Valentine

This is an undoubtedly fantastic novel.

Set in the 70s, Valentine feels timeless. The stories of the women of west Texas are as relevant today as ever. I think I will be processing this book for quite awhile. Yet, it’s not the violence that sits with me but the - often unspoken - camaraderie of women united by their shared experiences and striving for more that resonates. It’s beautiful and breathtaking.

Odessa, Texas in 1976 isn’t an easy place to make a living, especially if you’re a woman. You are expected to know your place, and woe be to the few that dare to challenge the status quo. The terrain is rough and unforgiving, the oil boom is taking its toll on the residents, and a shocking and violent crime against a 14 year old local girl sends reverberations all throughout the town. This sweeping tale is told by different residents and how the effects of this crime seep into their lives. ⁣
The author infuses her debut novel with a lyrical prose, beautifully detailing the Texas landscape, and her characters. You feel the longing that each character harbors and the weight of words untold. Each female narrator is unique and when show more their chapter ended, I eagerly anticipated their next passage. There was no need for a male perspective in this book, especially once you read about the many misdeeds done by the men of Odessa; you are made clearly aware of their feelings and how they would taint the story to fit their own narrative in their favor. ⁣
My only complaint about this book was how unprepared I was for the ending. I thought I had more pages to go and I was already on the final page. I became heavily invested in several characters, particularly Glory and Mary Rose, and I longed for another chapter from them. I look forward to reading Elizabeth Wetmore’s next book. show less

Elizabeth Wetmore's debut novel, Valentine, takes place in West Texas in 1976. It's oil country, and a hardscrabble place to be. The story begins with Gloria, a 14 year-old Mexican girl getting into a truck with a man she doesn't know.

Gloria is sexually assaulted all night long and beaten but manages to escape and make it to an isolated ranch house where a very pregnant Mary Rose is alone with her young daughter. Mary Rose takes Gloria in, and when the attacker comes looking for Gloria, Mary Rose holds him at gunpoint until the sheriff arrives.

Valentine tells the story of how this event affects the women in Odessa. Mary Rose moves with her daughter into town, fearful of living so far from anyone else, while her husband stays at the show more ranch. She has agreed to testify against the young man, who comes from a well-to-do family who has gotten him out trouble more than once. The nightly phone calls threatening her only make her more determined to testify, even though her husband is furious at her for doing that.

Mary Rose moves onto the street where Corrine, a recently widowed retired teacher lives. Corrine and her husband saw Gloria get into the truck with her attacker, and not stopping her haunted Corinne's husband.

Corrine is grieving, drinking hard and avoiding all contact with anyone, except for ten-year-old Debra Ann. Debra's mom ran away and Debra spent a lot of time with Corinne's husband. When the young girl finds a homeless Vietnam vet, she helps him, bringing him food and keeping him company.

Karla is a single mom who works as a bartender at the local bar/restaurant. She began as a waitress, where she was routinely harassed by the many men who came in for lunch and dinner. It's the only job where she can make enough money to support her child, so she must put up with their behavior, dodging the more dangerous men.

Suzanne is a successful Avon saleswoman, the ultimate room mother who knows how to work a room. She came from "trash" and strategized her way to becoming one of the most respected women in town. She has a will of steel, and while people may underestimate her, it is at their own peril.

The characters in Valentine are so compelling, and the story so powerful, it is a remarkable debut. I found myself drawn to Corinne and Mary Rose especially. Corinne's deep grief is palpable on the page, and Mary Rose's anger at what happened to Gloria fuels her desire to get justice for the young girl, and protect other young girls from a similiar fate.

Though the men run the world in Odessa -"You raise a family in Midland, but you raise hell in Odessa" is a common theme- it's the women who must deal with this harsh world the men have created. They face dangerous sexism and racism. Each of these women have to figure out how to survive and thrive, support each other, and make the world better for the young girls coming up behind them.

Valentine gets my highest recommendation, it's one of the best books I have read this year, and it is the Read With Jenna Today Show pick for April. It's suggested for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Elizabeth Strout, and as I love both of those authors, I highly agree with that.

Thanks to Harper Collins for providing a review copy. show less

West Texas. 1976. Pumpjacks, rattlers, heat and dust. Glory, a fourteen year old Mexican girl is brutally attacked by a young, pick-up driving roughneck. She appears on the front porch of a rancher's wife, naked and broken. The rest of the novel unfolds in alternating view points, each featuring a woman, that has been touched by Glory's assault. It also explores the injustices and trials of being a woman in a male-dominated world. This is tough stuff and the author handles it all with a deft and insightful approach. She grew up in this region and you can feel it on every page. An impressive debut and one of my favorite surprise reads of the year.

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore is a 2020 Harper publication.

Phenomenal Debut!

After fourteen- year old Gloria Ramirez is beaten and raped, she escapes her attacker, finally making her way to the doorstep of Mary Rose Whitehead. Mary Rose was home alone with her daughter, but bravely keeps Gloria safe with so small danger to herself. However, once the immediate threat has passed, Mary Rose discovers the community is far from impressed by her act of courage and heroism.

Because the accused rapist is a well- connected young white man and Gloria is a Hispanic girl- Mary Rose’s non-conformity not only earns her sharp rebukes from other women she associates with, but she could be the target of revenge- especially since she refuses to let the show more matter die.

Eventually, the boiling hot stew of racism, misogyny, injustice, fear, and stress, brings Mary Rose to the brink of madness…

I chose this book for several reasons. One, it was set in Texas in mid-seventies- in Odessa- and because I noticed how well it was received, and because I just had one of those feelings- like the book was calling me.

