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Child of the Mountains
It’s about keeping the faith.
Growing up poor in 1953 in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia doesn’t bother Lydia Hawkins. She treasures her tight-knit family. There’s her loving mama, now widowed; her whip-smart younger brother, BJ, who has cystic fibrosis; and wise old Gran. But everything falls apart after Gran and BJ die and mama is jailed unjustly. Suddenly Lydia has lost all those dearest to her.
Moving to a coal camp to live with her uncle William and aunt Ethel Mae only makes Lydia feel more alone. She is ridiculed at her new school for her outgrown homemade clothes and the way she talks, and for what the kids believe her mama did. And to make matters worse, she discovers that her uncle has been keeping a family secret—about her.
If only Lydia, with her resilient spirit and determination, could find a way to clear her mother’s name...
Growing up poor in 1953 in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia doesn’t bother Lydia Hawkins. She treasures her tight-knit family. There’s her loving mama, now widowed; her whip-smart younger brother, BJ, who has cystic fibrosis; and wise old Gran. But everything falls apart after Gran and BJ die and mama is jailed unjustly. Suddenly Lydia has lost all those dearest to her.
Moving to a coal camp to live with her uncle William and aunt Ethel Mae only makes Lydia feel more alone. She is ridiculed at her new school for her outgrown homemade clothes and the way she talks, and for what the kids believe her mama did. And to make matters worse, she discovers that her uncle has been keeping a family secret—about her.
If only Lydia, with her resilient spirit and determination, could find a way to clear her mother’s name...
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 10, 2012
38 people are currently reading
1237 people want to read
About the author
Marilyn Sue Shank
3 books17 followersMarilyn Sue Shank earned her PhD in special education from the University of Kansas, where she majored in learning disabilities and behavior disorders and minored in counseling psychology and families with disabilities. She has taught general and special education at the elementary, secondary, and college levels.
Marilyn’s work has been published in journals, and she coauthored the first four editions of Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools. Child of the Mountains is her first work of fiction. She lives in West Virginia with her three rescued dogs.
Marilyn’s work has been published in journals, and she coauthored the first four editions of Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools. Child of the Mountains is her first work of fiction. She lives in West Virginia with her three rescued dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
August 9, 2016
As of late I haven't read as much, which is a shame since there are so many titles out that just sound wonderful. What I'm trying to get at is that when I choose to read a book it has to easily win me over, and this story is a prime example of a little book that won my heart over completely.
Lydia at the moment is living with her Aunt and Uncle away from Paradise (the actual town she used to live in). Her life has turned right on its head in just a few moments. Her Gran and younger brother have died, and her Mama is in jail for something she didn't do. Lydia is a character you cannot help but like right away. She may seem too happy-go-lucky to some people, but she does have her weaknesses. I would love to have her kind of resiliency and respect for others. Lydia's main focus is to navigate her new home, but it isn't easy. She gets made fun of how poor she is and for the way she talks. Then there is this secret she discovers that seems to test her faith in the people she loves. But Lydia wants the one person she could always count on, her Mama, and she will do whatever she can to get her back.
This author is spot on when it comes to the feel of West Virginia during the 1950s. Some readers may find the dialogue kind of off putting, but I found it help me immerse myself in this time period and know Lydia better. Even though Gran and her younger brother, BJ, have already died there are flashback moments, and as a reader you feel just as sad as Lydia for each death. You get to know them through the flashbacks and understand the depth of her grief when her family members die. It also makes it much more heartbreaking to see her struggle through her new life without any of the family she grew up with.
I also loved the little homage to Anne of Green Gables. Lydia loves this book and tries to be like Anne when times get tough. As we know Anne has lots of gumption and fire, and these attributes serve Lydia well. As a reader I can relate how sometimes we grab courage from fictional characters, but to us they seem so real.
I don't want to write too much more about the plot so other readers can enjoy every simple and heartbreaking scene on their own. If you are looking for a different kind of middle grade historical fiction, this should be one of your top choices. One of my best reads for 2012.
