Berry Fields West - A Young Woman's Love Unfolds in Suburbia

NEW FREEDOM, PA, February 05, 2011 (Press-News.org) Strawberry Fields - we became familiar with the place in London thanks to the iconic Beatles, and now the famed name descends itself upon a small suburban community in Shrewsbury, PA - an antagonistic backdrop in a break-out novel.

Amelia Orlowski, a self-assertive woman in her late teens, lives in this unknown iconic development with her family (middle aged parents - a Led Zeppelin rockin' homemaker mother and a dry humor suited Slovakian father, and her younger brother of athletic German physique) on Harrison Road where "[t]here is no real connection between this neighborhood and the one in Liverpool, but the property owners prefer to believe so." Upon George Harrison's death in December 2001, the neighbors on Harrison Road came together for a quaint tribute of local publicized respect.

Amelia is the eyes and ears into 'Berry Fields West' so nicknamed by young classmates who reside along the West side of the community. The story opens with a divine declaration from Proverbs appropriately depicting the direction of Amelia's story. A soaked black Ford Mustang GT parked outside a restaurant with an overcast sky triggers the memory of how her summer affair came to be. Her recollection of events leads to critical evaluations of herself and the losses she has had to endure reminding ourselves even though life is short, our behaviors whether we be sincere or choose cruelty have consequences - a past does indeed affect our future.

Immediately, the focus is influenced by the depiction of the characters, so as to understand Amelia's never-ending battle between social popularity and moral hypocrisy amongst legalistic friends. Amelia takes a turn to a new diversity in her college life. She is met with love and friendship, as well as heartache, confusion and consequences. All the while, unforgivable events unfold in her hometown shaking the core of her faith in people. Amelia relates her community, her friends, and herself to the likes of predatory creatures. The young protagonist's self-evaluation mirrors our own self-reflection in a society consumed by social media hype. Internet relationships easily discarded for someone popular and fresh. The fast-food lifestyle becomes a benchmark for connection in social lives.

Amelia Orlowski leaves the reader questioning if she will continue her affair or leave it behind.

K. Frances May resides in Pennsylvania with her family. Berry Fields West is her first published fictional novel, and she looks forward to writing its sequel A Swart Spring.