Reviews for Plan Z by Leslie Kove

The average rating for Plan Z by Leslie Kove based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-05-26 00:00:00 Justin Jarvis Betsy Robinson and I have been Goodreads friends for a while now, frequently commenting on each other's reviews. I knew she was a writer and I thought I might read one of her novels some time, but I never got around to it. To be clear, she never asked. Recently, Betsy provided a free kindle copy to anyone who wanted it, as she said goodbye to the paper version of this, her first novel, when the publisher closed its doors . A generous gesture when many of us seek a diversion through reading during these trying times. What prompted me to read this now was an exchange that we had on our reviews of Writers & Lovers , with Betsy commenting on her motivation to write. "I write to discover." I knew I should read this now because that's why I read . When we first meet Leslie Kove at 17, she is so matter of fact about things . I thought at first devoid of emotion - "... my brother was dead, my father wasn't..." I was impatient at first with Leslie. She was naive and quirky and seemed younger than 17, but she eventually starts to blossom before our eyes. It wasn't until I got further along that I realized how much that one sentence meant. She's visits her sister Susan at college and goes along on a trip the trip to Washington on a peace march and visits officials at the Pentagon. What she said made me sit up and take notice. A Pentagon official tells these kids "That we had a duty to the brave soldiers who'd died there to see this thing through." "Then I said I didn't think my dead brother would mind at all if we reneged on this commitment, that how come it was people like them and my father who were so hot to fight, and if they really wanted to prove something, why didn't they just go there themselves and send all the guys like Peter home." I thought , you go girl! I grew to like her and care about her as she experienced her first job, her first love and I think it's because she was so genuine, never any pretense as we see her move through the years from 17 to her mid 30's. My least favorite part was Leslie's stay at the commune in Greece. While it reflects the time of peace, free love and drugs, I couldn't relate and she seemed so out of her element there. Thankfully there is humor here, as Leslie struggles to figure out who she is, her work life and her love life, just what's her plan. The humor serves as a buffer to some pretty heavy duty things going on here - alcoholism and suicide and abuse and war and the death of her brother in Vietnam. I found it particularly sad that she and her sister Susan While in touch don't see each other for years. This story was for me a reflection of times that I remember well . I was reminded of the quiet and peaceful demonstrations of my college days at an all women, Catholic college. I was reminded of how much I detested the Vietnam War. I was reminded of the plans I had at various times in my life and how they changed, maybe not from plan A -Z, but they changed for one reason or another. What I discovered was a moving, if not heartbreaking story about a character that I will remember. I'll remember Leslie Kove not just because I felt for her and liked her, or because of what she endured, but because she somehow musters the passion and the strength to move forward. I wanted to climb into the story so we could be friends. Thanks to Betsy Robinson for the copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-07-21 00:00:00 Robert Mitchell 4/16/20 Update I'm learning to make book trailers during quarantine. This seemed like a good excuse to talk about the trauma that is currently happening in our culture: Plan Z by Leslie Kove Book Trailer 3/21/20 Quarantine Update As a rabid reader--currently of library ebooks--I'm frustrated that I've reached my borrowing limit and the New York Public Library is closed . . . which inspired me to give: Starting 3/21/20 at 8 AM Pacific/12:00 Eastern, through Monday 3/23, my first novel (pub. 2001 by Mid-List Press), Plan Z by Leslie Kove, a funny sad trip down the rabbit hole of the US of A starting during the Vietnam war up to the 1980s, will be free on Kindle. I have grown a lot since it was published in 2001, but I hope readers who like to laugh and also deal with pain will enjoy it. *** The last new old (out-of-print) copy sold. There is no more Mid-List Press website. The rights are mine for this first novel, published originally in 2001. The new revised paperback edition is now on amazon. There's a Kindle as well at Kindle store, but I'm partial to the stuff that I can hold and smell and smudge with emotion.