What if people saw the Virgin in a teen-age girl rather than a sandwich? Author Anneke Campbell works that premise here, wondering how we’d react 2012 years after the first virgin birth. The result’s deliciously reminiscent of a box of lemon bars—a little bit sweet, a little bit tart, and you can’t stop eating. (Or reading as the case may be.) She’s created a generous helping of wistful magic mixed with equal parts knowing satire–sort of Alice Hoffman meets Nora Ephron.

Here’s the set-up:

A pregnant teen-ager turn up in a Midwest town, for some reason not talking.

She may be named Mary. And upon examination, it turns out she’s most certainly a virgin.

What, asks Campbell, would happen next? Well, the paparazzi would arrive. Book and movie contracts might be offered. The author covers that ground in short order, but she’s really after something much more subtle—the effect of wanting to believe, wishing a thing to be so, coupled with the need to co-opt it.

To that end, she creates Bellingham, Indiana, a delightful town like the one we all live in—with living, breathing citizens you’ll want for your own neighbors—even as you see right through them and their efforts to get close to the miracle girl, each for reasons of his own.

AS FUNNY AND WELL-OBSERVED AS ANY BOOK BY NORA EPHRON, WITH AS MUCH HUMAN WARMTH AS THE MILL RIVER RECLUSE. It’s kind of similar, really—small town with loveable characters, a major character named Mary—but Darcy Chan wasn’t trying for wit. Ms. Campbell is. Sly wit.

If you like smart, funny female writers like Nora Ephron, Eudora Welty, Maureen Dowd, Alice Hoffman, or indeed Darcy Chan, grab this goody!

From the reviewers:

Anneke Campbell’s book is an unexpected delight. What a funny take on the Virgin birth story, and a moving story about community coming together in spite of themselves. In a gently humorous way, the author is pointing to how we should be treating each other in these difficult times. I like how the tone of this novel is both reverent and irreverent. I like how Mary is a mystery that I keep wanting to solve.  –  “Purity”

As a mother and a midwife I found this birth scene to be one of the best I have read. The appealing characters and the life of the small town ring true. Whether you believe in miracles or you are a pragmatist you will find this novel a good and thought provoking read.  – P. Wild

This Mary is not your usual homeless pregnant girl, or is she? Campbell weaves a playful virgin birth tale that’ll keep you guessing until the end. But oh what a fun journey it is getting there, with a cast of characters that are a bit nutty but probably not completely unlike your own family and friends. A fun read. Sly humor. Gentle satire.  –  Cote Blance Productions

Visit Amazon’s Anneke Campbell Page

Anneke Campbell was born and raised in The Netherlands. She has had a lot of career experiences in her life, including: midwife, masseuse, prenatal yoga teacher, College English teacher, and nurse.

Ms. Campbell has also written in a wide range of genres; winning awards for her poetry, journalism, and a television script. Her other writing endeavors include co-writing a manual for activists titled Be The Change: How To Get What You Want in Your Community and editing an anthology on women’s leadership titled Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart.

Her first novel, “Mary of Bellingham” was published in 2004 and republished online by BooksbNimble in 2010.

In “Oh Little Town of Bellingham” she reworks her favorite childhood story, the birth of the miracle child in the manger, emphasizing the miracle of actual birth.

And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of SLOUCHING TOWARDS BELLINGHAM by Anneke Campbell: