Taming Clancy

Taming Clancy by Dori

Perfect Paperback, Kindle and Nook
Publisher: Weisiger PublishingLanguage: English
ISBN-10: 0615399215
ISBN-13: 978-0615399218

This debut novel by Dori validates her as an up and coming part of the next generation of new authors from Kentucky. Although many of us remember the awkwardness of our adolescent years, Dori gives us an exquisite look at youth and its explosive passions.


"Taming Clancy" takes place in Bethlehem, Kentucky in 1979. Hollison Hope Fairchild is haunted by the memories of her mother and the misunderstandings of why her mother did not love her. During the winter of 1979, in her hometown of Bethlehem, Kentucky, Holly lives through her 17th year with sheer determination and the help of best friends, Fern, and her twin brother, Alex Troublefield.

Thomas, her father and an expert gardener, was becoming more withdrawn after the death of his wife, Susanna, Holly’s mother. Worried about the emotional state of his only child, he invites Caleb (Jay-Jay), Susanna’s brother, to come and stay with them over Christmas holiday. Holly is upset because she doesn’t know who this person is and she certainly doesn’t want him invading their lives during the holidays.

Caleb and Holly get along like quarreling siblings vying for all the attention. He picks on her endlessly and Holly hates every minute of it. Already in a major depressive state, agony and fear over her mother fill her up and begins to spew out on her family and friends, making everyone miserable.

Abigail, Fern and Alex’s cousin, is the little scene stealer in this book. Her independence and innocence bubble off the page. Her only problem is a monster living in her closet, a girl monster named Clancy who scares Abby at night on a regular basis. Holly seems to do the best job and she loves the child with her whole heart.

It is when Holly discovers a journal written by her mother that the story takes a different turn. Reading and learning about her mother gave her a sense of peace and sadness, especially when she learns her mother lived with a life-threatening illness all her life.

This book is a beautiful work of literature, even though marketed as a Young Adult novel. Dori’s style of writing pulls you into the story and holds you on a bumpy ride until you reach the end. Although I didn’t understand the title of the book, even with all the mentions of Clancy, all is revealed in the end.

I am looking forward to more work by this inspiring young writer. She lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky and attends a university in Virginia.