Boxing Day (The Donora Story Collection)

Boxing Day (The Donora Story Collection)

Donora, Pennsylvania—December, 1923 It’s Christmastime and twenty-four-year-old Socialite, Wrenly Hawthorne, is teetering between the comfort of family wealth and her risky drive for independence. Feeling estranged from friends and at odds with her parents, she is searching for “something more.” With keen interest in the freedom that the women’s right to vote should have brought, she studies the stock market and plans to attend school. She is sure she can build the life she wants, but will she risk everything to do it? Enter boxer Cyril Mankovic. He returns to Donora after his mother dies while giving birth to his one and only sister, Olive. He is unprepared for what she and his seven younger brothers need and he is shocked that his father has no plan to care for them. Cyril’s quest to make fast money for his family brings him face-to-face with Wrenly at the moment she is firmly declining the proposal of a very “suitable man.” A WWI veteran, Cyril earns money barnstorming the country, living a life where only his needs matter. But the longer Cyril is home the more his sense of responsibility develops. Family secrets, a Boxing Day boxing match, an exclusive women’s investment club, and the magic of the Donora holiday season merge Wrenly and Cyril’s paths in unforeseen ways. Is their growing affection enough to overcome their differences? Join them as the wonder of love and family challenges everything they thought they knew. "Packed to the brim with vivid characters navigating a changing world, each with unique dreams and dilemmas that tug on the heartstrings from cover to cover." --K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite "Set in 1923, Shoop creates a powerful clash of characters and captures the sounds, sights, and atmosphere of the boxing ring and translates it to bigger-picture life questions and answers. Libraries and readers seeking astute, vivid blends of a small-town, cozy family scenarios, studies in contrasts, and the growth of a man and woman as they navigate expectations and challenges will find BOXING DAY a thoroughly absorbing story." --D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review "Emotional and hilarious. Shoop perfectly captures the era's culture (small town, 1923) and dynamics, putting you in the characters' shoes and making you root for them." --Doreen Chombu for Readers' Favorite "A dynamic story with memorable and well-rounded characters. A mesmerizing storyline. BOXING DAY delights and surprises—a wonderfully entertaining read." --Kat Kennedy for US Review "Shoop creates a plot that is gripping, unfolding during the festive season, blending the magic of Christmas with the lives of two intriguing characters." -- Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite "Kathleen Shoop's writing captivated me from start to finish." -- Luwi Nyakansaila for Readers' Favorite