Lydia at the moment is living with her Aunt and Uncle away from Paradise (the actual town she used to live in). Her life has turned right on its head in just a few moments. Her Gran and younger brother have died, and her Mama is in jail for something she didn't do. Lydia is a character you cannot help but like right away. She may seem too happy-go-lucky to some people, but she does have her weaknesses. I would love to have her kind of resiliency and respect for others. Lydia's main focus is to navigate her new home, but it isn't easy. She gets made fun of how poor she is and for the way she talks. Then there is this secret she discovers that seems to test her faith in the people she loves. But Lydia wants the one person she could always count on, her Mama, and she will do whatever she can to get her back.
This author is spot on when it comes to the feel of West Virginia during the 1950s. Some readers may find the dialogue kind of off putting, but I found it help me immerse myself in this time period and know Lydia better. Even though Gran and her younger brother, BJ, have already died there are flashback moments, and as a reader you feel just as sad as Lydia for each death. You get to know them through the flashbacks and understand the depth of her grief when her family members die. It also makes it much more heartbreaking to see her struggle through her new life without any of the family she grew up with.
I also loved the little homage to Anne of Green Gables. Lydia loves this book and tries to be like Anne when times get tough. As we know Anne has lots of gumption and fire, and these attributes serve Lydia well. As a reader I can relate how sometimes we grab courage from fictional characters, but to us they seem so real.
I don't want to write too much more about the plot so other readers can enjoy every simple and heartbreaking scene on their own. If you are looking for a different kind of middle grade historical fiction, this should be one of your top choices. One of my best reads for 2012.
January 10, 2013
This is a sneaky little book. I started it on the bus, and when I read the first page I groaned internally. I wondered if it wouldn't be better just to stare into space. My mama's in jail. It ain't right. Leastwise, I don't think so. Them folks that put her there just don't understand our family.
Then I read the second page, and laughed out loud. That's why I stopped by the company store after school yesterday and bought me the biggest spiral notebook they had. Maybe writing everthing down will help me sort it all out."
But I kept reading, deciding that would be better than staring into space, and the book stopped irritating me, and then it grew on me. At one point I really really liked it, although then it started petering out into various tangents and messages.
Like most people, I don't usually care for books written in dialect. I thought I would hate it here, and in the beginning I almost couldn't follow the story because it was so distracting. But eventually it faded into the background--not absent, but no longer the most prominent thing. I can say one thing for the dialect here--it's consistent, and that says something.
I could have done without one subplot entirely, and much of the book was just TOO wise and TOO bucolic, as if it stepped right out of the pages of FOXFIRE magazine, but those are somewhat minor points.
Many great characters here, particularly the aunt and uncle who aren't the stock players they seem at first, the little brother who seemed real even though too-good-to-be-true (which was also how he seemed to the other characters, and that's why it works), and the teacher and lawyer, who play with the conventions a bit.
Overall--Newbery canon shows a peculiar fondness for books set in West Virginia. I don't really think this is going to join the others, but they could do worse.
Then I read the second page, and laughed out loud. That's why I stopped by the company store after school yesterday and bought me the biggest spiral notebook they had. Maybe writing everthing down will help me sort it all out."
But I kept reading, deciding that would be better than staring into space, and the book stopped irritating me, and then it grew on me. At one point I really really liked it, although then it started petering out into various tangents and messages.
Like most people, I don't usually care for books written in dialect. I thought I would hate it here, and in the beginning I almost couldn't follow the story because it was so distracting. But eventually it faded into the background--not absent, but no longer the most prominent thing. I can say one thing for the dialect here--it's consistent, and that says something.
I could have done without one subplot entirely, and much of the book was just TOO wise and TOO bucolic, as if it stepped right out of the pages of FOXFIRE magazine, but those are somewhat minor points.
