Review of Deceptive Calm
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- Latest Review: Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper
Review of Deceptive Calm
[Following is a volunteer review of "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper.]
My experience reading Patricia H. Skipper’s Deceptive Calm let me share hundreds of years and sea distances by following the liberating main character. The novel combines deep personal stories with historical importance and identity exploration, which drew my focus from the dramatic start and kept it engaged until the final page.
Through the perspective of Vanessa Condon, I experienced the unsettling atmosphere of the racially tense 1960s orphanage in Charleston where only colored children resided. Sister Rosalie functioned as a caregiver who shared historical stories and showed unwavering love toward Vanessa during her difficult adolescent years. I felt my heartbeat escalate due to the violent hate ambush at the start of the story because it demonstrated the risk of those times, and it deeply affected both Vanessa and her valuable friend Trisha Bibbs. During this turning point of the story, the novel presents the essential Hale family members, starting with the accomplished Dr. Hale and his son Barry, who plays a fundamental role in shaping Vanessa’s life.
Through the narrative, Vanessa faces an arduous journey that includes confronting her identity along with the devastating discovery about her looks, causing her social estrangement from her community members—a defining moment that captured my attention. Eventually Vanessa surrenders to traumatic events that force her to make a fundamental change in her life. She moves away from Charleston with her cautious companion Trisha to start anew as she removes the traces of her previous life. Their research transformed into this desperate action, which seemed to develop from deep emotional suffering.
She established herself through television news broadcasting after her transformation in San Francisco. A significant portion of her history stays hidden until Tod Von Westerkamp steps into her existence. Their relationship transformed into marriage despite my feeling that their life was formed upon unstable secrets. Unforeseen events destroy the "deceptive calm" by revealing the hidden heritage of Vanessa to her present reality. The revelation reveals beneath-surface prejudices in her new family, which threatens growing danger for Vanessa and her loved ones. The story reaches its climax as characters prove their inner strength against the scenic California coastline during a life-threatening confrontation. The second section of the novel traces justice and truth quests through investigators along with key figures from Vanessa’s background until it reaches a conclusion that enables healing for both her spiritual and physical self.
My interest in the story grew completely from reading Skipper’s work. The author establishes a strong distinction between the distinct vibes of Charleston from the 1960s and the modern San Francisco setting. Sister Rosalie delivered a dialogue that combined historical knowledge with dry humor throughout the story to present a rich and realistic portrayal of her character.
The central power of the book stems from a direct investigation of Vanessa’s identity conflict against social, racial, and class discrimination. I carried the deeply personal experience she went through with me throughout the entire reading process. The author skillfully explored difficult subjects in a direct manner because his vulnerable and desperate scenes delivered realness without crossing into out-of-place territory. The predictions made by Mr. Maniqault using Gullah lore help enrich the story through early signals of what is to come.
Technical elements were handled professionally throughout the book since it exhibited smooth editing work. The presentation of the story remained free of errors because there were no typos or grammatical mistakes, thus allowing me to stay fully focused on the storyline. The rating for Deceptive Calm stands at 4 out of 5 from my perspective. The story holds strong power through its appealing nature and realistic depiction of central characters and effective treatment of complicated themes. The storyline that followed Vanessa piqued my complete interest throughout the narrative. My rating of the novel suffers from a single deduction because the dramatic climax features antagonists who need additional psychological depth like the earlier characters, which sometimes approached melodramatic levels.
Deceptive Calm offers an authentic reading experience, which I endorse to enthusiasts of historical dramatic fiction with their preference for emotionally deep narratives.
******
Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
My experience reading Patricia H. Skipper’s Deceptive Calm let me share hundreds of years and sea distances by following the liberating main character. The novel combines deep personal stories with historical importance and identity exploration, which drew my focus from the dramatic start and kept it engaged until the final page.
Through the perspective of Vanessa Condon, I experienced the unsettling atmosphere of the racially tense 1960s orphanage in Charleston where only colored children resided. Sister Rosalie functioned as a caregiver who shared historical stories and showed unwavering love toward Vanessa during her difficult adolescent years. I felt my heartbeat escalate due to the violent hate ambush at the start of the story because it demonstrated the risk of those times, and it deeply affected both Vanessa and her valuable friend Trisha Bibbs. During this turning point of the story, the novel presents the essential Hale family members, starting with the accomplished Dr. Hale and his son Barry, who plays a fundamental role in shaping Vanessa’s life.
Through the narrative, Vanessa faces an arduous journey that includes confronting her identity along with the devastating discovery about her looks, causing her social estrangement from her community members—a defining moment that captured my attention. Eventually Vanessa surrenders to traumatic events that force her to make a fundamental change in her life. She moves away from Charleston with her cautious companion Trisha to start anew as she removes the traces of her previous life. Their research transformed into this desperate action, which seemed to develop from deep emotional suffering.
She established herself through television news broadcasting after her transformation in San Francisco. A significant portion of her history stays hidden until Tod Von Westerkamp steps into her existence. Their relationship transformed into marriage despite my feeling that their life was formed upon unstable secrets. Unforeseen events destroy the "deceptive calm" by revealing the hidden heritage of Vanessa to her present reality. The revelation reveals beneath-surface prejudices in her new family, which threatens growing danger for Vanessa and her loved ones. The story reaches its climax as characters prove their inner strength against the scenic California coastline during a life-threatening confrontation. The second section of the novel traces justice and truth quests through investigators along with key figures from Vanessa’s background until it reaches a conclusion that enables healing for both her spiritual and physical self.
My interest in the story grew completely from reading Skipper’s work. The author establishes a strong distinction between the distinct vibes of Charleston from the 1960s and the modern San Francisco setting. Sister Rosalie delivered a dialogue that combined historical knowledge with dry humor throughout the story to present a rich and realistic portrayal of her character.
The central power of the book stems from a direct investigation of Vanessa’s identity conflict against social, racial, and class discrimination. I carried the deeply personal experience she went through with me throughout the entire reading process. The author skillfully explored difficult subjects in a direct manner because his vulnerable and desperate scenes delivered realness without crossing into out-of-place territory. The predictions made by Mr. Maniqault using Gullah lore help enrich the story through early signals of what is to come.
Technical elements were handled professionally throughout the book since it exhibited smooth editing work. The presentation of the story remained free of errors because there were no typos or grammatical mistakes, thus allowing me to stay fully focused on the storyline. The rating for Deceptive Calm stands at 4 out of 5 from my perspective. The story holds strong power through its appealing nature and realistic depiction of central characters and effective treatment of complicated themes. The storyline that followed Vanessa piqued my complete interest throughout the narrative. My rating of the novel suffers from a single deduction because the dramatic climax features antagonists who need additional psychological depth like the earlier characters, which sometimes approached melodramatic levels.
Deceptive Calm offers an authentic reading experience, which I endorse to enthusiasts of historical dramatic fiction with their preference for emotionally deep narratives.
******
Deceptive Calm
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper
