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Book Review, © Copyright 1997, Jim Loy
Jenny was a 12-year old girl (now a young lady) who was run over by a drunk driver. She remained in a coma, occasionally making small movements. Her mother wrote to Piers Anthony, asking if he would please write a letter to Jenny, as he was one of Jenny's favorite authors. He wrote a letter to Jenny, proposing that he create a Jenny character, patterned after her, in his next Xanth book. And he asked if she would prefer that the character be an elf of the Elfquest variety.
Next, Mr. Anthony received a letter from Jenny's mother. When she read his previous letter to Jenny, and asked her about the elf character, Jenny smiled. And she then made much progress, communicating (at first) by blinking her eyes.
The rest of the book is a collection of the very funny letters that Piers Anthony wrote to Jenny. And it also contains news of Jenny's progress.
Jenny remains confined to a wheelchair. Jenny Elf has become a regular character in the Xanth series. And, of course, the drunk driver went completely free.
Note: I notice that the reviews, of this book, at Amazon.com, are either strongly positive or strongly negative. The book has no letters from Jenny. The only letters that were not written by Piers Anthony were the two from Jenny's mother. In my opinion, those two letters, and the one by Piers, in between, are worth the price of the book. From then on, the book is mainly humor by Piers Anthony, with a little news about Jenny's progress. That humor is very good, and very funny. But, it may not be why you bought the book.
Piers Anthony is also the co-author (with Robert Kornwise) of an interesting fantasy book called Through the Ice. Mr. Kornwise began the book, and then was killed in an automobile accident, at the age of 16. Mr. Anthony finished the book.
To order this book, click Amazon.com (goes directly to this book). To order this Through the Ice, click Amazon.com.