of novellas or short stories.
I mentioned the secrets earlier, and Tina’s dad was mentioned several times as having deep secrets but that didn’t come to pass until Part 5 in the story, which was my favorite part. The secrets were pretty much all from Tina’s dad, Drew. And Phil Kepler was in on the secrets as well. But it was so long ago. There wasn’t a lot of emotions from me in the first 4 parts but in part 5, I think I had tears during reading most of this when all of the secrets come to surface, both to the adults and the kids. It was a pretty interesting time. The beauty in this ending is the faith that ran through this entire book, including Tina giving her life to the Lord. And then there was grace, mercy, forgiveness and Redemption that will make your heart smile. I’m giving this book Four Stars.
A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
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I Want to thank author Laura Laura DeNooyer-Moore for answering some questions for us to better get to know her and her writing.
1. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
First, when I have a premise and a couple of characters that compel me, with a rough idea of a plan, I’m surprised at how quickly I can put the story in motion. A couple of times, I finished a rough draft within a month or two, and that’s without even trying to do NaNoWriMo. Of course, it takes much longer to whip it into shape through many revisions.
The other surprising thing is, comparatively, how much time must be spent on either seeking publication or doing marketing activities. Without a schedule, it’s easy to get lost jumping through these hoops rather than spending time in actual writing. But when you want to share your story with others, both are essential. The key is balance.
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2. If I write a review of your book, what do you want to hear?
My hope is that readers will be moved in some way—not merely entertained. I want them to be engaged with the characters and caught up in the story, but also to be moved to reflection after the last page. Either think about things differently, understand something better, or empathize with someone they never considered much before.
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3. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Great question! I would tell her to hang in there, it’s going to be a long haul. Life takes priority over writing, and life spills over into your writing, so seize the day to wring as much as possible from each experience—the ups and downs, the joys, the pain, even the confusion of the journey. If writing is your passion, learn the craft and keep moving toward the goal. Find mentors, accept constructive criticism, and don’t give up.
Also, never compare your progress (or lack of it) to others. Every author has different opportunities and circumstances. Follow your own pace.
These are things I had the good fortune to grasp back in my younger days—because I took to heart the advice of well-established authors. Now, looking back, I still concur. However, the comparison game is always a challenge to overcome.
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4. What would the main character in your book have to say about you?
Though I’m very fond of ten-year-old Tina, my protagonist, she’s very different from me as a child. She’s a tomboy, while I enjoyed playing with dolls and making dollhouses. She’s unafraid to speak her mind, while I was more of a quiet observer. If we’d grown up in the same neighborhood, I’d admire her spunk and would want to try all the things she does—in hopes that her pluck would rub off on me. But how much she’d want to hang out with me is definitely in question.
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5. How did you go about developing the setting for this story?
The setting is based on my visit to the Smokies and western North Carolina during college. The town of Currie Hill is a composite of rural small towns in that area. Fleshing out the setting required several visits and understanding the people living there as well as generations prior. The Foxfire books helped tremendously in grasping the customs, crafts, music, legends, tall tales, farming practices, and superstitions that constitute the backbone of southern Appalachia people.
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6. Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?
I’ve definitely been highjacked by my characters. It happens when I least expect it, after I’ve been deluded into thinking I was actually in charge!
I prefer to have a plan in mind when I write, but if I wait for that to happen, I’d never write at all. Writing is often a process of discovery—more akin to brainstorming, even. I don’t know what’s going to happen until it happens. Or I aim for one thing, and get blindsided by another. There’s an element of risk, which can be unsettling. Crafting stories means riding the wave of whatever comes while trying not to topple over.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a Michigan native, Laura earned a BA in Education and Fine Arts at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, then taught school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for nine years. She pioneered the middle school and high school art program, wrote curriculum, taught creative writing, and coached volleyball.
Over twenty years later, Laura started her own teaching and tutoring business from home, working with home schoolers the past sixteen years. Between these two teaching jobs, she and her husband raised four children. In her spare time, Laura wrote and published her first novel and received awards for other stories.
Storytelling through novels is her passion, especially character-driven stories featuring complex relationships, whether historical fiction or a fairy tale setting.
Laura has contributed to The Baum Bugle periodical and hosts a blog to encourage creativity and spur imagination, wherever they are found. https://lauradenooyer.com
Critical Acclaim for 2012 novel All That Is Hidden:
“This novel captures a vivid sense of life in a family-bonded community in the Appalachian mountains, one in which many readers will see themselves growing up through Little League baseball and major league heroes at a time and place when children spent more time out ranging in the fields and woods than in front of electronic gadgets. The story gives such a strong sense of family interactions that you’ll feel you’ve been invited to a reunion, rich in good food and conversation that often makes you laugh–but also presses on some deep wounds. Central is the clash of progress with a small tight-knit community in which people can be deeply concerned with the work and interests of their neighbors.”
–Dr. Steve Eberly, Western Carolina University
“All That Is Hidden is a beautiful novel, the kind of book that sweeps you up in its story, makes you fall in love with its characters, and breaks your heart along with theirs when they go through suffering. The “secret,” or, more accurately, secrets, of the first line of this book are artfully hidden throughout the novel, making their ultimate revelation both truly shocking and truly poignant. Tina is a very good narrator, but it is her father and his character who steals the novel–his life story is both original and compelling, and the pain and grace he experiences drew tears to this reader’s eyes.”
–Writer’s Digest
“This richly layered story is a most rewarding read . . . The gentle power of this book gains momentum until it reaches a dramatic and moving end.”
–Ann Emanuel, Commuter Week
splashesofjoy 