Hand Me Downs

I grew up wearing hand-me-downs from my sister, my cousins, and possibly friends. The other clothes I had, Mama made them for me, but I didn't know what to expect when I chose to read Hand Me Down Husband. Rosanna Huffman has written a compelling novel about second hand and hand me down things. Suzanne Bloomer teaches high school classes at New Vision Christian School. She is the middle daughter of three girls born to Jim and Connie Bloomer, who doted on their oldest and youngest daughters and left Suzanne out in the cold, so to speak. In the beginning of the novel, Suzanne is acting principal, and teaching all of the high school classes at the same time. When Mitchell Sanderson is asked to be principal, he takes the job where he'll be supervising his own grandchildren. Suzanne has a history with one of Mitchell's daughters and one of his sons, and not the kind of history that engenders good memories.

Some events in the book that carry through the story are:
Suzanne is asked to vacate the house she's been renting because the landlord's son is getting married and needs to live there for a while.
She finds a less expensive mobile home that has been well used and abused to move into.
Mitchell's eldest daughter wants her father to revere her mother's memory by never marrying again.
Mitchell finds that his early mornings with Suzanne have become precious to him in ways he never imagined.

Let me tell you that while my tears are easy to jerk at times, this book had me crying in despair at what Mitchell's oldest daughter tells Suzanne, and in joy when things all work out.

I love the way Rosanna worked out the meeting with Mitchell and his children so that all the cards are on the table about Suzanne and him. He speaks without mincing words, and he makes his position clear.

Rosanna has well developed characters, but my only criticism is that the plot pace is a bit slow--but not so slow that the reader gives up before reaching the end. Strong four stars.

My thanks to Abingdon Press for allowing me to read and review this book.