Many great characters here, particularly the aunt and uncle who aren't the stock players they seem at first, the little brother who seemed real even though too-good-to-be-true (which was also how he seemed to the other characters, and that's why it works), and the teacher and lawyer, who play with the conventions a bit.
Overall--Newbery canon shows a peculiar fondness for books set in West Virginia. I don't really think this is going to join the others, but they could do worse.
July 26, 2016
This was a very heartfelt book for me. I can't believe how many times a felt a little ache in my chest for Lydia. Why is it that I fall for these books? Because they feel honest. I believe my favorite genre is fantasy and I will always love it but then there are books like this. That isn’t at all dystopian or full of dragons or love triangles and yet it made my heart yearn and ache. There was still magic in something as ordinary as fermentation. You'll know what I'm talking about if you read the book.
Lydia is living with her Aunt and Uncle after her mom was sent to prison (unjustly) and lost both her brother and grandmother. She finds things out about herself now while looking back at happier times. However, Lydia still holds on to the hope that she can get her mom back.
Now don't go thinking this book is sad, its not, not completely anyways. It's about growing up but also about family and being strong. Lydia’s love for her family and her mom—gosh is there a more gentle heart out there?—had me smiling. Her brother BJ is the sweetest, I'm a big fan of smart little boys it seems, and apparently grandmother who don't take any lip from people, and uncles who hold secrets, and...well I guess everybody that Lydia cares about.
I relished in the dialogue and it felt so genuine that I thought the author had to have known people from the mountains of West Virginia and what do you know the author is actually from there. The time period 1950s I really like too.
I know I absolutely love the book when I read the acknowledgement and the author's note just so I don't have to close the cover and finally admit it’s over. I stayed up literally all night to finish; the sun was coming up.
Lydia is living with her Aunt and Uncle after her mom was sent to prison (unjustly) and lost both her brother and grandmother. She finds things out about herself now while looking back at happier times. However, Lydia still holds on to the hope that she can get her mom back.
Now don't go thinking this book is sad, its not, not completely anyways. It's about growing up but also about family and being strong. Lydia’s love for her family and her mom—gosh is there a more gentle heart out there?—had me smiling. Her brother BJ is the sweetest, I'm a big fan of smart little boys it seems, and apparently grandmother who don't take any lip from people, and uncles who hold secrets, and...well I guess everybody that Lydia cares about.
I relished in the dialogue and it felt so genuine that I thought the author had to have known people from the mountains of West Virginia and what do you know the author is actually from there. The time period 1950s I really like too.
I know I absolutely love the book when I read the acknowledgement and the author's note just so I don't have to close the cover and finally admit it’s over. I stayed up literally all night to finish; the sun was coming up.
August 16, 2012
[This review also appears on Andi's Young Adult Books.]
Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shank is the story of a young girl named Lydia who lives in Appalachia. It takes place in the year 1953. Lydia feels pretty lost right now. She has been sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Her father passed away in an accident some years ago. Her mother is currently in jail, for theoretically killing her little brother, BJ, who had cystic fibrosis. Her grandmother has also just passed away. She is angry and confused and turns to her teacher for support and guidance. Along her journey, she also discovers some life-changing family secrets.
The dialect of this book made it difficult for me to read at first. As I went on, either I got used to the dialect or it seemed to be less prominent in the writing. It almost felt like Lydia's use of more proper English improved as the story went on. The dialect is necessary, though, to have a more authentic feel to the book.
I enjoyed reading this book and was able to do so rather quickly. It is a common tale of a girl trying to find herself after tragedy befalls her family. The cystic fibrosis part of the storyline was more unique. I felt like I understood Lydia and some of her anguish. I felt sorry for her.
The book seemed like it just ended, and the story was resolved too easily. I would have liked the final courtroom segment to be fleshed out just a little bit more so that the ending made a bit more sense.
