"If I were an Eagle Book One" deals with teenage pregnancy and secrets. When a young girl (Karen Quincy) loses her virginity for the first time, she is later faced with pregnancy. In addition to her pregnancy, Miss. Quincy struggles to hide it from her strict parents. She knows that she cannot hide the secret too long since she would soon begin to show.

This story takes place deep in the Tennessee Mountains. It will keep you reading with each turn of the page. "If I were an Eagle" is a gripping and emotional story with many twists and turns. At times, you may laugh, and other times you may cry. The characters that Mr. Hale has created in this book are very realistic.

I enjoyed Mr. Hale's book very much. He done a wonderful job writing the story and developing his characters. I believe that "If I were an Eagle" has the potential for a movie. It is one that you're sure to remember even after you have put it down. I give Mr. Hale five stars for wonderful writing, a memorable plot, and great character development. This is one you just have to read!

Highly recommended

The first installment of a trilogy, IF I WERE AN EAGLE tells the story of Karen Quincy. A vivacious, attractive young lady, Karen yearns for popularity and love, filling her needs in the arms of her boyfriend. She uses friends, lies and opportunity to escape her strict home and spend time with Hank. But when he goes off to college, Karen finds herself left behind.

Karen's family reflects the strict morality and staunch religious fervor of her era. Dancing, dating, and especially public shows of affection are forbidden. Karen's rebelliousness leads to a break with her family when they learn of her pregnancy. Hank has disappeared from her life, leaving her to face devastation alone. She decides upon an abortion during a time when it was both illegal and very dangerous. Following her doctor's referral, Karen makes the arrangements. Since the novel begins with her labor, she obviously has second thoughts.

Author David Hale enriches the background and people of IF I WERE AN EAGLE with his own intimate knowledge of the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. With the crispness and clarity of a snapshot he captures the attitudes and the nuances indicative of this novel's time and place, especially the deep spirituality governing the attitudes of Karen's family. Karen's rebelliousness is aptly portrayed not as a deliberate flaunting of her family's morality, but as restlessness and sincere for something "more" that allows the novel to speak to the universal truths that drive some children away from their families even as others remain close under the same circumstances. Hale's crisp writing style and complexity of characterization promises great things ahead for this talented author. IF I WERE AN EAGLE comes highly recommended.

If I Were an Eagle--Book One
D.L. Hale

In his riveting first novel, If I Were an Eagle, David Hale takes us on a journey through the life of a young girl coming of age in the mountains of Tennessee. In Southern Appalachia in 1948, there wasn't much for a spirited young woman to do, besides going to church and to school. And for Karen Quincy, daughter of devout, Southern Baptist parents, there wasn't a soul she could talk to about her dreams and desires. But she was a beautiful young girl, well endowed for her age, and it wasn't long before she attracted the attention of the most popular guy in school.
By the time Karen discovered that she was pregnant, her boyfriend headed off for college, leaving her behind to bear the burden of her condition all alone. Hale spins a tale of woe, for not since the Perils of Pauline has so much misfortune befallen a young damsel, in so short a time. But it was 1948, and the good folk of Karen's rural community, were either piously unyielding in their adherence to what they understood about the teachings of the Good Book, or they were too hypocritical and haughty to let on that they'd ever been anything but perfect. Then there was Frank, who took advantage of her situation to use and abuse her; and Harvey Beason, whose good heart would not see Karen utterly cast down.
The plight of Karen Quincy was not unlike that of many young women in the rural south-- betrayed as much by their own carnal awakening as by the young studs and dirty old men who seduced and abused them.
Worse than a scarlet letter, Karen had to endure the knowledge that she was carrying an illegitimate child, and that she would bring shame and embarrassment to her family. When she went to work in Frank's diner he exploited her vulnerability and raped her. She suffered in silence, telling no one of her pain and humiliation.
Harvey Beason offered her a job in his hardware store, and once again, she found a modicum of happiness, but when her parents discovered the irrefutable truth of her pregnancy, she was turned out of the house-- sent packing down a dark, dusty road on Christmas Eve! What irony.
Beason came to the rescue again, this time, sending Karen to live with his Aunt Flo until she delivered, But fate intervened again, and the house caught fire, stranding Karen on the upper floor. While Aunt Flo succumbed to the smoke and the fumes, Karen jumped from the second floor to the ground in a desperate attempt to save her child's life, if not her own.
David Hale skillfully weaves the details of Karen's bleak existence in this story with a foreshadowing of events to come that leaves the reader anxiously anticipating what might happen next, And that makes for a good read every time.

This is the first Elizabeth George book that I found frustrating, irritating and distracting. There were a few too many flashbacks, especially Gideon, and by the end of the book I could not tell whether I was reading in the present or in the past. Maybe this effect was intended by the author, but it spoiled the book for me. I didn't care about the endless sessions between Gideon and his psychiatrist or about his journal entries. I buy Elizabeth George to read about Lynley and Havers, Deborah and St. James, and the suspense of how the latest murder will be unraveled. I've actually written in the past about how well I thought George managed to bring all the different threads of her story together at the end to create closure, but I don't think she succeeded this time

I suspect Ms. George has been reading a lot of Rendell/Vine -- and to good effect. I was greatly disappointed in the two prior books and decided this one might be my last, but I'll stick with Ms. George, at least for the time being.

I have the impression that George has started writing with TV/movies in mind -- hence the cyber-sex (which goes no place) and the lesbian lovers. There are any number of minor story lines which seem to have been badly edited -- they should have been more fully developed or dropped (Pitchley's family, for instance). Perhaps most of these started as red herrings, but they ended up as distracting detours. We all know how well the BBC does minor characters, and I suspect some of these folks were just stuck in for their character-actor potential.

The book could have done with a REALLY good editor -- it shouldn't have been more than 500 pages and Gideon's journal (albeit very interesting) isn't in a consistent style (roaming back and forth between an informal-1st-person style and an omniscient author style). I found this disconcerting.

I'm very bored with the Haver/Lynley/Helen/Simon/Deborah cast of 2-dimensional characters, so I was pleased that they're more in the background. As a "technique" they're fine, but they can't stand on their own.

The story itself is fascinating and and most of the characters are interesting too. I found the ending inspired. I was grateful that George didn't tie everything up in a neat little package -- I took it as a compliment that she trusted me to make inferences and grasp implications.

What a wonderfully perceptive book. George's ability to draw characters that are real is exceptional. She understands psychology so well, and this is such an important part of a well-written book. In fact this was a book I have lived in for over two weeks. It had my attention the whole time, even when I was doing other things, I would be wondering about things I'd read. At the end it all hung together in a complete way. I discovered Elizabeth George's books last year (2000) and read all of them in subsequent months. I have been waiting ever since for her next book. Unlike Ruth Rendall, who writes in the same genre, and whose books never have any hope for something better in them, George balances hers. In Traitor to Memory, hope is held out for several characters. Justice is done in the main, although for one character who is severely penalised unjustly, it is not, but this is a reflection on her character. Keep it up Elizabeth George. For serious readers, who are not shallow and simply looking for thrills, your writing is perceptive, gripping and satisfying.