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The Memory of Cotton
Fifteen-year old Shelby’s life has been spiraling out of control since her little brother died and her parents divorced. She gets in fights at school, lashes out at her mother, and can’t find a way to pull herself out of her self-centered vortex of anger, fear, and grief. When Shelby inadvertently finds her great grandfather’s Ku Klux Klan robe and a cryptic message embroidered in a family quilt, Shelby and her conflicted, gay, best friend Darrin drive traumatized Grandma to her hometown in North Carolina to help her make amends with the past. But the murderous secret Grandma divulges is only half the truth, and after the teens cleverly piece together other parts of the mystery, they confront her and demand to know what happened. The unexpected truth that she reveals about what Shelby’s great grandfather and the Ku Klux Klan did in 1956 shocks the kids and alters the trajectory of their lives.
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 24, 2022
40 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Ann K. Howley
3 books45 followersAnn K. Howley's debut YA novel, The Memory of Cotton, was published by Propertius Press in 2022. She is the author of the award-winning memoir, Confessions of a Do-Gooder Gone Bad and is a contributor to the HerStories Project anthology, So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real About Motherhood.
She writes for Pittsburgh Parent Magazine and her work was awarded the Silver Award from the Parenting Media Association in 2017 and 2019. She won the 1st Place Prize for Nonfiction in the 2015, 2016 and 2019 Pennwriters Writing Contests. Her articles appear in publications nationwide, including skirt! Magazine, Bicycle Times Magazine, and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. A popular speaker, she has conducted workshops in cities across the country and hosts weekend writing retreats for aspiring authors.
She writes for Pittsburgh Parent Magazine and her work was awarded the Silver Award from the Parenting Media Association in 2017 and 2019. She won the 1st Place Prize for Nonfiction in the 2015, 2016 and 2019 Pennwriters Writing Contests. Her articles appear in publications nationwide, including skirt! Magazine, Bicycle Times Magazine, and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. A popular speaker, she has conducted workshops in cities across the country and hosts weekend writing retreats for aspiring authors.
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August 5, 2022When 15-year-old Shelby Forster calls cotton a “brutal plant” in the first line of Ann K. Howley’s debut young adult novel “The Memory of Cotton,” which is set partially in Pittsburgh, it’s quickly clear the teen does so for personal reasons. Only four years before the events in the book, Shelby’s beloved baby brother was killed by a drunk driver, a tragedy that broke up her parents’ marriage and left Shelby with lingering feelings of loss and a temper she has trouble managing. The memory of the very last road trip they took as a family, during which they made a pit stop at a cotton museum, still stings.
Click here to continue reading my review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette!
Click here to continue reading my review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette!
June 15, 2022
During a time in America when people are attempting to sanitize history and shield children from the truth, Ann Howley jumps head first into a controversial subject and never looks back. She was inspired to write this book after learning that her great grandfather was a member of The Ku Klux Klan.
She could have easily buried this information or tried to excuse it, but instead, Ann chose to make it into a teaching moment for young adults by writing a novel they can relate to and understand.
Shelby is a fifteen-year-old girl facing many challenges in her life. After a family tragedy and her parent's divorce, her grandmother Margaret and her only friend Darrin are the people she leans on for support. When her mother determines that Margaret shouldn't be living alone in her Pittsburgh home, Shelby is tasked with helping to pack up her grandmother's things in preparation for a move to a nursing home.
In an old suitcase, Shelby finds a Ku Klux Klan robe belonging to her great grandfather who was Margaret's father. The discovery unearths painful memories Margaret has repressed for 60 years.
In a bold attempt to set things right with the law and her childhood friend Rose, Margaret convinces Shelby to accompany her back to Finley, North Carolina where something terrible happened. Shelby enlists the help of Darrin as their driver and moral support.
Darrin is sixteen and facing family issues of his own. His parents have a set idea of how he should behave and what he should do with his life and they refuse to accept that their son has different wants and needs from those they have assigned to him.