I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shank is the story of a young girl named Lydia who lives in Appalachia. It takes place in the year 1953. Lydia feels pretty lost right now. She has been sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Her father passed away in an accident some years ago. Her mother is currently in jail, for theoretically killing her little brother, BJ, who had cystic fibrosis. Her grandmother has also just passed away. She is angry and confused and turns to her teacher for support and guidance. Along her journey, she also discovers some life-changing family secrets.
The dialect of this book made it difficult for me to read at first. As I went on, either I got used to the dialect or it seemed to be less prominent in the writing. It almost felt like Lydia's use of more proper English improved as the story went on. The dialect is necessary, though, to have a more authentic feel to the book.
I enjoyed reading this book and was able to do so rather quickly. It is a common tale of a girl trying to find herself after tragedy befalls her family. The cystic fibrosis part of the storyline was more unique. I felt like I understood Lydia and some of her anguish. I felt sorry for her.
The book seemed like it just ended, and the story was resolved too easily. I would have liked the final courtroom segment to be fleshed out just a little bit more so that the ending made a bit more sense.
I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
July 22, 2013
Why does every main character lately have to have a parent in jail?!?!?!?! Even though I felt as though I had read this storyline in a few previous novels, I did like the unique take on it using excellent, authentic dialogue (which subtly changed as the character aged). The author also nicely used the character's reflections on past events to explain her current situation. Def. more of a Grade 5/6 novel as the dialogue, esp. at the beginning can be challenging.
Oh, and
Dear Publisher,
CHANGE THE COVER!!!!!
Oh, and
Dear Publisher,
CHANGE THE COVER!!!!!
August 11, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed and could not put it down. until I finished.
February 15, 2015
This is our book for February. I always have a hard time reading language that sounds like The Hills...and I grew up visiting family in KY and that language reminds me of them. There is this one portion that had the teacher explain why her language was the way it was, how the mountains surrounding the area kept out the development of language because the people stayed and married where they stayed. but that it was time for her to start learning to proper English.
My stepdad was that way. It was his family we visited and yet he had escaped the area, learned good English, and held a great job.
the story was a sad one, I felt, yet probably true. I think there's much to learn and apply to all the various things we sign up for and sign into that could very well not be what we thought.
The twist was a surprising development but I understood it. another side of my family had a child who was born out of wedlock (NOT the case in this book remember) and my grandmother felt my parents should adopt her. They were not interested so my grandmother adopted her. To this day I wonder if she ever found out the truth.
the end was a good resolve and there is such tenderness in this story. It was good to read but I probably would not have picked it up originally.
July 19, 2012
This story is both heart-wrenching and heart-warming. Lydia Hawkins is a young woman (child really), that has been forced to see a lot of adversity in her young years. She doesn't really see much of the poverty and hard-work as anything other than routine until the death of her brother. Even after this event, Lydia strives to keep going strong. Ms. Shank has written a beautiful story of mountain living in the West Virginia hills in the early 1950s. There are no apologies made, nor are any needed in my not-so-humble opinion, for the speech patterns and life habits of mountain folk. Although there is prejudice prevalent for the poor and mountain folk, Ms. Shank presents a story filled with characters that any West Virginian can be proud to read.
(On a more personal note, I was filled with pride to read Ms. Shank's notes about her fourth grade school teacher, Mrs. Bette Nowling, my aunt. She even states that she used my aunt as the guide for the character of Mrs. Nowling in her story. Regrettably my aunt died before being able to read this book, but I'm sure she would have loved this story as much as Ms. Shank's childhood stories.)
(On a more personal note, I was filled with pride to read Ms. Shank's notes about her fourth grade school teacher, Mrs. Bette Nowling, my aunt. She even states that she used my aunt as the guide for the character of Mrs. Nowling in her story. Regrettably my aunt died before being able to read this book, but I'm sure she would have loved this story as much as Ms. Shank's childhood stories.)
