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Red Dirt
The small town of Lake Bittersweet, Oklahoma, ain't no paradise, but Sammy Lester has lived there her whole life, and she'll most likely be buried there, too. Don't matter that she barely graduated high school, or that money's tight, or that her ex-con father's on the verge of losing custody of her six-year-old half sister Decca. Sammy can't leave Lake Bittersweet. She's got nowhere else to go.
When she meets charming city boy Brayton Foster, things start looking up for once. Then one dark night, her father, Bobby Ray, goes missing, and Sammy knows in her bones who's to blame. Local drug kingpin Redbreast Tuller and his family of criminals have unfinished business with Bobby Ray, and it seems they finally caught up with him. But the sheriff is in the Tullers' back pocket, and nobody in law enforcement cares about finding Sammy's dad.
As she struggles to keep her family--and her new relationship with Brayton--from falling apart, Sammy realizes that if she wants answers, if she wants someone to pay, she'll have to handle it her damn self. Because in a place like Lake Bittersweet, justice ain't something you're given--it's something you take.
When she meets charming city boy Brayton Foster, things start looking up for once. Then one dark night, her father, Bobby Ray, goes missing, and Sammy knows in her bones who's to blame. Local drug kingpin Redbreast Tuller and his family of criminals have unfinished business with Bobby Ray, and it seems they finally caught up with him. But the sheriff is in the Tullers' back pocket, and nobody in law enforcement cares about finding Sammy's dad.
As she struggles to keep her family--and her new relationship with Brayton--from falling apart, Sammy realizes that if she wants answers, if she wants someone to pay, she'll have to handle it her damn self. Because in a place like Lake Bittersweet, justice ain't something you're given--it's something you take.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published August 29, 2017
4 people are currently reading
1461 people want to read
About the author
Anna Jarzab
12 books651 followersAnna Jarzab is the author of All Unquiet Things, The Opposite of Hallelujah, Tandem, Tether, Red Dirt, and Breath Like Water. She lives in New York City and works in children's book publishing. Visit her online at www.annajarzab.com and connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @ajarzab.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 17, 2017
Lake Bittersweet, Oklahoma is where Sammy Lester, her brother and father live. A trailer is their home, nothing fancy, but a place to come to and has been for a very long time. Her father is divorced from his wife and is fighting for custody of their daughter, Decca. A very strained relationship with the whole family over this. Sammy wants Decca to live with them.
Suddenly, Sammy's father goes missing. At first no one thinks that he would be in trouble, only took off for a bit. No, Sammy is convinced something untoward has happened. She and her brother go to the police, but nothing is being done to check the whereabouts of their father. Sammy knows in her bones that a local drug dealer, Redbreast Tuller, is responsible. The sheriff is in Redbreast's pocket, so no worries.
Sammy decides to take things into her own hands if she wants answers. She meets up with some problems and gets hurt, almost raped. She wants someone to pay for the disappearance of her father and, by God, they will.
I won this ARC giveaway through Good Reads. I found it very good and a real page turner.
Suddenly, Sammy's father goes missing. At first no one thinks that he would be in trouble, only took off for a bit. No, Sammy is convinced something untoward has happened. She and her brother go to the police, but nothing is being done to check the whereabouts of their father. Sammy knows in her bones that a local drug dealer, Redbreast Tuller, is responsible. The sheriff is in Redbreast's pocket, so no worries.
Sammy decides to take things into her own hands if she wants answers. She meets up with some problems and gets hurt, almost raped. She wants someone to pay for the disappearance of her father and, by God, they will.
I won this ARC giveaway through Good Reads. I found it very good and a real page turner.
August 11, 2017
So I received this book in the mail not knowing much about it, in the end it was a pretty good book. Not REALLY good, but pretty good. The things I liked about the book were the murder mystery and the family dynamics. However, the relationship in this book was satisfactory. The two characters never really talked, in other words it was very physical (which was kinda boring and annoying)
As I mentioned previously, the mystery about how here dad went missing was very interesting along with the well developed side characters (the Tuller family). By the end of the book I was enjoying it a lot, however not gonna lie, I had to really push myself to continue reading it at the beginning because it felt very simple and the plot was kinda overdone.
4 stars.
If that was enough to convince you to read it then go ahead. But in my opinion, life is too short to read a "meh" book. So no, don't bother reading it.
Actually I change my mind! Read it for the mystery....but don't read it for the romance.
As I mentioned previously, the mystery about how here dad went missing was very interesting along with the well developed side characters (the Tuller family). By the end of the book I was enjoying it a lot, however not gonna lie, I had to really push myself to continue reading it at the beginning because it felt very simple and the plot was kinda overdone.
4 stars.
If that was enough to convince you to read it then go ahead. But in my opinion, life is too short to read a "meh" book. So no, don't bother reading it.
Actually I change my mind! Read it for the mystery....but don't read it for the romance.
August 7, 2017
I am not the target audience for this book (a teenager.) However, I am a teacher, and I read many YA and middle-grade books. That said: I found some aspects of the book engaging and some troubling. Sammy Lester just turned 18, and she has been smoking, drinking, and having sex for some time. She is a self-identified redneck and says (or thinks) several similes/metaphors/personifications per page. These observations give her a folksy/country feel---but perhaps they're a bit overdone. ("I look around, nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs....") Too many are like slathering a thick fudge frosting on a lemon meringue pie (my simile.)
