4-STAR REVIEW: JALOPY by Wes Verde

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The Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2021

New Jersey, 1928.

All her life, Etta Wozniak has toiled on her family’s small farm, located on the outskirts of a lake resort town. After losing her mother and siblings to one misfortune or another, life has fallen into a rut of drudgery and predictability. That is, until the day she discovers something in an unlikely place; an old car. Energized by the prospects of a world beyond the one she knows, she decides to make this her last summer on the farm. However, disaster is not through with Etta yet, and there will be consequences for her upcoming departure.

Art Adams, a recent college man, arrives in town for a family reunion. After years of moving from one city to another and avoiding conflict whenever it tries to find him, he becomes enamored with the lake. However, there is another reason for Art’s visit. He is to marry a woman he has never met before; an arrangement that was made on his behalf and without his knowledge. More comfortable around numbers and machines than people, Art is reluctant to confront his parents on the matter. But if he decides to do nothing, he risks losing who and what he has come to love.

In a small town of farmers and firemen, musicians and moonshiners, bossy parents and barn parties, two people will come to understand what they must give up in order to have the chance to build something new.

The Review

Jalopy by Wes Verde is a historical fiction set in New Jersey and begins in 1928. It spans several years and has a satisfying conclusion, with the epilogue taking us back to where it all started five years later.

Jalopy is full of angst, hard work, poverty, too little to eat, moonshine and prohibition, unsavory characters, illegal activities, secrets, tears, tragedies, family and friends, romance, and love. There are very dysfunctional families who can’t seem to get out of their own way at times. Many characters display great perseverance—making the best of a bad situation—and knowing how to pinch a penny.

Etta and Art are the main characters, and we see life from their perspectives, written in alternating chapters. Their friendship evolves over time, especially when Art seems to always be there for Etta. Etta is also helpful in lending her support to Art or introducing him to others.

Art is the baby in a big family, and his older brothers treat him like a baby or a girl despite being a grown man who has graduated college and is trying to find his way in the family business and on his own. Etta and Art seem to want more, but life gets in the way—especially since they have trouble communicating and being all in. Art’s also harboring a secret that could easily destroy their relationship. We get to know several characters and see how some of their relationships evolve.

Set in a lake town, Mr. Verde beautifully depicts walking trails, the outdoors, and the scenery. He also describes farm life and living in a small town where people know each other and gossip abounds. There are also the outsiders who come to the lake to vacation and never seem to fit in. That’s not true of Art, who seems to make himself known even if he is shy.

Mr. Verde was able to weave several storylines together with hints along the way of what will transpire in the future. Ending the book with great closure along with some happily ever afters, Jalopy made for a satisfying ending.

I liked the vividness of the cover and the image of the jalopy, which is central to the story, especially as Etta dreams big and is featured prominently.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

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About The Author

Wes Verde is an engineer by trade, a busybody by habit, and a lifelong Jersey boy.

Writing has been a hobby in one form or another since 2006 when he started drawing 3-panel comics. When he is not putting words down, he is picking them up; the “to-read” pile only seems to grow larger.

A fan of nature, he spends as much time outside as possible.