World of Pies (signed first edition) [signed] [first edition]

First-time novelist Karen Stolz has created a cozy, poignant and exquis- itely written episodic tale of family, food, and love. Set in a small town in Texas in the 1960s, where there wasnt a lot to pick from, summer-job wise: counter-girl at Jerrys Dairy King, shampoo girl at Barbs Tint n Clip; the maid job at the Bluebonnet Motel, a young girl named Roxanne comes of age. Whether its a pie-baking contest that becomes a lesson in racial politics and courage; a crush on the new mailman (who is a woman); or dealing with the death of her beloved father and her mothers remarriage, Roxanne never fails to touch our hearts. And if that werent enough, the recipes following each chapterwhich range from Christinas Lemon Meringue Pie to Doreens Frozen Fruit Saladevoke a cozy sweet sensation that makes it seem as though there could be no better place to live than tiny Annette, Texas. A selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club. Advanced praise for World of Pies: Karen Stolzs talent shines forth like a jewel. Annette, Texas, is a place that I believe readers will want to visit again and again. ˜ Gloria Naylor, author of The Women of Brewster Place If Karen Stolzs first novel were a pie, it would be the lemon meringue of your childhoodcrusty on the outside, sunny but a bit tart inside, and topped with a dreamy confection Irresistible. ˜ Mary Willis Walker, author of All the Dead Lie Down