Cassia Kindle Edition

Cassia by Lanette Kauten is a story that I haven't read a million times and I applaud her work. I was interested from the first line and had a hard time putting it down.

We are first introduce to Tanya as the wife and mother she is. Shortly after the start of the novel we get the back story of how she came to be who she is. It is a thrilling and sometimes sad tale of discovering ones true self and finding out that adulthood isn't as easy as it seems.

Tanya and Cassia embark on a journey that at that time period is not one that is easily accepted. Throughout we meet some of the best people that can't seem to catch a break. We meet Nick, Rodney, Bonnie, Daniel and Jenny. This seems to be Tanya's support system and even with the bumps and twists and turns along the way, her life seems to work itself out.

Being an adult does not come from a certain age, or a certain responsibility. Tanya learns that adulthood is reached when you can look at your life and know that something else needs to be done. When you can admit your mistakes and learn from them(at least that's what I think she learns)

The end of this novel is a very real and often overlooked kind of happy. Throughout the years Tanya lost touch with her friends but in the end she knows that they are okay and living life. And really what else can we ask for, for our friends. Happiness and healthiness.

4 beautifully written stars to Lanette Kauten for this emotionally charged story of how life really happens!!

I'm a little torn about it because where I did understand it all, some of it was confusing. But I liked it none the less.
Tanya live in Ellum the slum of the slums. A reporter that reports on works of different art. Her boss sends her to different shows to write reports about them, his favorite being pornos basically. His latest project he wants her to wrote about is a woman called Cassia, who is a many trick pony. Who is she and how she came to be. Finding out who she is, is more work than Tanya comes to realize as Cassia drags her into her world.

So.. this one was good but confusing.. I felt like I might have missed things in spots.. and then in other spots it came together easily.. I wasn't sure what genre I was reading to be honest but overall the storyline and the characters were good.. it was a different type of books and it did keep me interested enough that i had to keep reading until i knew what happened. i am glad i got to review it

This is the story of a romantic relationship between two women in Deep Ellum, an arts district of Dallas, Texas, around 1990. It is also a tale about our world asking important questions about meaning and significance.

Tanya Falgoust is a young journalist covering the local arts scene for an alternative newspaper who finds herself unexpectedly seduced by a mysterious performance artist with the stage name Cassia who has become a local sensation. From early on the relationship is both passionate and tempestuous, as Tanya struggles to deal with her infatuation in light of obvious dysfunction and manipulation -- Cassia refuses even to divulge her real name to her lover. While Tanya -- and her friends -- are disturbed about the relationship, her attraction to Cassia prevents her from breaking it off, resulting in a rollercoaster ride that will be too familiar to many readers, heterosexual and otherwise.

Among other things, the couple disagree strongly over the significance of their sexual connection. To the inexperienced Tanya, sexuality has meaning with regard to an emotional bond and deep connection. Cassia, who is more hardened, regards sex as more about having a good time, and she torments Tanya with advances suggesting expanding their liaison to include other friends. The interactions call forth the questions: what does physical intimacy really mean? Does the existence of a passion mean that someone should indulge it?

Of course, sex is not the only area of life for which modern men and women have questions about ultimate meaning. We ask similar questions nowadays about art, music, culture, and even religion. Perhaps especially religion. Do these areas of life possess any sort of transcendent value or meaning, or do they exist purely for individual taste and enjoyment? If they do have meaning, how is that impacted by those who hawk them? Do investors and salesmen enhance art, music, culture, and religion by making them available to a wider audience, or do they cheapen them by turning them into commodities? The novel asks those questions through the prism of Tanya and Cassia's relationship.

While the book deals with serious questions such as these, it does so while remaining an engaging page turner with complex and eccentric characters, as well as a riveting plot. Bonnie, who is Tanya's roommate, is a tattoo artist and medical school student with a talent for getting men to buy her drinks. Rodney, an aging Jesus freak who owns a bar in Deep Ellum that doesn't sell alcohol (readers who find that far fetched should know that such an establishment existed at the time), worries that investors are turning Deep Ellum into "Shallow Ellum." Nick, a pothead in his 30's, is still hoping beyond hope to get his break as a singer. His longstanding love interest in Tanya goes tragically unrequited and barely noticed.

That the opening chapter of the novel, which occurs 20 years after the remainder of the book, finds Tanya married to a man and wondering where Cassia is means that it is not a spoiler to suggest that their relationship would not last. A shocking, yet unforced, plot twist drives the plot to an emotional conclusion.

Cassia is both a story for our times and an engaging read. While Amazon and B&N currently only show it for sale as an e-book, I understand that it will soon be available in print form, as well. I encourage you to check it out.

Fascinating story of love, friendship, and growing up. Backdrop of Deep Ellum adds to the storyline. Rich, interesting characters keep the reader's interest throughout the book.