Old Buildings in North Texas

by

Jen Waldo

  Sub-genre: Literary Fiction / Dramedy

Publisher: Arcadia Books

Date of Publication: April 1, 2018

Number of Pages: 213

Scroll down for the giveaway! 

After rehab, Olivia, a 32-year-old cocaine addict, is required to move back in with her mother and pregnant sister. Having left a promising career in journalism in New York, she’s now working as a sales assistant for a family friend in her hometown in North Texas.

Under pressure from her court-mandated counselor – an old high school friend – to take up a hobby, Olivia decides on “urbexing.” Soon she’s breaking into derelict homes, ex-prisons, and old drive-ins across North Texas, and it’s not long before she’s looting state property and making money off the possessions, fixtures, and fittings that have been left behind.

Old Buildings in North Texas is about a modern woman’s search for personal equilibrium and wild adventure — the attempt to find stability in existence without losing sight of what makes life worth living. Jen Waldo’s style modulates effortlessly from domestic nuance to taut adventure, tackling social and moral transgressions with incisive observation and vivid humor.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Audible * Books-A-Million

PRAISE FOR OLD BUILDINGS IN NORTH TEXAS

“A lot of Jen Waldo’s debut novel takes place out on the porch of Olivia’s mother’s house. […] With its casual, confidential tone, Old Buildings in North Texas puts the reader in one of those porch chairs, reclining on a warm evening with a cool drink.” — The Skinny

“Old Buildings in North Texas is an amusingly written and well worked book” — Trip Fiction

“This novel is an absolute blast. There are serious moments of course, but Jen Waldo looks for the comedy in everything to create a memorable scenario that reminded me very much of the style of Six Feet Under.” — Shiny New Books

I’m always up for a book that is set in a small Texas town, and even more when the characters make me laugh and manage to find themselves in predicaments that most people couldn’t even imagine. Olivia has managed to get herself into a pickle with her past lifestyle and drug use but now she gets to enjoy being treated like a 4 year old by her mother since Olivia is in her care and her mom is responsible for her whereabouts and actions.

Being back in Caprock, Olivia has to deal with those classmates that never left town. This is a good and a bad thing. At least she knows who they are but they aren’t people she really wants to hang out with if she had her freedom. And, as it is with all small towns, there isn’t a lot to do and Olivia has been charged with finding a hobby. After considering and discarding several options, Oliva stumbles across Urban Exploration or Urbexing. This is exploring abandoned buildings. I have a cousin that would check out abandoned buildings and part of this book reminded me of her adventures. Unlike my cousin, Olivia decides to start taking items to sell (eBay etc) so she can build up a savings account since her paycheck all goes to those she owes for past debts. While I can understand why she did it, she was breaking the law and didn’t see to care. However, some of her actions did end up with negative results but I’m not sure she learned anything from those situations.

There are some other intriguing storylines including Olivia’s sister and her biological father; Olivia’s employer and family friend, Zachary; and a dead body from one of her expeditions. Sadly, we don’t really learn anything more about the dead body and I do wish there had been a little more detail on how this person died, how they might have arrived to be in that location, etc. There was also a minor storyline with Zachary’s cousin who is a hoarder and was holding some family documents “hostage”. I think there could have been more to that story too.

Even with all of the dramedy, deep down Olivia is a woman that has some issues to work through and I think she has some walls in place that will take time to tear down. I think she might be to a good start with meditating and choosing random bible verses, but does she really believe what she is reading or is this just something she is doing to placate her parole officer and therapist?

I enjoyed this book and felt like the author provided a descriptive picture of the abandoned buildings, the mall, and even her home so that I could imagine being in the room with Olivia and gang. The book does just end and while one question was answered, there are so many more questions that I have and I hope that perhaps there will be another book that delves more into what Olivia is doing now or perhaps even one from her sister’s point of view (since she has her own issues to deal with in this book).

We give it 4 paws up

Jen Waldo lived in seven countries over a thirty-year period and has now settled, along with her husband, in Marble Falls, Texas. She first started writing over twenty years ago when, while living in Cairo, she had difficulty locating reading material and realized she’d have to make her own fun. She has since earned an MFA and written a number of novels. Her work has been published in The European and was shortlisted in a competition by Traveler magazine. Old Buildings in North Texas and Why Stuff Matters have been published in the UK by Arcadia Books. Jen’s fiction is set in Northwest Texas and she’s grateful to her hometown of Amarillo for providing colorful characters and a background of relentless whistling wind.

◆  Website  ◆  Twitter  ◆

◆  Amazon Author Page  ◆

◆  Goodreads Author Page  ◆

 —————————————

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

1st Prize:

Signed Copy of OBiNT + $10 Amazon Gift Card

2nd Prize:Signed Copy + $5 Amazon Gift Card

3rd Prize: eBook Copy of OBiNT

October 2-11, 2018

(US ONLY)

Check out the other blogs on this tour

blog tour services provided by