My instincts paid off- but this book was far more impressive than I had anticipated. In fact, I’m not sure my review could do this book justice.

When Mary Rose lays eyes on the battered Gloria Ramirez, she sees the hard, cold truth about her environment, she fears for her daughter’s future, and knows that someone has to speak up for Gloria, that someone has to fight for her, because evidently, no one else will.

Yet her determination to see justice done, to testify to what she saw and experienced that fateful day when Gloria came to her home, will place her in a very dangerous position, heightening her distress, but never beating back her courage. Still, her constant worry takes a toll on her mental state, the pressures and internal turmoil eventually reaching a breaking point.

The author absolutely nails the atmosphere of Odessa: The seclusion, the attitudes, the climate, and the economical tension bubbling beneath the surface-while exquisitely capturing an era of time where women are mere extensions of their husbands, where their jobs are to be someone’s wife and someone’s mother.

The accurate divide between class and race is vivid, and painfully drawn as are the stellar characterizations. Besides, Mary Rose, whose husband is often away and who is pregnant with her second child, her neighbor Corrine, a recent widow, instantly wins my respect. The two women form an unlikely bond, sharing the same feelings of frustration. I loved the way Corrine protected Mary Rose and stuck up for her, keeping a watchful eye on her.

Debra Ann, a child whose mother abandoned her, and who is left mostly to her own devices, is also a vibrant character who befriends a homeless war veteran.

Each character has an internal dialogue, giving the reader a personal and intimate look at their thoughts, revealing their hopes, fears, regrets, and longing. It is easy to lose oneself in each of these narratives, which are like vignettes inside a broader story. This strong feminine cast shines brilliantly against the stark, gritty reality of the old dusty oil town, and will leave an enduring imprint on my soul.

Overall, this is a gritty, compelling, and powerful debut. It is unflinching, no holds barred, driving home a clear message that will resonate with many readers and women who still fight against a system that favors ‘good ole’ white boys, who come from a good family’. Trust me, the author knows and understands this landscape intimately. The love/hate emotions for Odessa and Texas is palpable, and although I’ve never made it that far west, on many days, that conflict is a feeling I know all too well.

Yet, despite the stormy, and nearly unbearable, suspense, there is also an undertone of sensitivity, too. The writing is splendid- goose-pimply good- drawing comparisons to some heavy hitters in Texas literature. This one earns a top spot on the 2020 favorites list!

Hitting the recommend button on this one!! READ THIS BOOK! show less

Wow. That's a gut punch. Raw, gritty, and profound. It made me feel l just read some Appalachian noir. Set in West Texas during the late seventies; a fourteen year old Hispanic teenager is brutally and horrifically raped and assaulted and it tears the small town of Odessa apart. For many of the Bible thumping, good ol' boy residents, that young boy (who works in the oil fields) is innocent until proven guilty. Besides she was asking for it! For Mary Rose the woman who found poor Gloria, bloodied and barefoot after crawling across the desert to escape the man who brutalized her, it's insane that anyone could place blame on the girl. She's only fourteen, she's a child! Told in alternating perspectives from different women in the town; show more this story will captivate, enrage, and haunt readers. Wonderful storytelling! show less

Wetmore’s debut is a competent, accessible, and earnest novel which initially centres around the brutal rape of Gloria Ramirez, a fourteen-year-old Mexican-American girl, by an oil-rig worker only a few years older than she is. It circles back to Gloria in the end, but not before shifting focus to the effect of the rape on another woman, Mary Rose Whitehead, a twenty-six-year-old mother of two and the first person to see the young girl after she’s assaulted. In the end, the novelist’s larger goal is to provide, through fiction, an exposé of the hard lives of West Texas women and girls of the late 1970s/post-Vietnam War period, when the oil fields were increasingly productive. There are dangers all around Wetmore’s show more women—natural hazards: scorching heat, dust storms, twisters, scorpions, and rattle snakes; man-made sources of danger: fires at the chemical plants, gas leaks, and toxic spills. And then there are the distinctly human menaces: hard-drinking, violent, predatory men.

The novel provides the alternating perspectives of six females of different ages—two of them girls. These characters are distinct and well-drawn, and the setting (in the hate-filled, bigoted town of Odessa, Texas of 1976) is well-realized. Until its final quarter, the book moves at a fairly slow pace, reading more like a collection of meandering linked short stories than a novel. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just that for some time there seems to be no urgent question begging to be answered. Yes, a trial is to occur, but the outcome is predetermined. The rapist is from a “good” white family—he’s the son of a preacher, in fact—and he has the sympathy of most. The battered victim, viewed by the townsfolk as one of those wild, quick-to-mature Mexican girls, is not up to testifying, and her uncle won’t agree to her being further harmed by the courts. As for the star witness, Mary Rose, at whose ranch home Gloria seeks help after the assault—she’s a loose cannon. Worn down by weeks of threatening phone calls and worry over her children’s safety, the young mother does not make a good witness. After the trial, the narrative tension ramps up dramatically when a girl goes missing. Now unhinged, Mary Rose takes matters into her own hands . . . Need I mention she’s a good shot?

I was interested enough to finish the book, but I was not fully immersed in it. I could feel Wetmore’s presence a little too often, and while the author writes capably enough, there is nothing special about her prose. The book does capture Texas, the wild-west frontier mentality and the significant constraints and dangers women face in that state, but there are no startling insights into human nature or experience, nor is there much nuance. I don’t regret reading the book, but I’m not wowed enough to recommend it. show less