Excerpt from Tammy Ruggles’ Review
Just One Look by Joanne Kukanza Easley is a powerful work of literary fiction about grief and what comes after. This moving and multi-layered story centers on Danielle Marek, who is thirteen and in love. It’s Chicago, 1965, and for her, it’s true love, not puppy love. Vietnam crushes her dreams of a life with John, and she spirals down a path of self-destruction with men, but her way leads to a terrible end. She finds herself a young but rich widow raising a baby on her own. Is she able to rise above her loss and find herself again?
This author’s style is engaging, emotional, and personal, bringing you inside the heart and minds of the characters, especially Dani. The images Easley paints are full of life, the pacing is spot-on, and the overall feel of the novel transports you into the character’s mindset and a particular place and time. I especially enjoyed the crackling dialogue and specific descriptions of the pop references, but my favorite part had to be when Dani and John first met.