October 21, 2013
I started and finished this book in a day. It was one of the best books I have ever read. Though the author is from West Virginia, where the book is set, she really captured the language of the common people of Appalachia. It felt genuine and made the characters more tangible. Lydia is an incredibly brave and tenacious young girl who has everything in her life change but learns from each and every experience and does a lot of growing up at the same time. I cannot wait to see what Shank writes next, for a first fiction piece, she has absolutely nailed it.
June 17, 2016
This novel is both touching and endearing. Getting into the mountain dialect took a chapter or two, but the story, with it's twists and turns was worth the effort. The protagonist, Lydia, is engaging and following her thought process was illuminating. She shows the character of mountain folk - their strengths and weaknesses as well as their gritty survival.
A strong theme for the book is the notion that true wealth comes with the love of family and the simple pleasures of family life. Family creates the strength to endure hardship and prevail.
A strong theme for the book is the notion that true wealth comes with the love of family and the simple pleasures of family life. Family creates the strength to endure hardship and prevail.
May 30, 2014
Compelling read about a young girl growing up poor in 1953 in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. Her father is dead and her mother has been sent to prison for a crime that Lydia doesn't believe is her fault. Lydia is living with her aunt and uncle and struggling with the loss of her family. Good read.
July 5, 2018
Oh, this was wonderful.
Highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Kira Kira; similar kind of feel there about family and finding one's place in the world.
Beautiful story, excellent characters (Lydia is a sweetheart and I adore her), and a wonderful message.
Highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Kira Kira; similar kind of feel there about family and finding one's place in the world.
Beautiful story, excellent characters (Lydia is a sweetheart and I adore her), and a wonderful message.
September 10, 2015
Amazing book. Much like Room, it took me awhile to get past the dialect, but I'm so glad I stuck with it - this story will stick with me for a long time.
August 19, 2021
now THIS is a good book.
January 17, 2025
This book has a great balance of tragedy and wholesomeness. I wish I'd read it as a kid - 10 year old me would have loved it! Having come from difficult circumstances myself, I was always on the lookout for novels with characters I related to that were realistic, yet these stories also had to be a remedy, not something that would make me feel worse. This is definitely one of those real-but-kind comfort reads I would have read again and again!
A lot of people talk about how this book is written with a thick Appalachian accent. They say it makes it difficult to read, but honestly I didn't struggle with understanding what was happening at all. I did have to overcome my initial feelings of discomfort from internal bias, which is the exact point the author is trying to make. The book actually addresses the Appalachian accent's origins and biases against it in the book, which is very cool!
The storyline moves pretty slowly at first, and I agree with a few other that it was a bit anticlimactic. It felt at times that the main character could have had more agency.
If you're uncomfortable with Christian dogma, give this book a pass. It's heavily intertwined with the story, though I thought it was well-done. Keep in mind I did not grow up Christian and identify as an atheist.
My only small issues with it (wee-oo, wee-oo, it's the woke police!)
It had the trope of "I'm proud my great-great grandmother is Cherokee" line with all the fixings - no acknowledgment or genuine storytelling about Indigenous folks, no Indigenous characters, no mention of their struggles, etc. The character never elaborates why it makes them proud, leaving readers to guess. It felt like exotification. The author makes it clear that her great-great-grandmother is Cherokee in real life and shares a similar sentiment.
Surprisingly, it actually addressed anti-black segregation and prejudice to a degree, though only fleetingly. There are a few black side characters.
There's also some seriously weird rhetoric near the end suggesting that women who have had hysterectomies for health reasons or who can't have children are destined to be depressed, confused, and ill. It was not implied, but outright said by a character giving guidance to the main character, and seemed really out of place in this otherwise progressive novel.
A lot of people talk about how this book is written with a thick Appalachian accent. They say it makes it difficult to read, but honestly I didn't struggle with understanding what was happening at all. I did have to overcome my initial feelings of discomfort from internal bias, which is the exact point the author is trying to make. The book actually addresses the Appalachian accent's origins and biases against it in the book, which is very cool!
