Midwest Review:
Exceptional, extraordinary, and an inherently fascinating read from cover to cover, "From the Remains of the Melting Pot" is one of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf.
Publishers Weekly-BookLife:
Madeer’s prose is perceptive and emotionally charged, capturing the delicate friction between two friends with remarkable grace… This is a thoughtful meditation on race, identity, and the enduring price of belonging.
Takeaway: Moving story of racism’s impact on friendship, ambition, and identity.
Takeaway: Moving story of racism’s impact on friendship, ambition, and identity.
Kirkus Reviews:
The novel focuses on a multiracial set of UCLA freshmen in 1955…The relatable major characters have rich backstories, which each include instances of discrimination…Together, the friends follow their hearts as they try to build bright futures in a frequently unjust world.An often captivating story about young people earnestly fighting for a better world.
From the Remains of the Melting Pot
Novel, 324 pages
ISBN: 997-8-9947471-1-7
Excerpt:
.“Yeah, you stay the hell away from his sister,” added Jerrod, in what had to be the biggest fuckup in a long line of fuckups he’d been stringing together all day. James didn’t respond, hoping it might somehow slide by unnoticed, but that was unlikely. There was no one to blame but himself, of course, since he knew from the start that Jerrod was unreliable, but he’d been left with no other options. He didn’t run in the kind of circles that would offer him choices for a job like this, or that could follow through on threats like the one he’d just made, for that matter.
“We’re going to leave now, so if you thought we were going to cut you, now is the time to relax. But if there’s a next time, it won’t be me and it’ll get ugly, that’s for sure. So you both think about that, for the good of the baby, right?”
He felt bad about mentioning the baby at all, but this was his one chance to scare the guy off, and after all, it was his sister’s safety he was trying to protect here. Fortunately, Jerrod kept his mouth shut and they both turned and walked toward the still wide-open front door. Aside from that one glaring mistake, James thought it had gone about as well as he could have expected and was looking forward to debriefing his sister at her place later in the day. As he crossed the threshold of the doorway and stepped into the brilliant sunshine, he could never have imagined that this reunion would be years away.
Novel, 324 pages
ISBN: 997-8-9947471-1-7
Excerpt:
.“Yeah, you stay the hell away from his sister,” added Jerrod, in what had to be the biggest fuckup in a long line of fuckups he’d been stringing together all day. James didn’t respond, hoping it might somehow slide by unnoticed, but that was unlikely. There was no one to blame but himself, of course, since he knew from the start that Jerrod was unreliable, but he’d been left with no other options. He didn’t run in the kind of circles that would offer him choices for a job like this, or that could follow through on threats like the one he’d just made, for that matter.
“We’re going to leave now, so if you thought we were going to cut you, now is the time to relax. But if there’s a next time, it won’t be me and it’ll get ugly, that’s for sure. So you both think about that, for the good of the baby, right?”
He felt bad about mentioning the baby at all, but this was his one chance to scare the guy off, and after all, it was his sister’s safety he was trying to protect here. Fortunately, Jerrod kept his mouth shut and they both turned and walked toward the still wide-open front door. Aside from that one glaring mistake, James thought it had gone about as well as he could have expected and was looking forward to debriefing his sister at her place later in the day. As he crossed the threshold of the doorway and stepped into the brilliant sunshine, he could never have imagined that this reunion would be years away.