Title: Cotton Patch Love
Author: Jerry L. Lane
Publisher: Concerned Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 979-8264763373
Pages: 134
Genre: Romance /Literature & Fiction
Reviewed by: Christina Avina

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While not always easy to understand, the simple truth of the world is that all of humanity, from the best and brightest to the worst of the worst, has the potential to make choices which can put them on a much different path than the one people expect them to be on. Where a person is born, who they are born to, or the expectations a society has on a person are not the be all, end all deciding factors on who that person will become, but instead a person can choose to work to overcome those challenges and become a better person as a result, or choose to lean into that expectation and become who people expect them to be.

Choice is the key factor in author Jerry L. Lane’s Cotton Patch Love. A unique fusion of futuristic sci-fi setting and classic American South culture and character dynamics, the story follows a young girl born to an immigrant working in cotton fields in the countryside of New York. With a keen mind and brilliant understanding of the world around her, circumstances for her hard-worked family change and she uses her knowledge to help them overcome great struggles, but the more she does and the harder she works to help overcome injustice, the world and the systems put in place by governments and corporations work to undo all she holds dear, and she must navigate how to stop these powerful conglomerates and help the people being affected by them.

A phenomenal study in the American promise and how society has become over reliant on corporate systems, technology, and ignorance over the truth and rewarding hard work, the author brilliantly creates a world that feels both futuristic and close to home. The way this technological setting instills powerful themes of family, faith, and the belief in a fair and just society made this a remarkable story to get absorbed in. The visceral imagery that begins this story as the reader is thrust into the harsh world of the laborers who are working the cotton fields and the injustices they face on a daily basis create the foundation that protagonist Amaka finds herself being born into, and her love for her people and her family are the drive behind this narrative.

For those who enjoy fictional stories of science fiction, especially genre fiction that infuses elements of family and romance naturally into a social justice theme, will thoroughly enjoy this novel. The fast pacing is balanced with thought-provoking insight into questions of technological reliance that humanity has had for years, and the amount of control people have surrendered of their lives to corporations and governments over the centuries. The complex, emotional storytelling is perfectly paired with the themes of this story, especially the dangerous allure of power that can ensnare even the most noble of people, and the need to make better choices for a brighter future.