The storyline moves pretty slowly at first, and I agree with a few other that it was a bit anticlimactic. It felt at times that the main character could have had more agency.
If you're uncomfortable with Christian dogma, give this book a pass. It's heavily intertwined with the story, though I thought it was well-done. Keep in mind I did not grow up Christian and identify as an atheist.
My only small issues with it (wee-oo, wee-oo, it's the woke police!)
It had the trope of "I'm proud my great-great grandmother is Cherokee" line with all the fixings - no acknowledgment or genuine storytelling about Indigenous folks, no Indigenous characters, no mention of their struggles, etc. The character never elaborates why it makes them proud, leaving readers to guess. It felt like exotification. The author makes it clear that her great-great-grandmother is Cherokee in real life and shares a similar sentiment.
Surprisingly, it actually addressed anti-black segregation and prejudice to a degree, though only fleetingly. There are a few black side characters.
There's also some seriously weird rhetoric near the end suggesting that women who have had hysterectomies for health reasons or who can't have children are destined to be depressed, confused, and ill. It was not implied, but outright said by a character giving guidance to the main character, and seemed really out of place in this otherwise progressive novel.
November 11, 2017
The whole thing was pretty good, the suspense of finding out the past story and resolving the current one was intense.
But that’s what killed it - the entire book was building up to the big court scene and I was really excited for it, and then... they completely skipped it.
I turned the page expecting a climax and instead got an epilogue.
Also, I found this book in the children’s section of my library, but I am very glad I didn’t read this as a child because I would have been extremely confused. Even now I had a hard time keeping up with all of the historical terms. Maybe I was just an ignorant child (I mean 8-year-old me got all the way through Anne of Green Gables thinking that a “buggie” was a Slug-Bug car, rather than a horse-pulled cart/carriage thing), but I would have had no idea what was going on with all the puberty parts and the entire conflict with the 1950s hospital is an idea I wasn’t acquainted with until well into my teenage years.
Basically, it’s a good book, but it is definitely not a children’s book (unless you’re a kid who grew up in West Virginia).
But that’s what killed it - the entire book was building up to the big court scene and I was really excited for it, and then... they completely skipped it.
I turned the page expecting a climax and instead got an epilogue.
Also, I found this book in the children’s section of my library, but I am very glad I didn’t read this as a child because I would have been extremely confused. Even now I had a hard time keeping up with all of the historical terms. Maybe I was just an ignorant child (I mean 8-year-old me got all the way through Anne of Green Gables thinking that a “buggie” was a Slug-Bug car, rather than a horse-pulled cart/carriage thing), but I would have had no idea what was going on with all the puberty parts and the entire conflict with the 1950s hospital is an idea I wasn’t acquainted with until well into my teenage years.
Basically, it’s a good book, but it is definitely not a children’s book (unless you’re a kid who grew up in West Virginia).
August 20, 2019
This book is about a girl who loses her family, one by one, and has to move in with her silly aunt and closed-off uncle, and try and figure out a plan for getting her beloved Mama out of jail for a crime she didn't commit.
This book is really colourful, and at times I found myself slipping into the West Virginian accent that they constantly use throughout the book in my everyday life, and I really felt at times that I was right there beside Lydia when she brought her brother home from the hospital for the last time, or just before her mama's second trial; I could feel the tension and excitement just as much as Lydia did.
This is a pretty good book, and I think that anyone interested in a story about a girl growing up in the 1950's with a hard life and a truthful spirit, should read this book.
(Also, I rate this book 3.5 stars; in between 'I liked it', and 'I really liked it'.)
Not a must-read for just anyone, but anyone who loves books should definitely try this one out.
This book is really colourful, and at times I found myself slipping into the West Virginian accent that they constantly use throughout the book in my everyday life, and I really felt at times that I was right there beside Lydia when she brought her brother home from the hospital for the last time, or just before her mama's second trial; I could feel the tension and excitement just as much as Lydia did.
