M+O 4EVR is about the lifelong love between two friends, Marianne and Opal, who grew up wild and free in the woods of Pennsylvania, fantasizing about their goddess alter egos, Mlapo and Omali. Having known each other since birth, the girls are everything to each other—and yet, there are sad aspects of M’s life that O (Opal, the story’s protagonist) will never fully comprehend. O struggles to understand her friend, to love her, to keep her safe, and failing that, to mourn her loss.

Her unconventional parents and grandparents are all compelling characters in their own right. O’s dearly loved father, Pops, is a trucker who is gone from home a lot, but O always wears Pops’ hat, like a talisman. Pops believes in nature, watching the stars in the night sky, and his family. O’s mother is a singer, also gone for long stretches of time. And so it is O’s Gran who stays with her consistently and raises both M and O as if they were her own daughters. I was drawn into this family so quickly, and especially touched by Gran’s compassion and her fierce, life-giving love. During moments of raw emotion, when O cannot break out of her own haunted thoughts and feelings, her family is there for her, coaxing her back from the edge. I found all the characters to be very real and believable.

Although the novel grips you with a harrowing beginning and it never shrinks from the harshest aspects of life, it is basically a tale about love and courage, told in language that is direct, forceful, and as beautiful as poetry. It is also a story within a story. Interwoven, in brief segments that shine like small jewels, is the story of the flowering of love within the heart of a runaway slave, Hannah, and her courage in the face of overwhelming odds. The story of Hannah and the occasional sightings of Hannah’s ghost create a rich layer to this fascinating novel.

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