Only on page 121 after 13 years, the shiny black & gold cover and, especially, the title of Jacquelyn Mitchard’s novel still speaks to me. So to keep the love idea alive, sometimes I’ll set ‘The Most Wanted’ on my nightstand, or beside my reading chair. Distilled down to its purest essence, the following excerpt from my nonfiction book, ‘The Universal Casting’ studio exemplifies the above. No rehearsals, the story features a cast of real people running down the dream. From Casting to Theatrics midway down a dimly lit corridor, to the Gathering Hall famous for Relationship Seminars facilitated by legend Jim Morrison, the music plays on...Sudden commotion in the hallway diverts attention, and as Jim returns to the office, so does Anna, making for the darkened corridor. Stopping abruptly in the doorway, she looks, and looks, and looks again at the scary bunch of men tromping past Theatrics! Some wear loaded gun belts, some shoulder hefty burlap sacks, of money, no doubt, and spinning around, she simply blares, “Who are those people?” Jim stands back, laughing!O, he knows she’s waiting for an answer so he says, “Some of our best players.” “Best? Those guys look like outlaws!”And just as Anna turns toward the door for another look, she collides with some guy carrying a shotgun. As if nearing the hour, he stops, gives her the once over then rumbles, “Jim here?” “Yes.” “Pardon me,” he says, edging around her. In your dreams, Jim thinks, notes the funny look on her face and really wants to laugh. Instead, he greets his old friend. “Hey man, what’s up?” Langley shoulders the gun. “Been ridin’ all night in search of my dog.” “Again?”“Why not?” Absolutely speechless, Anna just stands there picking some of his gooey pine needles off of the sleeves of her hooded sweatshirt, and he’s got them stuck all over his clothes, hair, too! Backing up, half-in and half-out that door, she hears him mumbling, “So, I finally packed it in, tethered Rip, and crashed against a tree.”Suddenly aware of the way he defines himself, she only sees the rugged image. Not bad, she muses, eyes him up one side & down the other. Black leather jacket, belts, buckles, chains, filthy black T-shirt, Levis, and old riding boots. And hair! Wild hair hanging over the collar of his jacket. Why, for all she knows, he’s one of those Hell’s Angels! Sensing scrutiny, he darkens. “I’m going,” he says to Jim.t “See you in a few.”“Naw, I’m going back out. Joey’s here.” “Good God! He still rounding up those kids?”“For the benefit, yeah.”Still saddened by the news, Jim asks. “How many?”"119,000, heard it on the radio.”“Good grief.” Rising, shotgun in hand, the outlaw stretches an arm toward the ceiling. If he doesn’t watch out, she shudders, he’ll bust a light bulb! And following his every move, she notes that not only are there no light bulbs, there aren’t even any light fixtures! At the door, he hesitates, takes something out of an inside pocket. It’s a yellow tennis ball. As if playing catch with himself, he tosses it straight up, and it lands smack in the palm of his empty hand. Once out of earshot, Anna turns to Jim. “Why are these guys here?”Jim dumps the ashtray, sets it on F. “Same reason you are, unfinished business.” U... Cowboy hats, boots & guns. “But I don’t rob banks, or trains!”“Who said they do?”“Well, look at them, and who was that gunslinger that just left?”“Actually,” Jim grins, “he’s a contractor, and a writer, too.” “Of what? Books on how to become a thief?”In which hour… “No.”“Well,” she counters. “One of those creepy guys was carrying a WANTED poster, with snapshots. I saw it.”Jim loves this part. “Your photo on it?”“I’m not wanted!” Startled awake, Anna Lee glances at the clock. Midnight. Snuggling back down, she grabs the dream symbol, a Jacquelyn Mitchard paperback which she’s never finished reading. In her mind’s eye she sees the shiny black cover, the title printed in gold, 'The Most Wanted.' Sensing stirrings, her dog jumps down off the bed and retrieves the castoff teddy. Jumping back up, the four-legged jars the sleeper walking down the hall with the gunslinger. And pushing through the swinging doors, Anna marvels at the grandeur of the Gathering Hall.
4.5 STARS"Arley Mowbray is a drop-dead gorgeous 14-year-old, who, with her long, muscular frame and mature, collected manner could easily pass for 18. And pass she does. On a dare from her outspoken best friend, Elena Gutierrez, Arley writes to convict Dillon LeGrande in prison and convinces him she's a college student (though she hasn't made it out of junior high). Therein begins an ill-fated love story that myths are made of and men die for--except that's not what Dillon has in mind. Living in south Texas in a poor Tex-Mex community, Arley dreams of a less provincial life and secretly begins a love affair with Dillon via correspondence, which produces a flurry of poetry and achy-breaky love songs. Against the wishes of family and friends, Arley weds her amour, who promptly fathers her child, breaks out of prison, and mysteriously disappears. Fortunately for Arley, she has found a guardian angel in the form of Annie Singer, a straight-talking public defender from New York. Annie becomes the mother Arley never had, protecting her from Dillon and a love-starved home. Despite the strength of their bond, both underestimate Dillon's determination to get his child, no matter the cost." (From Amazon)Loved this novel! This was my second book by Mitchard and is still my favourite. I reread it a few times when I bought it. I can't say why I loved it so much but it is so well-written, an interesting and realistic story and good suspense.
What do You think about The Most Wanted (1998)?
A story of a young girl Arley whose childhood history of neglect by her mother leads her to pursue a toxic relationship with an adult prison inmate, Dillon Legrande. She gets married to him at 14 years old. Arley enlists the legal aid of Annie Singer to get her and Dillon a conjugal visit after their wedding. On their honeymoon, during which she has her first sexual experience in a prison trailer, she becomes pregnant. When Arley's mother kicks her out because of the pregnancy Annie comes to her resuce and a relationship is formed that will change both of them forever. This story shows that blood is not thicker than water and that families do not have to be based on DNA to form.
—Colleen Vincent
This book was a good read, I thought it was easy to read and kept my attention. There were several themes that were carried throughout, all dealing with love. The love between mother and child, the love between women, the love between man and woman. The writer did not give the characters as much depth as they could have had, and the story line sometimes seemed a little implausible but I wanted to read on and find out what happened to all of them. I read this book for a fun read, expecting nothing too heavy or demanding and that is what I got.
—Denise
This book read very much like a YA novel...I fell in love with Arley and loved her mature-yet-still-14 view of the world and her place in it. I thought she was very well-written, and I found her very believable. She wasn't looking for love, but she stumbled upon it and was too young and un-guided to know what to do with it. Dillon and Arley were both just desperately reaching for happiness, and completely blinded to the wrongness of the whole situation.Now, Annie: I never saw her as the put-together, organized, smart woman she saw herself as. I saw her as flighty and emotional, and I *hate* books that build you up to an illicit affair you can see coming from the first meeting and just pray it won't really happen. I never root for the "we never meant for this to happen" couple. That kind of "love" can easily ruin a book for me, because now I don't respect our protagonist. I enjoyed the story, but when I find myself rolling my eyes at a 40-year old woman who has appointed herself a role model to a young mother who needs stability more than anything, it just takes me out of the moment.
—Jen
