Twang

Jennifer Anne Clodfelter arrives bone-tired, dewy-eyed, and surefire confident in Music City, USA, determined to make her way to the top of the country music charts in Cannon’s uninspiring story. After a day of trudging from studio to studio giving out demos, Jennifer hits gold when a producer discovers her at the Bluebird Café’s open mike night; from that moment, her career takes her into the country music stratosphere inhabited by her heroes and heroines like Minnie Pearl and Johnny Cash. Yet despite the success, Jennifer continues to struggle. It’s only after the Nashville floods of 2010 and the loving and firm Christian witness of good-hearted country people that Jennifer transcends her past and acknowledges the power of God’s grace and love in the world. Cannon paints an unrealistic portrait of the country music scene, with predictable and one-dimensional characters, jumbled plot, and clichéd dialogue (“I should have been the happiest woman in the world, but I was miserable”). Agent: Sandra Bishop, MacGregor Literary Agency. (Aug.)