"Writing is easy," Dorothy Parker has said, "all you have to do is open a vein." A good many first novels do just that. There is too much self and not enough artistry in telling a story involving yet transforming portions of self.
In "Sherry and the Unseen World," Holly W. Schwartztol has taken the essence of a journey toward and through puberty and invested it with contours, crafting and imagination--thereby becoming its own entity; it is a novel, not an autobiography or a memoir once removed.
The story involves three summers of a potentially terrific person who has not yet reached that understanding within herself. Her struggles to evolve, judging right from wrong, better from worse; her yearning toward maturation have a more grounded and inviting sensibility than most fiction for young adults. That she gets significant help--not from a parent but from a bewitchingly spiritual aunt--is a refreshingly original leavening device.
A page-turner written with a knowing candor about the romance and difficulty of 'grown-up' life, still slightly out-of-reach, but encroaching fast.

This is a great, beautifully written book. It was a page turner for me. I always looked forward to the next chapters and I was sorry when the book ended. Maybe Dr. Schwartztol will write about Sherry's next summers in her next book!
The book is engrossing on many levels. There is Sherry, going through the daily life of a young girl - playing, riding her bike, loving her friends, experiencing new feelings about boys, growing up in her own private child's world. Then, there is family love and conflict to deal with: within her own family, her extended family and in the families of her friends. Sometimes, Sherry finds her own way. Other times, she needs help which she finds in her special Aunt Geraldine, who teaches Sherry how to find comfort and healing in the "unseen world."
This is not only a good story. It teaches the reader spiritual exercises that are effective and easy enough for a child to do. I found myself remembering what it was like to be a pre-teen girl as I heard the screen door banging shut, smelled the steak on the grille, felt my legs turning those bike wheels around so effortlessly, heard my girlfriends calling me on the phone asking for sleep overs, wondering if a boy liked me, my curiosity getting me into trouble ... Sherry and the Unseen World will remind you of what is was like growing up, with Dr. Schwartztol's wisdom and warm reflection.
I think both women and girls will like this book. It can even be used to open the door for conversation between mothers and daughters about growing up.