Book Review: Waiting For Spring

Here is another review from an author who swapped PDF's with me.

The feeling I have after reading “Waiting for Spring” by RJ Keller is one of hopefulness.

Immediately after meeting the main character, Tess, I had a feeling of connection with her. She is an ordinary middle-aged woman who has some baggage she carries around (like the rest of us) and some deep-seeded fears just waiting to come out.
From her mother she gets nothing but hatred…about messing up her plans for life, about Tess’s ill attempt at marriage and the decision she made about not wanting kids which results in her divorce and about a secret the two share, but never discuss.
From her father, who she believes never loved her mother, she gets nothing but excuses and ignored. She feels like he has given up on life and wants nothing more than for him to be happy again.
When Tess’s husband wakes up at thirty-five and decides he wants a family--the one thing Tess never wanted--(Or does she?) she runs away into the arms of another man, but only for one night. Unfortunately a divorce is imminent.
Tess moves on to a new town, but all of her “problems” follow her. And as she tries to start over more and more “problems”, some hers and some from the people she meets, continue to follow her. But they all disappear when she is having sex with Brian.
Although Brian and Tess are in love, old responsibilities and life get in the way. Neither is strong enough to forget and just live in the moment. Fear is the underlying factor that both must conquer. Fear that they are not perfect.
The internal struggle to be the best you can be is scattered all through the book. Fear and past decisions weigh heavy on every character. So much so that they aren’t living their own lives, they are living how others think they should. Sometimes we as humans keep things inside, deep down, away from others, hoping these demons will go away on their own. Most times they don’t, they just get buried deeper, making it even harder to relate to day to day occurrences. The same happens here.
Through it all Tess just wants to be accepted and loved and happy once again.
And she holds on for Spring to arrive, because winter means death (like the barren trees and lack of colors), while Spring brings new life and the colors that she loves, just like the best present she ever received as a child--a 72 pack of crayons with names of colors that she never heard of before.
The story is typical--hardship, love, broken love and starting over. The writing of RJ Keller is not. It is a well written, heart wrenching portrayal of a woman who knows she deserves more than the hand she was dealt. The inner thoughts of Tess are put into sentences, letting you understand what she is thinking, even as she is saying something completely different. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. This is just another example of an author, not well-known, who should be. The characters, the plot and the ending all make this a book well worth reading.