A New Novel--Scrapbook Style

   Caroline Preston has created a book so unique, so full of surprises and so much fun to read that I’ve borrowed it twice, just to keep looking at it and discovering things I missed the first time around.
   The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is a story and a scrapbook from the 20s, all rolled into one exceptionally pleasing book. I’m nuts about it and believe you will be, too. Open it to any random page, give yourself a few seconds to feast on the very detailed artifacts Preston dug up and dusted off to create Frankie's world, and I guarantee you’ll be smiling. 
   The text--just a few lines or short paragraphs per page-- is written on an old Corona typewriter and placed among pictures, old advertisements, recipes, seed packets, graduation programs, postcards, valentines, maps, illustrations, ticket stubs, even luncheonette menus,
   The scrapbook chronicles Frankie’s life beginning in 1920, the year of her high school graduation. She’s voted the smartest girl in Cornish, New Hampshire, and gets accepted to Vassar. But hard times--and tuition--put Vassar out of reach for the moment. Frankie stays close to home and finds work as a nursing aide to a rich, elderly woman with a handsome nephew. Hmmm.
   How she finally gets to Vassar--a few months later--and then onto Greenwich Village and Paris and then back home again will keep you paging through the book nonstop. The story and the scrapbook elements are addicting!
   Preston used some of her own memorabilia for the book, but hunted down a lot more on E-bay and in antique stores. There’s some 600 pieces of vintage treasure here, and if you’re like me, you’ll need more than one look to capture it all.
   I also recommend the author’s beautiful website: 
                                         http://carolinepreston.com/
I’ve become a frequent visitor to read her blog, follow the reviews and track her speaking engagements. I’d love to attend one of her talks and keep wishing for a Pennsylvania event to pop up soon.
   While visiting the website, click on the link “How I made The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt.” Preston reveals how her pack-rat and attic-prowling tendencies became the foundation for a career as an archivist and then, 15 years later, a novelist. What an interesting story. What a wonderful book.

The Push From the Book---each book we read leaves its mark and gives you a push: a new way of thinking, a new take on life, new ideas, new goals. Here’s what this book did to me: I want to look at my own family’s treasure trove of paper and photographic memories and start consolidating and organizing. Next rainy day, I think I’ll be sorting through old photos, postcards and diaries. Wonder if Martha Stewart is free?