NEW RELEASE
Careful
by Randy
Anderson
Careful is currently on tour
with Worldwind Virtual Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt. Please be
sure to visit the other tour stops
as well.
Description
For two decades Tyler Gibbons has been keeping a secret from his family.
At the tender age of sixteen, Tyler embarks on a student exchange program. Sent
to the Andean city of Ambato, Ecuador, he finds daily adventure as he tries to
fit in at school, connect with his host family, and navigate through a world of
beaches, volcanoes, and jungles. But tucked deep inside this year are events so
profound, so unexpected, they forever shape the man he will become.
Now, 25 years later, his mother pulls these soaring tales from her son,
exposing, for the first time, the source of a deep unhappiness. While these
memories contain the wounds of an unresolved past, they also possess the power
to heal his painful present.
Thoughtfully crafted and boldly told, Tyler’s journey takes the reader on
a wild South American adventure, while illuminating a mother’s unyielding power
to heal her child.
Excerpt
The terminal was
absolute chaos. Luggage was brought in from the plane on carts, and people
crowded around them, pushing and shoving to get a look. Suitcases were tossed
aside in search of others and people were shouting. The decibel level became
unbearable.
I managed to collect
my bags without having to push anyone and headed to Immigration, where men in
uniforms opened and rifled through all of my belongings. The officers would
occasionally ask me a question, but I didn’t understand what they were saying,
so I just smiled, nodded my head, and said sí.
They could have been asking me if I had a dead body in my luggage, and I’d have
said yes.
When the invasive
suitcase search was complete, I walked to passport control. Reaching under my
shirt, I pulled out my money belt, unzipped it, and found my passport. I was
trembling. Both from the excitement of the moment and fear that I’d exposed my
secret hiding spot.
I handed the man my
passport and my visa paperwork. He quickly read over the documents and pulled
out his big stamp. This was the moment I’d been waiting for, the first stamp in
my passport. This stamp was going to be proof. Proof that I was here. Proof
that I was brave. Proof that I was.
Bam! His stamp came
down hard on a randomly selected page in the book. He closed my passport,
slapped a flat hand on top, and slid it toward me.
I grabbed it from
the table and quickly opened it up to admire my proof. The image was smeared
and the ink had bled onto the facing page, but it was legible. Not that I could
read it, because it was in Spanish. But it was legible. I held it open to dry
as I followed the line of people exiting the terminal.
Review
By Scott H.
Careful is both a gripping coming of age story and a
tender exploration of the relationship between mother and son. Chapters
alternate between the past - set in Ecuador, where the protagonist, Tyler, was
an exchange student - and the present, where tragic circumstances compel Tyler
to disclose the painful secrets of his youth to his mother. Both settings are
equally captivating. In Ecuador we travel with Tyler to exotic places and feel
his joy and pain as unforeseen events force him to leave behind youthful
frivolity and face head-on issues that he is not yet mature enough to cope
with. In the present, the reader experiences the deep emotions that Tyler
unleashes as he unburdens himself, providing answers to lingering questions
that have long-troubled his mother and forging new bonds in the process.
Anderson creates a wonderful pace throughout the novel, skilfully building
tension and expectation but never leaving the reader hanging for too long. The
characters are multi-dimensional and, as a result, there are many tender and
poignant moments. This book will appeal to young people who dream of
independence and adventure, to parents who long to understand and connect with
their children, and to everyone in-between. Definitely a very satisfying read!
About the Author
A performer, playwright, and producer Randy founded The Beggars Group in
1999. During the following decade he produced over two dozen productions
including; The Expatriates, Do It!,
and Theadora, She Bitch of Byzantium.
Plays he’s written include; New
Year’s Resolutions, Homlessness
Homosexuals and Heretics, Testing
Average, Kill The President, Armor of Wills, and The Dwelling.
In 2011, he published his memoir, On Making Off. His second book, Careful,
was released May 2014. If you want to know more, reach out! Randy currently
lives in New York City where he writes, reasons, and reacts.
Links