The trip is life-changing for Shelby, Margaret, Darrin, and Rose, but you'll get no spoilers from me.
Ann examines the fine line between fear and hate and the many groups throughout history who have suffered because someone decided it was easier to hate than understand and easier to destroy than to accept anyone who was different.
The characters in this book are believable, authentic, and relatable. The topics discussed are timely and important for teens and adults. While the subject matter is serious, Ann injects a wealth of humor and humanity into the story through her characters. I was hooked from the first line and I didn't want the story to end. I hope she revisits, Shelby, Margaret, and Darrin in another book because she has made me care about what happens to them as if they have become my friends.
She could have easily buried this information or tried to excuse it, but instead, Ann chose to make it into a teaching moment for young adults by writing a novel they can relate to and understand.
Shelby is a fifteen-year-old girl facing many challenges in her life. After a family tragedy and her parent's divorce, her grandmother Margaret and her only friend Darrin are the people she leans on for support. When her mother determines that Margaret shouldn't be living alone in her Pittsburgh home, Shelby is tasked with helping to pack up her grandmother's things in preparation for a move to a nursing home.
In an old suitcase, Shelby finds a Ku Klux Klan robe belonging to her great grandfather who was Margaret's father. The discovery unearths painful memories Margaret has repressed for 60 years.
In a bold attempt to set things right with the law and her childhood friend Rose, Margaret convinces Shelby to accompany her back to Finley, North Carolina where something terrible happened. Shelby enlists the help of Darrin as their driver and moral support.
Darrin is sixteen and facing family issues of his own. His parents have a set idea of how he should behave and what he should do with his life and they refuse to accept that their son has different wants and needs from those they have assigned to him.
The trip is life-changing for Shelby, Margaret, Darrin, and Rose, but you'll get no spoilers from me.
Ann examines the fine line between fear and hate and the many groups throughout history who have suffered because someone decided it was easier to hate than understand and easier to destroy than to accept anyone who was different.
The characters in this book are believable, authentic, and relatable. The topics discussed are timely and important for teens and adults. While the subject matter is serious, Ann injects a wealth of humor and humanity into the story through her characters. I was hooked from the first line and I didn't want the story to end. I hope she revisits, Shelby, Margaret, and Darrin in another book because she has made me care about what happens to them as if they have become my friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2022
A word of caution: be prepared to put everything else on hold as you will want to read this beautiful book in one setting! Ann Howley's The Memory of Cotton is a testament to the power of all that is good in our life while simutaneously reminding us of the evil that exists. Love, friendship, loyalty, respect, acceptance will resonate with your soul. Ann weaves a hurtful, shattering incident into a strong message. This is a must read for all ages.
June 20, 2022
I loved this book. It's a great story that pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you wanting more. The characters are relatable and entertaining and you feel a definite connection to them, so much so that I hated to see it end. Ann told the story beautifully with such detail that you didn't have any questions when all was said and done. I enjoyed this book so much that I actually read it again after finishing it the first time!
June 24, 2022
The Memory of Cotton is about more than the history of cotton. It is about facing our worst fears, accepting others who are different, and embracing the uncomfortable facts of family dynamics. The narrator, Shelby, is a sensitive teenager at odds with her mother. Her best friend Darrin, in fact her only friend, is brilliant and yes, gay. Darrin has a habit of quoting famous people like Stephen Hawkins, Bible verses, Confucius, Maya Angela and even Pliny the Elder. The reader is expecting an expose of the Klu Klux Klan when a white hooded robe is found in her Grandmother’s house. Shelby learns that Blacks were not the only targets. Jews, Catholics immigrants, as well as homosexuals were targeted as well.
The author’s skill lies in that she has created authentic teenagers as well as believable grannies in a story that is dark and gothic and at the same time funny. Well, isn’t that just about life as real as it gets?
The author’s skill lies in that she has created authentic teenagers as well as believable grannies in a story that is dark and gothic and at the same time funny. Well, isn’t that just about life as real as it gets?
