Lightness of Hands

It was three years ago when I read a draft of Jeff Garvin’s second novel, Lightness of Hands. At that time, the book was still not titled and I was forbidden to reveal anything about the content. But, the book was published this month (4/20) by Balzer & Broy, a subsidiary of HarperCollins. This is a young adult adventure story in the world of Magic, from sleight of hand magic to grand illusions. Also, the story is imbedded in issues of mental health.

Jeff Garvin has written a compelling novel about a 16-year-old girl, Ellie Dante and her father, the Uncanny Dante. They are down and out because 10 years before, he had failed in the midst of a televised grand illusion in which he was supposed to escape from a truck which was fully underwater. He failed, had to be rescued, and nearly died. The story of this failure made national news. Then, Ellie’s mother committed suicide. So, this story was a father-daughter adventure. But performing magic was the only way her dad knew how or was willing to earn money. So, dad and daughter traveled the country in an old and beat up RV taking whatever birthday parties or similar events where they could earn some survival money.

Sometimes, they paid for their next meals by lifting wallets. About the time Ellie and her dad were going to spend their last dollars, Ellie took a call from a magic team that had been on a long successful run in Vegas, and they wanted to do a show involving former magic performers, a sort of vintage magic show, and they wanted Ellies dad to have another try at the illusion that nearly killed him. They figured that if he succeeded, or if he failed again, that it would be good for their ratings. This was a trick that dad had not attempted since the big failure. Ellie accepted the offer without telling her father, and then she had to get him to Los Angeles without telling him why they were going there.

The author Garvin, filled out this story with a variety of cast members from Ellie’s life and from her father’s life, as well inventing some other particular interesting characters. This book is a winner, and I could not put it down. This one may be published as a young adult novel, but it is a very rich story that is also suitable for older adults. Garvin is a gifted story teller. The novel gets my highest recommendation.