As many ISU students know, growing up in a small town showcases opportunities not available in big cities. Thus the life of Roxanne, a girl growing up in the small town of Annette, Texas, is portrayed in Karen Stolz’s novel, “World of Pies.”

The novel begins in 1962, when Roxanne is 12 years old, and follows her life into middle adulthood.

As a girl, Roxanne is an only-child tomboy. She spends her summer playing baseball with her cousin, Tommy, and sipping milkshakes at Doreen’s Drugstore.

The novel skips blocks of time every chapter. Some important events are discussed in the past-tense, while still enabling the reader to continue on with the story. The book was also surprisingly able to focus on some important political issues, such as equality among races and the controversy of Vietnam, without becoming too stuffy and self-righteous.

The characters in this book were well-developed and thought-out. Though skipping over years at times, some main characters’ lives continued on in the story. However, there were some characters that seemed important to the story in each chapter that were not mentioned again after the chapter ended. This may lead the reader to wish they could find hidden chapters within the book and find out what happened to those people. Despite this, it will probably not interfere with enjoying the book.

With Roxanne’s experiences, readers will remember their first kiss, losing someone close to them, and getting married. Some events Roxanne experiences, such as “getting it on” with her cousin, will probably only be remembered by select readers.

This book is thoroughly enjoyable and is a quick, light-hearted read. Most people who would read this novel would be females—males may find it difficult to relate to Roxanne’s character. As a bonus, readers can take advantage of the recipes for desserts that were mentioned throughout the book that are included at the end of the story.