The title comes from a time when Patrick Cantwell tells us in Never Hug a Nun, "She seemed like she wanted to hug him, so he quickly stuck his arm out straight to shake hands with her from a distance. It was his general policy to never hug a nun. (Location 697-698)"

Never Hug a Nun by Kevin Killeen recounts the life of Patrick Cantwell through his first grade year and into second grade at Mary Queen of Our Hearts Catholic School. It is 1966 in Webster Groves, Missouri. Patrick secretly pines after a girl in his class, Ebby Hamilton, but is too shy to declare his love. It is during the time the Beatles are taking America by storm, including Patrick's older brother, John. The Parish moms are all reading Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and gluing green stamps into books. The dads all work downtown. In Webster Groves boys will be boys - this includes Patrick and John, who struggle to sell Parish raffle tickets, have an encounter with a railroad cop, experience some disgusting bathroom antics and experience an encounter with law enforcement.

Never Hug a Nun is humorous even as it tackles the extremely serious thought processes of the young protagonist. The chapters are short, very much reflecting the feeling of an older child recounting his memories of events in his childhood. The jump from family events to school events flowed naturally, as a child's life flows freely from school to family events to summers. It is well written and felt like a real memoir to me. It could be that growing up in the 1960's in the Midwest simply made the characters very real to me because I knew these kids, or kids like them. I can remember being in the first grade around this same time period, and going over to a friends house where his older sister was constantly playing Beatles records. I can remember being able to run around much more freely than it would be prudent to allow any child to do today.


I also enjoyed Kevin Killeen's blog entry from December 9th:
http://kevinkilleen.com/2012/12/09/a-fools-novel-welcomed-by-a-forgiving-public/

"...Kind people, many of whom left dishes in the sink, ventured out to get a copy of the novel at Charlie Brennan’s Fontbonne Book of the Month Club taping Nov 27, at the KMOX Holiday Radio Show Dec 3, and at the Webster Groves Book Shop Dec 8.
Many of the men whispered confessions of their own delinquent past as they purchased the book, then hid it under arm and hurried to their car. Most touching was the procession of parish mothers, some of whom remember the author as a “troubled student,” purchasing two or three copies to impress upon their grand children the dangers of going the wrong way...."

I really enjoyed this short novel and would very highly recommend it.

Even though I had a Advanced Reading Copy from Netgalley for my Kindle, I need to quote the following conversation in the book:

“You’re going to sleep in your underwear?”
“Yeah,” John said, getting out his transistor radio. “I want to sleep naked, to get a really good night sleep like Tarzan, but Mom caught me trying it and said I have to at least wear underwear.”
“Why?”
“She said it’s a sin to have nudity.”
“What’s nudity?”
“It’s when you don’t wear underwear.”
Patrick lay on his back and looked at the ceiling. “Once, when I couldn’t find any underwear, I went to school with nudity under my pants.”
“That’s not nudity. That’s just stoo-piddy.” (Location 320-324)

http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Netgalley for review purposes and I was happy to also join the TLC book tour.
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In a cleverly crafted story full of reminiscence Kevin Killeen brings us back to the life of a seven-year old, full of humor, memories and humanity these vignettes provide a stunning and revealing sense of the world through a child’s eyes.

Written as a series of vignettes, each scene is cleverly detailed with a balance of humor and observation that feel child-like both in length and in questions addressed with each situation. Touching on boys and girls, family, catholic school, friends and even the neighborhood, this story manages to give a solid feel of the middle-class 1960’s America, while managing to never lose the edge of the story of a young boy.

I am not familiar with this author’s other work, but this book has definitely made me a fan. With a writing style that manages to both inform and engage, bring laughter at specific situations, and present detail and a more personal view in a way that feels all-encompassing to the reader, this was truly a winner.

I received an eBook copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
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Patrick Cantwell is a first-grader at Mary Queen of Our Hearts Catholic school in Webster Groves MO in 1966. He learns about love, loss, transformation, and stealing. If you went to a parochial school in St. Louis in the 1960's, you will find a lot of memories in this book. From First Confession and First Holy Communion to the Beatles at Busch Stadium, to Vatican II and his Aunt Jenny who is a novice nun, it's just a fun frolic. ( )

When you think back on your childhood, you probably remember the goofy stunts you pulled, the fun, the innocence, and the joy. If you were like me, you wanted to please your parents and your teachers, get good grades, and play with your friends. If you were anything like Kevin Killeen's main character, Patrick Cantwell, in his short novel Never Hug a Nun, you wanted these things but somehow, despite your best efforts, you frequently fell short.