July 20, 2022
I thought I knew about the KKK. What a terrible surprise to find out that there is even more to their hateful history. Author Ann Howley uses the fact that her grandfather had been a member of the KKK as the basis for this story of a quest undertaken by 15-year-old Shelby, her best friend Darrin, and her grandmother. It's a chance to uncover the facts of an incident from many years before that had torn a friendship apart. And it also becomes an opportunity for Shelby to heal from her own personal heartache.
For readers 13 and up.
For readers 13 and up.
June 19, 2022
I wish I could rate The Memory of Cotton 6 stars because it is deserving of that rating. Although technically a YA targeted book, it is transcendent in its message and adults of all ages will enjoy. More importantly, without spoilers, Memory walks you some pithy, timely and transcending topics through a lens that I haven’t seen or read before.
The reader is immerses in tragedy, challenges you socially about your own beliefs all the while cheering for understanding and forgiveness for ALL of the characters. Howley is masterful in her approach to the protagonist while also providing a deep bench of other characters to care, cry and root for throughout the story.
The Memory of Cotton should find its way into your hands. Trust me, bump it up on your TBR lists. It will not disappoint.
And as an aside… attention Hollywood! Please make this a movie for those that don’t read. The struggle within The Memory of Cotton is too relevant a topic to not reach and teach others that may not hear about this wonderful novel. Cheering there is a next …
The reader is immerses in tragedy, challenges you socially about your own beliefs all the while cheering for understanding and forgiveness for ALL of the characters. Howley is masterful in her approach to the protagonist while also providing a deep bench of other characters to care, cry and root for throughout the story.
The Memory of Cotton should find its way into your hands. Trust me, bump it up on your TBR lists. It will not disappoint.
And as an aside… attention Hollywood! Please make this a movie for those that don’t read. The struggle within The Memory of Cotton is too relevant a topic to not reach and teach others that may not hear about this wonderful novel. Cheering there is a next …
June 28, 2022
4.5 stars for an excellent quick story that moves quickly, has quirky but endearing characters and a plot that doesn’t stop moving. Highly recommend to all ages. Perfect for a story that you feel you are apart of.
June 18, 2022
One of the richest stories I've read in the last few years. And the characters!! I think Ernest Hemingway (?) said, a writer should create real people, not characters and that is exactly what Howley has accomplished here-these characters are so real. You can tell the author loves these characters without romanticizing them or making them flawless. A word of warning: you may get a bit misty-eyed 3 pages in
July 20, 2022
Although this book deals with heavy topics, there’s the perfect balance of comedic relief and wisdom filled quotes. You will want to be best friends with Darrin!!! This book sucked me in and still sticks with me even though I finished it a while ago.
July 5, 2022
Vague but not super specific spoilers.
I was THRILLED to read Ann Howley’s debut novel. Writing about a grandma and her granddaughter simultaneously facing their demons and trauma, I think the author did an incredible job writing a story that is both thought-provoking and enjoyable for young adults.
As Ann said herself, young people in our contemporary society are much more eager to delve into hard conversations than older generations. Being a young(ish) person, I can fully endorse that idea; my friends and I are constantly discussing uncomfortable and deep topics, trying to better understand the world around us and the history that led us here. Having been close with my own grandmother (though we did not have a familial history similar to Shelby & Margaret), I understand how hard it can be to discuss “ancient family history,” particularly parts of it of which my grandma may not have been proud.
I thought this story was a wonderful coming-of-age story dealing not only with the widely acknowledged racism of the Ku Klux Klan, but also the homophobic, anti-semitism, and other prejudices that are unfortunately deep-rooted in the United States history.
Even with such heavy material, Ann wrote a truly enjoyable, fun, and heartwarming story with complex characters that I truly loved by the time I finished reading. I certainly look forward to reading more of her work in the future!
I was THRILLED to read Ann Howley’s debut novel. Writing about a grandma and her granddaughter simultaneously facing their demons and trauma, I think the author did an incredible job writing a story that is both thought-provoking and enjoyable for young adults.
