Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #995841 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

Customer Reviews

Billie Jean's Quest
Billie Jean Sloane was created for life's dramatic moments. Nothing she does is "beige"...she is washed in vivid colors from Day One.

She brings to mind another such colorful character...Scarlett O'Hara! Except that Billie Jean actually does have her "happy ending". It's a long time coming, and she has to go through several "rehearsals" first, but in the end, she not only finds her first love again, but she has a long overdue talk with her mother in which she sorts out some of the emotional baggage between them. She begins to understand her drive for acceptance and love.

So not only does Billie Jean's quest for love find fruition, but she has an epiphany. She finally understands herself.

I could not put this book down, taking it everywhere until I reached the last page. And then I wanted a sequel!

Good read, Betty Dravis! 1106 Grand Boulevard is a book I will never forget.

Do you believe in second chances?
Some books grab you with an action-packed opening and hook you right in from the first paragraph. Other books reveal the richness of their story a layer at a time.

Betty Dravis' "1106 Grand Boulevard" does both. Firmly rooted in small-town America, it ranges through nearly fifty years and across the country from Ohio to Arizona, Nevada and California. Sixteen-year-old Billie Jean Sloane takes center stage as she runs screaming from her young husband's jealous rage, headlong into an amazing matrimonial career. Billie Jean's family, already disapproving of her marriage to Cal, shield her from his remorse and entrust her to the care of her Aunt Tommie where she learns a more calculating approach to relationships -- without losing her sometimes naive desire to marry for love.

Fortunate in the love of her large family, Billie Jean is not so fortunate in her marriages. Time after time she marries in haste only to be disappointed in her search for the lasting "love of her life," yet her energy and optimism shine through the author's words. Billie Jean's parents, sisters and brothers circle through her story in a way that made me appreciate the importance in my life of my own family.

This book is fiction based on fact, and how I'd like to meet the author's sister (the "real" Billie Jean) and the rest of the family. What a great bunch! Betty Dravis portrays all of her characters lovingly but doesn't sugar-coat them, and their personalities are never overshadowed by the events of the story. They could be your next-door neighbors.

This book reminded me of "Standing in the Rainbow" by Southern author Fannie Flagg, having a similar span of time, small-town focus, and entrancing, strong-minded woman as a central character. Billie Jean's personality is very different from that of Flagg's Neighbor Dorothy, but both women live their lives with a consistency and honesty that has the ring of truth -- both are people you'd like to know. Both claim the attention of everyone in their sphere and work hard for everything they achieve.

I love a story that somehow comes full circle, referencing and resolving the themes that run through it. This book certainly does that (read it for yourself to find out how!) and it's that resolution that lifts the story, and the telling of it, out of the ordinary. To see the pattern and context in a long, vivid life is a gift, and "1106 Grand Boulevard" gives us that.

If it were a movie -- and it should be, with the lead played by somebody easy to like, Sandra Bullock for instance -- I'd be there with a box of tissues in my lap, expecting some tears and lots of smiles. A great story, interesting characters, costumes and interiors from the thirties through the seventies -- what could be better?

Betty Dravis' beautifully paced book kept me reading late into the night, fingers crossed that the irrepressible Billie Jean would find the true, satisfying love we all yearn for. If you believe in second chances, you will love this book!

Reviewed for Midwest Book Review
Author Betty Dravis has written an intriguing "faction" as she calls it, eloquently weaving fiction with her own personal history. The end result is a powerful peek into family dynamics and relationships.

When 16-year-old Billie Jean Sloane elopes with Cal Taylor, the Sloane family is taken aback. But when Billie Jean flees from an abusive Cal to the sanctum of her family's home at 1106 Grand Boulevard, the family gathers around her in an effort to be supportive. Pregnant and depressed, Billie Jean is taken by her Aunt Tommie to Arizona, where she learns a thing or two about the male species. But always in the back of Billie Jean's mind is her former husband Cal, the man with whom she feels a strong connection. After several failed marriages and numerous relationships, Billie Jean eventually returns to the family fold and embraces her siblings. Through them, she learns some pretty important life lessons, one being the subliminal impetus that drove her to marry an abusive man.

"1106 Grand Boulevard" is a fascinating read, reminding this reviewer of the very popular, iconic "Peyton Place" and other books (as well as movies and TV series) of like nature. What better way to spend time than to become absorbed in one woman's life journey and the lessons she learns along the way? Filled with great characterization and an enticing story, this is a must-read, can't-put-down.