Set in the 1960s in St. Louis, this novel has the feel of a memoir told in vignettes to it. When the story opens, Patrick is at the end of first grade at Mary Queen of Our Hearts Catholic School, the middle of three boys. He's the one who wants terribly to be good but he's so concerned with keeping up with his older brother John and showing his devotion to the beautiful, blonde Ebby Hamilton that he ignores his own conscience and gets himself into trouble more often than not. Peer pressure surely bites him in the butt every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Along with his brother John (but not younger brother Teddy, who has been a little more fragile since a bout with meningitis), and the neighborhood kid every parent wishes their child would steer clear of, Patrick gets up to all sorts of mischief, naughty antics and eventually even actual stealing that gets him arrested. They boys are smoking, jumping in front of freight trains, throwing tomatoes at buses, and dreaming up ways to get the money for a drum kit so they can start a band like the Beatles.

What starts out as a sweet novel about the innocence of childhood in a simpler time turns into snapshots from the life of a precocious, well-meaning deliquent of a child. Killeen has certainly captured the feel of parochial school, the changing Catholic church of the time, and the way in which the church was part of the very fabric of daily life for the devout very well. He's also done a lovely job with a childhood first crush, showing the embarrassment and the conflicting emotions that such a crush meant in elementary school. And his depiction of a father who goes downtown to work every day to support his family despite the monotonous boredom of his job and a mother who maintains the home because it is her expected sphere is spot on, especially for the mid '60s. The plot narrative here is very episodic and doesn't really have a discernible climax, rather it's simply one year in Patrick's life. As a character, Patrick seems to mean well but makes every poor decision in the book. And he also seems to be more of a deliquent than is normal or average for a 7 or 8 year old boy, even one growing up in a time when parents allowed their children to run free all day without today's stifling supervision. Killeen is clearly funny and there are moments that cause a chuckle in the book but there needs to be a bit more of a story to sustain the book. It's a quick, nostalgic read, especially for parochial school kids who have fond (or not so fond) memories of the nuns and priests and fellow Catholic school friends who peopled their childhoods. ( )

Maybe it's because my mother-in-law gave my younger son a similar coat with lollipops taped on them to bring to preschool on his birthday that I can't resist this cover. And that grin; this may be one of the most perfect book covers ever.

Killeen wrote Never Hug a Nun, a comic novel set in a St. Louis suburb in 1966 in the voice of eight-year-old Patrick Cantwell. Patrick is in the second grade at Mary, Queen of Our Hearts School and has a ten-year-old brother John (who wants to be a Beatle and start a band) and younger brother Teddy (who likes sports and hates green beans). Mom loves to listen to big band music while she irons and Dad works downtown, a goal for which all of the nuns encourage the boys to strive.

Patrick has a crush on golden haired Ebby, and he is consumed with trying to be near her. Patrick and John have a friend Kurt who is "a bad influence" on the Cantwell boys. Kurt has a secret fort near the railroad tracks and he has ideas about stealing money to buy a drum set so they can start a band, like the Beatles. As a mother of two grown sons, I can tell you that Kurt is the boy we all pray our kids will not hang around.

This novel brought back many memories for me; the scene where Patrick's mom glues Green Stamps into books immediately put me back in my childhood kitchen where my mom would do the same thing, hoping to have enough to get a toaster or a lamp. I could almost smell the Green Stamp glue as I read.

I too went to Catholic school, and know well many of the nuns and monsignors from Patrick's school. I smiled at the scene where the nun washed the blackboard with the sponge; it was an honor to be asked to wash the blackboard at my school. And the constant reminders by the monsignor to get out there and sell those raffle tickets for the car? Yep, been there many times.

I like the well-drawn adult characters in this novel. Grandpa loves his grandkids and takes them to a Beatles concert, even though he knows nothing about the Beatles. Oh yeah, and he accidentally gets a little stoned and arrested, but whose Grandpa hasn't done that?

Aunt Jenny is studying to be a nun, with some reservations. She has a sweet relationship with Patrick and I was glad to see that she returns for a few scenes at the end of the book. I think she warrants her own story, and would like to see her in her own book.

Mom and Dad are interesting too. Dad hates dragging himself "downtown" everyday to work, but he loves his family and that is what a good dad does. I love that he tells his sons that they can tell him anything, and he proves that later in the story. Mom adores her husband and sons, but would like to add a daughter to their family. She desires to be a good Catholic family.

As the only female in our family, I find books written from the male point of view fascinating. I always learn something. But I did not need to learn what goes on in the boys' bathroom at school; that scene just had me shaking my head- what is up with boys? And many is the time I wanted to say to Patrick- NO! Stop and think for a second, son.

Patrick will probably grow up to be a protagonist in a Jonathan Tropper or Jess Walter book; fans of This Is Where I Leave You and The Financial Lives of Poets are the perfect audience for this book. Kileen bills Never Hug a Nun as a comic novel, but it has a lot of heart too. ( )