As Ann said herself, young people in our contemporary society are much more eager to delve into hard conversations than older generations. Being a young(ish) person, I can fully endorse that idea; my friends and I are constantly discussing uncomfortable and deep topics, trying to better understand the world around us and the history that led us here. Having been close with my own grandmother (though we did not have a familial history similar to Shelby & Margaret), I understand how hard it can be to discuss “ancient family history,” particularly parts of it of which my grandma may not have been proud.
I thought this story was a wonderful coming-of-age story dealing not only with the widely acknowledged racism of the Ku Klux Klan, but also the homophobic, anti-semitism, and other prejudices that are unfortunately deep-rooted in the United States history.
Even with such heavy material, Ann wrote a truly enjoyable, fun, and heartwarming story with complex characters that I truly loved by the time I finished reading. I certainly look forward to reading more of her work in the future!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2022
I wrote this book for intensely personal reasons, believing that the power of truth is stronger than the hatred and fear that is often passed down through generations. Shelby, Darrin, GMa, and all the characters in my story are as close to me as my own family, and I hope readers recognize that the journey these characters embark upon and the challenges they face are ones that we all share and should embrace together.
My favorite parts of this story, though, are the scenes that made me laugh out loud as I wrote them. I think you will know those parts when you read them.
My favorite parts of this story, though, are the scenes that made me laugh out loud as I wrote them. I think you will know those parts when you read them.
November 17, 2024
This is a beautifully written story of aging, coming of age, and grief. Such a moving story, I read it almost straight through. A satisfying read.
January 26, 2025
A timeless and compelling story told from the viewpoint of a teenager, this book deeply resonated with me. I've read it twice and couldn't put it down each time until I finished. Highly recommend.
September 3, 2022
This book spoke to me. Shelby may seem self centered but she’s dealing with a painful loss her life and can’t see anything beyond it. It’s colored the way she looks at the world. Ultimately it’s her best friend (a great character), her grandmother, and a troubling family history that helps her see the big picture. Sometimes we get so lost in our own pain that it’s hard to see anyone else’s pain. For all her faults, Shelby is clearly in this space. I love her close relationship with her grandmother. Truly, all the relationships in Memory of Cotton are compelling and realistic. I really cared about each character and the pacing of the book kept me engaged from start to finish. Plus I love the Pittsburgh references. It’s clear Ann wrote this story from her heart.
July 12, 2023
This YA novel told through 15-year-old Shelby was a refreshing change of pace in my summer reading lineup. Howley addresses serious and emotional topics--traumatic loss, divorce, hate--while making you smile with her signature touches of humor about family and growing up. The story takes you from Pennsylvania to North Carolina where a long-buried, confusing family secret comes to light. Full of life lessons and social commentary for all ages, from young adults on up. The author's use of cotton, in its varied forms throughout the story, was clever and beautiful.
January 26, 2025
5.0 stars
HIGHLY recommend
For full disclosure, I have known the author personally for a long time. However, I agreed to give an honest review and received a Kindle copy of this book.
However, this young adult book was so good and covered so many important topics that are very pertinent today. This book is also great for adults to learn about difficult topics impacting young people today.
The writing, character development, and storyline are excellent. The important things for young adults are in this book and will make incredible topics in an English class or a book club.
I look forward to more books Ann writes - this fiction debut is a fantastic start!
TRIGGER WARNING: Reference to murders, some Ku Klux Klan interaction, LGBT+ prejudice, loss of a child, bullying, physical violence
For a more detailed review, check out my blog - booksbydorothea:
https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/...
HIGHLY recommend
For full disclosure, I have known the author personally for a long time. However, I agreed to give an honest review and received a Kindle copy of this book.
However, this young adult book was so good and covered so many important topics that are very pertinent today. This book is also great for adults to learn about difficult topics impacting young people today.
The writing, character development, and storyline are excellent. The important things for young adults are in this book and will make incredible topics in an English class or a book club.
I look forward to more books Ann writes - this fiction debut is a fantastic start!
