I enjoyed this sequel as much as I did the first book! I hope I find there is a third book. In this book we see the girls, Winnalee and Button as they grow from awkward teens to adults, whether they want to or not. Quiet Button takes a sewing job in her mother’s bridal shop to help her Aunt Verdella raise her whirlwind six-year-old brother.She writes letters to the boy from her high school, her best friend, who is sent to Vietnam and she hopes he will come to love her as more than a friend. Winnalee is the classic hippie free love type. She’s been to Woodstock. She and Button are like night and day. Their steadfast friendship is put through the wringer as Button begins to notice there is a lot more to Winnalee’s carefree personality than she first realized. Winnalee, in the second half of the book shocks Button with a announcement that changes everything.
You can read A Life Of Bright Ideas as a stand alone novel, but you will miss out on the full enjoyment of the story if you don’t read A Book of Bright Ideas first. Kring’s characters are so real you close these books thinking that you will see them again.
There are a few minor storyline issues in the book that the editor should have caught. For example, having a scene take place downstairs but then writing that they heard a car horn downstairs. These blips in scene did not take away from the story, but did give me pause. Either way, the story was wonderful and I am glad I found it.
