Title: Finding Evie
Author: Catina Noble
Genre:Young Adult - Coming of Age
Book Blurb:
I’m sure we all must have told ourselves, at least once while growing up, that life couldn’t possibly get worse. As Rod Sterling, host of the ancient TV show, The Twilight Zone, actually never said, “Imagine if you will,” being the eldest female child in a family with no parenting. Imagine being “Mommy” to a pari of irresponsible, substance-addicted adult children. Imagine taking on the responsibility of being the nanny for younger siblings, the maids for lazy, hungover parents, the literal whipping girl for a father’s outbursts. Catina Noble has nailed it in Finding Evie. She has managed to portray Evie Feathers as though she herself had lived through each and every soul-destroying experience and come out, not merely as a survivor, but as a thriver. Finding Evie holds hope between its covers for neglected children.
Excerpt:
I was seventeen. Things had become steadily worse for me since my father had moved back in. You would think, after everything, he would have tried to make an effort. It was the complete opposite. Ti was though he couldn’t stand the sight of me or even handle being in the same room with me. I couldn’t understand why.
My mother did nothing to help foster even a semblance of father-daughter relationship between us. I was tired of her pretending that nothing was gone on, but I guess that was her way of coping. I do believe she feared him at times. But that idd nothing to help me, or defeat my feather’s inevitable wrath. He would get annoyed with my two younger sisters, and even yell at them, but for some reason, I seemed to be the main focus of his anger and abuse.
My father was a short man, but taller than I was and he had lightning-fast speed. He was such a force, he could smack you and it would take you maybe five minutes to figure out what had just happened.
On this particular night, something was different. My father had been drinking yet again. I could see the rage building in his piercing blue eyes when they locked with mine. I don’t know how to explain it because this kind of thing had been going on throughout my entire childhood, but something was off this time. I had to make a decision. And fast.
Honestly didn’t have a plan for how I was going to get out this particular situation, or how it might end, or whether this night might change anything, or if it might change everything. None of that mattered right then. I just knew something had to be done. Things weren’t going to end well, that much I knew. I had this bad feeling.
I turned to my mother for support. Surely, she had to realize how dangerous the unfolding scene was.
“Mom, can’t you see I need help? I can’t take this anymore. It shouldn’t be like this.” There was no way she could just sit back and watch anymore. She had to do something.
She was sitting at the kitchen table. She was wearing her pale-blue, long-sleeved night-gown with the zipper down the front and she was working on one of her word search games or crossword puzzles. She didn’t react in the slightest at the sound of my Boise. It was as though she were trying to ignore me, and everything else that was going on.
This time, I was not going to let her do that.
“Mom, I know you can hear me. Turn around.”
She turned and her eyes met mine. She spoke quietly. “Evie, you know better than to upset your father. You know better than that.”
The thing was, I hadn’t done anything It was the same as it always was. I was being punished for something I hadn’t done. My father hated for things I didn’t do. There was something wrong with him. He needed help.
How could she even thin for a moment this was my fault? She was sitting not even six feet away from us. I was the kid here. They were the parents. Did they not have some sort of obligation? They weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing. I tried to recall the last time I had seen my father this upset. I couldn’t.
All I had wanted to do was sleep at a friends place because Dad was completely drunk. My sisters had already gone to spend a night with their friends. I did’t want to be his punching bag. That’s what it basically boiled down. He seemed to be on a fresh wave of rage. I thought I might vomit. I glanced at the back screen door where my friend PJ stood waiting, just outside. She was fifteen. I’m sure she could hear every word. I had no time to be embarrassed about what she might hear. I would worry about that later. Right then, I had to keep my wits about me.
My father had noticed my eyes looking toward the door. He took another swig from his Molson Canadian beer—I can still picture that bottle—and through his greet teeth he spoke.
“I’ll give you one warning and only one.” He pointed his beer bottle at me. “You try leaving the house and I will slice your throat.”
I could feel my eyes bulging. This was not happening. This wasn’t real. I looked over in my mother’s direction once more, my eyes pleading for help. She never even looked up. She continued sitting there, immersed in her all-important puzzle.
My father sucked down the last of the beer then smashed the bottle against the door jam. His hand reached down to the shards of it and taking the biggest piece, he lunged at me.
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Author Biography:
Catina Noble is a Canadian writer. She has kept a journal since she was in her early teens. Her writing is diverse and has something for everyone. Noble’s work expands over a variety of genres including: Sci-Fi, YA, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories and Poetry. Her work has appeared in several publications including Chicken Soup for the Soul, Woman’s World Magazine, Y Travel Blog, Perceptive Travel, Bywords Magazine, Phafours Press, Crowe Creations, Canadian Newcomer Magazine, The Mindful Word and many others. At this point in time, she has four chapbooks of poetry, a full length poetry book and a total of ten books published. To date, four of her books: Vacancy at the Food Court & Other Short Stories, I’m Glad I Didn’t Kill Myself , Everest Base Camp: Close Call , Finding Evie won the Reader’s Favourite seal of approval. She has a B.A in Psychology from Carleton University and a Social Services Worker Diploma from Algonquin College. She currently works full-time in her field and is enrolled in the Addictions & Mental Health program at Algonquin College. When she is not busy working, she enjoys travelling, volunteering, cross-stitching and crocheting. Catina’s favourite place to work on her writing is at a local coffee shop. Sometimes, her dog Aspen and her cat, PJ help supervise her creative writing through the entire process.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @CatinaNoble1
IG: cncreate
Website: https://catinanoble.wordpress.com