TRIGGER WARNING: Reference to murders, some Ku Klux Klan interaction, LGBT+ prejudice, loss of a child, bullying, physical violence
For a more detailed review, check out my blog - booksbydorothea:
https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/...
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July 20, 2023The Memory of Cotton is a delightful book. It may be categorized as Young Adult fiction, but it will appeal to any American over 10. Yes, it is a novel, but it encourages the reader to wonder. What would I do if i found this skeleton in my closet? Or my brother, sister, daughter, granddaughter? It's a road trip. It's a buddy story. As a grandpa, I especially loved the grandma/ granddaughter connection. It's so true that grandparents can often connect with grandchildren in a completely different level than parents (yuck.) You should read it and ask yourself, which character are you most like or wannabe.
July 31, 2023
This is such a beautiful journey of hope, healing, and overcoming the past. The characters are dynamic and real, the grief can be felt, and the secrets revealed throughout are surprising. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, and while I'm quite a bit older than our main character Shelby, I still related to her and her story. Highly recommend.
April 12, 2024
This was a really nice and interesting read. The story flowed well, and was one of those books that once you start it, you want to continue until you finish it. I would definitely read any other books this author would write!
June 20, 2025
Coming of age in a harsh world!
This book not only unravels a mystery of a family torn apart but shows us teenage angst and the struggle to realize their true dreams and personalities. Highly recommended as a young adult read. It could help with identity and feelings of inequity.
This book not only unravels a mystery of a family torn apart but shows us teenage angst and the struggle to realize their true dreams and personalities. Highly recommended as a young adult read. It could help with identity and feelings of inequity.
August 24, 2025
A memory
Absolutely loved Darrin. Wish there was another book where he moves on and does great things and Shelby and he stay good friends. What I would give to have a friendship like theirs. This story really touched my heart.
Absolutely loved Darrin. Wish there was another book where he moves on and does great things and Shelby and he stay good friends. What I would give to have a friendship like theirs. This story really touched my heart.
August 30, 2025
I loved this book. Please read it for the character development of the protagonist, the eclectic quotes from her male counterpart, the different reactions to reckoning with grief, and the symbolism stringing through the narrative.
October 28, 2024
A beautiful, engaging and heart warming coming of age story! Loved the writing style, the characters, and the flow of the prose.
March 10, 2025
Grab the tissues!
Shelby and Darrin's relationship is deep and quirky. Everyone deserves a friendship like the one these two share. Great read!
Shelby and Darrin's relationship is deep and quirky. Everyone deserves a friendship like the one these two share. Great read!
March 26, 2025
Loved it. I had already read this but had to read again, it’s that good.
March 30, 2024
Very well written YA novel. The characters are likable, and it's easy to read,; you can just pick it up and get into the story.
September 20, 2022
Fifteen-year old Shelby’s life has been spiraling out of control since her little brother died and her parents divorced. She gets in fights at school, lashes out at her mother, and can’t find a way to pull herself out of her self-centered vortex of anger, fear, and grief. While helping her grandmother get ready to move into an assisted living facility, Shelby inadvertently finds her great grandfather’s Ku Klux Klan robe and a cryptic message embroidered in a family quilt. Shelby and her conflicted, gay, best friend Darrin drive traumatized Grandma to her hometown in North Carolina to help her make amends with the past. But the murderous secret Grandma divulges is only half the truth, and after the teens cleverly piece together other parts of the mystery, they confront her and demand to know what happened. The unexpected truth that she reveals about what Shelby’s great grandfather and the Ku Klux Klan did in 1956 shocks the kids and alters the trajectory of their lives.
Interesting read about a not talked about period of history. The story seemed a little too sweet in the end for me--maybe because it's YA, but I'm in the minority here. Most reviews are 5 glowing stars. Good read if you are interested in the KKK.
Interesting read about a not talked about period of history. The story seemed a little too sweet in the end for me--maybe because it's YA, but I'm in the minority here. Most reviews are 5 glowing stars. Good read if you are interested in the KKK.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews