LOVE IN THE PRESENT TENSE

Hyde, of PAY IT FORWARD fame, triumphs again in this heartbreaking but hopeful story of three intertwined lives. Thirteen-year-old Pearl, daughter of a drug addict, becomes pregnant and accidentally kills the baby's cop father one horrible night. Pearl becomes her son, Leonard's, loving, protective champion, but, hounded by police, she disappears when he is 5. Her next-door neighbor, Mitch, takes over rearing Leonard, but Leonard will always believe in Pearl's "forever love." As the years pass, each character relates his or her own version of the story. The plot's jumps are greatly clarified by the intensely felt, unique narrations of David Coburn, Jeremy Redleaf, and Duana Speights. The listening experience is darkly emotional but inspiring. M.T.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]