The Portrait

The author's delightful narrative, set in 1954 and partly woven with actual events, crackles with sudden and powerful romance between idealistic teenagers Monty Cartwright and Chris Reid. After the boy and girl meet in Elizabeth City, hub of the mysterious and beautiful upper coast of North Carolina, their story flows with magical passion and quiet sacredness. Monty and Chris discover the exquisite wonders of young love but struggle with heroic steel against bigotry, fear, murder, and storm. They courageously raise their sterling voices to protect their beleaguered school from the corruption of a bare-knuckled coach and to preserve their transformative love from a deeply flawed family member. Monty and Chris emerge from every page as complex individuals telling their story with naked, uncensored, and tender language, until tragic events threaten their world and spark cries for an extraordinary miracle from the radiance of eternity.