September 7, 2003

Miracles are happening in the fictitious Capital Region town of Hudson City, and thousands of pilgrims begin to descend on the sorry, has-been industrial spot.

Keith Scribner's Miracle Girl (Riverhead; 256 pages; $24.95) is a well-crafted story about deceit, money, religion, faith, love and redemption.

Sue Phong is a young Vietnamese-American who begins appearing in the dreams of Hudson City residents, visitations that precede a series of miraculous healings.

But John Fitzgerald Kennedy Quinn, who sells real estate for the local Roman Catholic diocese, isn't buying it. He's a skeptic at heart, a result of growing up during the Vietnam War and Watergate. Then Quinn comes face to face with the elusive Phong, and he with little faith begins to believe--just not necessarily in the miracles.

Scribner's edgy dialogue and nuanced storytelling make Miracle Girl an exceptional read. The author, who lives in Oregon, is a Troy native.