Praise for Stand A Little Out of My Sun
“An elegant . . . compelling multigenerational drama. The 1956 storyline simmers with tension . . . the prose is always excellent as when Voss offers vivid glimpses of the urban landscape: ‘In the darkening sky, Sophie saw the flaming smokestacks of the steel mills light up the night.’ Characters are equally well drawn. Overall, the text is entertaining and vibrant, rich with details of Greek American culture, ‘50s and ‘60s Chicago, and distinctive members of Sophie’s clan and community.”
Stand a Little Out of My Sun is featured in the June 2021 Edition of the Kirkus Review magazine as one of the top summer reads! – Kirkus Reviews
WINNER of the 2021 National Indie Excellence Award, Category: General Fiction Read More (Click the letter “G” under the NIEA Banner)
– Reader’s Favorite, 5-star review August, 2021 Click here:
– The Book Commentary, 5-star review February, 2022
This uplifting 1950s coming-of-age saga demonstrates how courage, compassion, and faith can overcome emotional adversity. Visual artist Voss’s moving debut novel portrays an immigrant family’s struggles and triumphs with the same warmth and emotional depth that resonate in her paintings. This intergenerational story spans eras and locations, but it transitions between them with smooth clarity. Voss immerses readers in settings from Tripoli, Greece to a WWII women’s army barracks in Virginia, to Chicago, alive with possibility but also where “the numbing cold and steely skies transform Sophie’s raw, anger-driven sorrow into a dull ache.” Read More – BookLife Review Stand a Little Out of My Sun BookLife Review was highlighted in Publisher’s Weekly Magazine, November 15, 2021 issue.
The novel is intelligently plotted and deeply moving and the author writes family dynamics with unusual clarity and skill. Stand a Little Out of My Sun features deeply and genuinely flawed and relatable characters and a conflict that plays out quite often in the lives of many. So just how forgiving and brave are the characters in the award-winning Stand a Little Out of My Sun, Angelyn Christy Voss’s beautifully written saga of a multigenerational American Greek family making ends meet in industrial Chicago in the Fifties and Sixties? . . . That lingering question becomes the main storyline, fueled by a riveting mid-book event that changes the course and tone of what starts as a lyrical and descriptive telling of a loving immigrant family finding their way and seeking the American Dream . . . The is a marvelously written book, a treasure of vivid, succinct descriptions of the city and characters . . . When is forgiveness justified? Stand a Little Out of My Sun asks that question and provides one fine writer’s answer. Do yourself a favor and pick up this wonderful book. Read More –BookTrib Review, April, 2022
Chosen by BookTrib as one of 20 favorite books of 2022. It is a “Story to be Discovered.” Read More
– Firebird First Place Awards, October, 2022 Two Categories: Multicultural Fiction and Multigenerational Family Saga Click here:
– Book Excellence Award, Winner for Fiction, March, 2023
– Independent Press Award, Winner for Multicultural Fiction, 2023
“In her debut novel, Greek-American Author, Angelyn Christy Voss, draws on her experiences growing up in an immigrant family on Chicago’s Southeast side. Set in the 1950s, cultures and generations collide in a story of love, betrayal, loss, community, redemption, and the true meaning of family.” Read the full review at: Adventures of the WindyCity Greek
— Maria Karamitsos, Adventures of the WindyCity Greek
“The setting is so well realized in Angelyn Voss’s riveting novel that I now feel familiar with the East Side of Chicago during the 1950s. The reader is immediately drawn into the joys and tragedy of an amazing immigrant Greek family. The first generation, while clinging to their old ways, teaches a moving lesson of forgiveness and understanding.”
“The author’s flowing prose awakens all the senses and immerses the reader in time and place, making her characters come alive and win the reader’s heart.”
“I cheered for the characters from beginning to the end.”
“The author paints a vivid picture of the East Side, with its vibrant, colorful neighborhoods, and passionate voices of familiar characters.”
“This powerful, touching tale challenges the reader to imagine forgiveness under the most impossible circumstances. It’s the best novel I’ve read this year.”
The Timberline Review, a publication of Willamette Writers in the Pacific Northwest, has featured an excerpt of Stand a Little Out of My Sun in its 2020 Spring/Summer issue.
