WINNER! 2016 Foreword Reviews Book of the Year, General Fiction, Bronze. For a small-town conservative mayor and his liberal activist wife, politics, principles and personalities collide when the Blessed Virgin Mary appears on an underpass, a long-standing citizen decides to build an exact replica of Noah’s Ark across from the State Forest, and their daughter makes a life-altering decision.
“When Walls Weep,” excerpted in part from One for the Ark, was one of two finalists for The Florida Review 2014 Editors Awards.
One for the Ark was a Short List Finalist for the William Wisdom-William Faulkner Prize for an Unpublished Novel in both 2007 and 2009.
One for the Ark is the author’s third title to be a finalist for the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year in General Fiction.
Colorado Press Association EVVY Award for Cover Design–Third Pace, 2017
This solidly plotted and well-paced book ends somewhat ambivalently, but the destination feels less important than the characters' journey. And that journey will hook readers. Reed's book unfolds at a satisfying pace, in smooth, clean prose that serves the story well. The challenges facing parents with a transitioning child combined with a local politician's fear of voter attitudes about gender identity make for a fresh read. —Book Life
[Reed's] touching, amusing, and ultimately poignant novel plays pitch-perfect notes in a quirky symphony of a small Wisconsin town, the best of middle America.... From the first page, distinct characters emerge, both crafty and caring, to claim the reader's attention and affection in a novel that satisfies to the last sentence while raising questions of personal beliefs and civic values. —Lois Barliant, Author, One Day's Tale
In this funny, sensitive novel, Reed laughs with, never at, the mayor, his family and his constituents as they confront the bewildering passions and contradictions of our highly unpredictable times. —W. Kennedy, Author, Dead Arm and Purpose Pitch
[I]nventive and genuinely funny…. Reed dishes out ridiculousness without devolving into manic slapstick and courageously tackles controversial issues with a graceful touch. The author rightfully lets her characters speak for themselves as much as possible, with sharp-tongued dialogue…. —Kirkus Reviews
by Mary Hutchings Reed
WINNER! 2016 Foreword Reviews Book of the Year, General Fiction, Bronze. For a small-town conservative mayor and his liberal activist wife, politics, principles and personalities collide when the Blessed Virgin Mary appears on an underpass, a long-standing citizen decides to build an exact replica of Noah’s Ark across from the State Forest, and their daughter makes a life-altering decision.
“When Walls Weep,” excerpted in part from One for the Ark, was one of two finalists for The Florida Review 2014 Editors Awards.
One for the Ark was a Short List Finalist for the William Wisdom-William Faulkner Prize for an Unpublished Novel in both 2007 and 2009.
One for the Ark is the author’s third title to be a finalist for the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year in General Fiction.
Colorado Press Association EVVY Award for Cover Design–Third Pace, 2017
This solidly plotted and well-paced book ends somewhat ambivalently, but the destination feels less important than the characters' journey. And that journey will hook readers. Reed's book unfolds at a satisfying pace, in smooth, clean prose that serves the story well. The challenges facing parents with a transitioning child combined with a local politician's fear of voter attitudes about gender identity make for a fresh read. —Book Life
[Reed's] touching, amusing, and ultimately poignant novel plays pitch-perfect notes in a quirky symphony of a small Wisconsin town, the best of middle America.... From the first page, distinct characters emerge, both crafty and caring, to claim the reader's attention and affection in a novel that satisfies to the last sentence while raising questions of personal beliefs and civic values. —Lois Barliant, Author, One Day's Tale
In this funny, sensitive novel, Reed laughs with, never at, the mayor, his family and his constituents as they confront the bewildering passions and contradictions of our highly unpredictable times. —W. Kennedy, Author, Dead Arm and Purpose Pitch
[I]nventive and genuinely funny…. Reed dishes out ridiculousness without devolving into manic slapstick and courageously tackles controversial issues with a graceful touch. The author rightfully lets her characters speak for themselves as much as possible, with sharp-tongued dialogue…. —Kirkus Reviews
