Comfort - Hardcover

Dean, Carolee

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618138463 ISBN 13: 9780618138463

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2002

Synopsis

Nothing ever happened here. Nothing ever would.

Fifteen-year-old Kenny Wilson wants nothing more than to get out of Comfort, Texas—fast. Only three things stand in his way: getting enough money together, convincing Cindy Blackwell to go with him, and escaping the clawlike grip of his mother.
Amidst these problems, Kenny must also contend with tumultuous feelings about his alcoholic father (newly released from prison) and his growing guilt over leaving his baby brother behind in a wake of dysfunction. But as life at home becomes even more unbearable and threatens to destroy his plans, he is determined not to lose his dreams to a lifetime of waiting tables in his mama’s rundown café. Propelled by desire and despair, Kenny discovers the power of words and how they can change lives in ways he never dared to hope for. He comes to realize that there’s a time to stop running and take a stand.

About this title

About the Author

Speech pathologist Carolee Dean published Comfort in 2002. 
 

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 3
I wiped down the counter while Mama busied herself off in the back with the
tapes returned from record producers in Nashville. So far not one of them had
recognized the vocal talents of Roy Dan Willson, and it was driving Mama
crazy. It had only been two weeks and already everything Mama had sent out
had been returned. I wondered if anybody ever listened to the tapes or if they
just sent them back as soon as they arrived.
Mama muttered under her breath as she put new mailing labels on the brown
envelopes and got ready to send them out again. "No ear for talent," she said
half a dozen times. "I don"t understand it," Mama droned as she hid the extra
tapes behind the dishwashing soap. It was a place Daddy was sure never to
look. "They come back so fast. It just ain"t logistical."
"Do you mean it ain"t "logical"?" I said, doubting that she was talking about
the logistics of mailing items between Nashville and Comfort.
Mama shoved a mop bucket at me. "I meant whatever I said, and I said
whatever I meant. Now go clean the floor in the dining room."
I carried the bucket out front and started mopping from one side of the dining
room to the other, wondering how I"d ever find the time to prepare for the
poetry competition.
Mrs. Peterson says words have power. If that"s true then the most potent
thing in my life during that time when Daddy first got home was the
word "Dallas."
That"s where I was going. I wasn"t stupid about it, though. I watched the news
and Sixty Minutes. I knew what happened to runaways out on the streets. I
wasn"t going to be out on the streets. I had a plan. And I wasn"t running
away. I was merely going to relocate prematurely. The mistake most kids
make is that they fly off the handle and get scared or mad at their parents
and just take off from home without thinking about it ahead of time. Not me.
I"d been thinking about leaving for a long time.

Edition details

• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0618138463
• ISBN 13: 9780618138463
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240