This is a pretty good book, and I think that anyone interested in a story about a girl growing up in the 1950's with a hard life and a truthful spirit, should read this book.
(Also, I rate this book 3.5 stars; in between 'I liked it', and 'I really liked it'.)
Not a must-read for just anyone, but anyone who loves books should definitely try this one out.
June 19, 2017
This book was pretty good. I actually enjoyed the heavy use of dialect throughout the book; it made it seem much more authentic. I was a little irked by how some parts seemed, as a few other reviewers have noted, too wise and too poetic. Especially since BJ was just a little kid, it seemed unrealistic and rather eye roll inducing for him to be spouting words of wisdom to his family, even though he was supposed to be super smart. I also thought the use of the big "I'm actually adopted and my parents lied to me" reveal is a tad overdone. But the book kept my interest and I loved the narrator; Lydia was an interesting character and I enjoyed seeing the world with all of its ugliness decades ago through her journal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2019
Heart touching
This story grabbed my heart from the beginning page! The author has an uncanny ability to pull you into the hills of West Virginia allowing one to feel as if they literally stepped into the lives of the characters. I read the book in one sitting because I had to know how Lydia's story would ultimately end. Thing is the ending seemed more like a New beginning for everyone involved including Ears. I hope to read more from this author. Another amazing book provided by my local library.
This story grabbed my heart from the beginning page! The author has an uncanny ability to pull you into the hills of West Virginia allowing one to feel as if they literally stepped into the lives of the characters. I read the book in one sitting because I had to know how Lydia's story would ultimately end. Thing is the ending seemed more like a New beginning for everyone involved including Ears. I hope to read more from this author. Another amazing book provided by my local library.
May 11, 2020
I love YA books and was pleasantly surprised with this one. It was one that I just couldn’t put down! There’s a lot of love that went into this book and you can feel the emotions of Lydia from the get go.
You know what you’re getting into from the beginning of the book and I love that the author takes you along this journey of Lydias life, the sorrowful death of her grandma and then her brother, and the redemption of her mom.
I absolutely recommend picking up this book and a box of tissues, especially if you’re a parent.
You know what you’re getting into from the beginning of the book and I love that the author takes you along this journey of Lydias life, the sorrowful death of her grandma and then her brother, and the redemption of her mom.
I absolutely recommend picking up this book and a box of tissues, especially if you’re a parent.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2017
I'm getting ready for a trip to the Smokies, so I wanted to read something set in the mountains. While this was set in West Virginia, it still fit the bill. The book had good heart, and I loved the family relationships -- they seemed authentic. For whatever reason, I didn't connect with the characters the way I wished to. It wasn't a "must read" for me that marks a great book, but the themes and narrative made it a solid choice.
August 9, 2018
I quite enjoyed this. Lydia is a sympathetic and endearing protagonist and the story is interesting. This is one book written in a dialect which I didn't mind. Bonus points for a junior book with complex and helpful adults.
June 18, 2021
This was a lovely story of a young girl dealing with hard things. If you appreciate the Appalachian dialect, you’ll love the voice Shank gives to her character, Lydia. A bit of a coming of age story. Trying to get my 10 year old to read this one at some point this summer.
October 6, 2022
raised in the mountains.
Love the layers of living that are shared in this story.
Life and where it is lived and who it is lived with … adversity is part of living;;; being true to self and family and God.
Love the layers of living that are shared in this story.
Life and where it is lived and who it is lived with … adversity is part of living;;; being true to self and family and God.
April 26, 2019
This book is a real tearjerker (is that how you spell it?). I love it, though, and recommend to anyone who doesn't mind a sad story. It seems so true and believable.
December 16, 2020
God what a intense book! Very well written, very emotional.
June 23, 2021
Grips your heart at some point. Good book to read.
January 15, 2022
Great book!
April 12, 2024
I enjoy stories involving West Virginia. It was a good story.
June 2, 2024
A wonderful coming of age story that takes you to the heart of Appalachia. Loved it!
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