Fall into the ‘Gap’

By Beth Belcher
Herbert Hoover High School

I know that most teens do not like to read, but personally I think that is just because they have yet to find the right book.

“Big Stone Gap” by Adriana Trigiani could be that book. It amused me to no end with its wonderful and refreshing twist on self-discovery.

The story focuses on a woman named Ave Maria. Really. And The Mutual, where Ave Maria is the pharmacist, just happens to be one of the biggest gossip places in the small Virginia town, where everything from Ave’s personal life to the most popular girl in school’s pregnancy is discussed.

The big catch is that Ave Maria is, at 35, a spinster in a town where almost everyone else is married or expected to be married. This creates some rather amusing incidents — from Ave throwing herself at a man who happens to have been her best friend for years to her being proposed to by two different men.

On top of everything else, Ave Maria is also dealing with the recent death of her mother. When she accepts the will given to her by her mother’s lawyer, she is unaware of the can of worms that she is about to open.

She discovers that her father, who was indifferent towards her, was not her real father, and that she has relatives on both sides of her family who are still alive in Italy. Now she’s torn between her suitors, the family she has always dreamed of having and a chance for a brand new start in life.

While this all goes on, Ave tries to keep up with what used to be her mundane life. Eventually, when it all becomes too much, she finds an opportunity that gives her the perfect escape for a new life. But will she take it?

During all of this, Aunt Alice, the sister of the man she thought was her father, comes to visit, adding to the craziness of Ave’s life. Alice has always hated Ave Maria, and now that it’s been revealed that her brother wasn’t Ave Maria’s father, she has a reason to.

Instead of panicking over Aunt Alice’s visit, though, Ave decides to hear her out. Alice, a cold-hearted woman, wants everything that once belonged to her brother, all of which now belongs to Ave. But Ave Maria won’t give in easily, and her decision will shock readers.

I guarantee that if you choose to try reading “Big Stone Gap,” you will hang on every word right up to the shocking ending — I did.