"Heaven Is Paved with Oreos"

Catherine Gilbert Murdock grew up on a small farm in Connecticut and now lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband, two brilliant unicycling children, several cats, and a one-acre yard that she is slowly transforming into a wee, but flourishing ecosystem. She is the author of several books, including the popular Dairy Queen series starring lovable heroine D. J. Schwenk, Princess Ben, and Wisdom's Kiss.

Murdock applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Heaven Is Paved with Oreos, and reported the following:

Page 69: Sarah's grandmother is talking about what Rome was like in 1967, when she last visited it:

"There was a lot of that, too," Z said, pointing to two people near us at the fountain who were kissing so hard that their bodies looked pasted to each other.

To be honest, I found the kissing uncomfortable. But I don't think Z noticed my uncomfortableness. In fact, I am sure she didn't, because I had to say her name three times before she answered, and even then it was clear she was not paying attention. Her mind was somewhere else. I thought about asking what she was thinking, but she looked so preoccupied and serious that I'm not sure I wanted to know.

That's only part of the page, but it's remarkable how representative it is of the book as a whole -- Sarah's voice, and several major themes. Way to go, Page 69 Test! (I won't detail the themes because I don't want to give anything away…)

Learn more about the book and author at Catherine Gilbert Murdock's website.

My Book, The Movie: Heaven Is Paved with Oreos.

--Marshal Zeringue