Snakes and Stones by Lisa Fowler

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The instant I opened this book and read the first page, 12-year-old Chestnut Hill was there to greet me with a voice so distinct, I could hear it plain-as-day throughout the entirety of the book. With her humorous voice, the self-proclaimed "country-bumpkin" engages readers in a tale about her unusual family. Chestnut is the oldest of 4 children, her younger siblings being 7-year-old triplets, and they are out on the road with their father, regularly putting on shows to sell magical elixir to anyone gullible enough to buy it. While the gig is barely enough to keep clothes on their backs and food in their bellies, it is how they scrape together a living.

But things are not well with Chestnut, for it is clear that she harbors strong resentment towards her daddy. As far as Chestnut is concerned, he is nothing but a crook, guilty of stealing her and her siblings away from the beloved mother she idolizes to no end, and wants nothing more than to get back to.

Although it is somewhat predictable that Chestnut's blind adoration of her mother is probably unwarranted for reasons Chestnut will not discover until the end, the easy-to-read and colorful language of this story is enough to make it a page-turner for the young and old alike.



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