Sammy cares about her half-sister, brother, and ex-con dad and searches for proof of her father's murderer. This part of the story feels real, but I don't see any basis for the attraction (love) between Sammy and her boyfriend other than looks and sex.
Sammy cares about her half-sister, brother, and ex-con dad and searches for proof of her father's murderer. This part of the story feels real, but I don't see any basis for the attraction (love) between Sammy and her boyfriend other than looks and sex.
June 11, 2017
This book is hard to review. Mostly because it's not in a genre I usually read, but also because I really disliked the first 1/3 of this book.
In "Red Dirt", Sammy and Denver's father goes missing and no one seems to really care (after an initial search). Sammy is trying to juggle the loss of her father, her new boy toy, and the ongoing custody case of her 6 year old sister Decca. And now she has to get justice for her father.
The story opens with Sammy, who is basically not smart and describes herself as hot. From the beginning, she makes choices that make me dislike her very much and actively root against her. By the end of the novel, I was cheering her on. It just took so long for her character to be really likable. I struggled so much, I almost put it down.
I'm giving this book 3 stars because I did end up thinking the book was okay, but it's not something I would pick up again.
**I received this ARC for an honest review.**
In "Red Dirt", Sammy and Denver's father goes missing and no one seems to really care (after an initial search). Sammy is trying to juggle the loss of her father, her new boy toy, and the ongoing custody case of her 6 year old sister Decca. And now she has to get justice for her father.
The story opens with Sammy, who is basically not smart and describes herself as hot. From the beginning, she makes choices that make me dislike her very much and actively root against her. By the end of the novel, I was cheering her on. It just took so long for her character to be really likable. I struggled so much, I almost put it down.
I'm giving this book 3 stars because I did end up thinking the book was okay, but it's not something I would pick up again.
**I received this ARC for an honest review.**
August 23, 2017
I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I knew it was going to be a bit of a mystery, but I couldn't tell if it was a book I would have picked off the shelf at Barnes and Noble or not. It was not. Yet, I was seriously surprised with how much I liked this novel and that I actually found myself wanting to read it. Sammy is definitely a hick girl. I found myself reading it in a southern accent and though I'm not one for having dialect in novels, Anna Jarzab pulls it off so well without making the book hard to understand. I liked the relationship Sammy was developing with Brayton and how cautious she was because she had her heart broken before (It was nice that it took time to reveal why she and her ex broke up) and I liked how fierce she loved her younger half-sister. Read the entire review here: http://reviewsbyabookfanatic.blogspot...
February 26, 2018
Can also be read on my blog.
Title : Red Dirt
Author : Anna Jarzab
Demographic : Young Adult
Genre : Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
When Sammy Lester's father goes missing, she's gotta do all she can to find out what happened to him.
Blurb from Goodreads :
The small town of Lake Bittersweet, Oklahoma, ain't no paradise, but Sammy Lester has lived there her whole life, and she'll most likely be buried there, too. Don't matter that she barely graduated high school, or that money's tight, or that her ex-con father's on the verge of losing custody of her six-year-old half sister Decca. Sammy can't leave Lake Bittersweet. She's got nowhere else to go.
When she meets charming city boy Brayton Foster, things start looking up for once. Then one dark night, her father, Bobby Ray, goes missing, and Sammy knows in her bones who's to blame. Local drug kingpin Redbreast Tuller and his family of criminals have unfinished business with Bobby Ray, and it seems they finally caught up with him. But the sheriff is in the Tullers' back pocket, and nobody in law enforcement cares about finding Sammy's dad.
When Sammy Lester just finished high school, she doesn't know what to do with her life besides staying in her hometown of Lake Bittersweet, Oklahoma. With the custody of her half sister, Decca, about to be lost, and the arrival a new boy coming to town, she's got a busy month ahead of her. When the sudden disappearance of her ex-con father comes ahead, Sammy has more on her plate than she's ever expected.
So, I had no expectations when going into this book. I didn't know much about it besides the blurb, but wow did it put things in perspective when were placed in Oklahoma and the slang was something I had to get use to. It wasn't too distracting after bypassing mainly 'ain'ts' and shorten words in dialogue and Sammy's monologue. I do have to stay that it is for a more mature audience as there are some sexy times involved. The mystery of the story wasn't difficult to follow along but even I could see that Sammy wasn't looking in all the directions to find out about her dad, and the person who did do, wasn't all that surprising.
Our main protagonist is Sammy Lester and she's one tough cookie. I usually don't mind that in a character but I think her stubbornness made her make some wrong mistakes that got her in to some serious trouble with the Tullers', the family of known criminals in the town. I did enjoy aspects where she looked to the positive side's of her father regardless if he wasn't the greatest dad. She certainly grows as a person as she is put in the difficult situation on finding her father and trying to keep her sister close to her.
Brayton has come to Bittersweet for the summer, and has caught Sammy's eye. They have an instant lustful interaction that eventually becomes more. He's not necessarily the playboy that he played off to be, but he's trying to find himself with Sammy after a rough start of his first year of college. There wasn't anything to dislike about him, and he tried his best to be with Sammy and give her space too. I wished he was more involved in the mystery, but he was mostly a distraction for Sammy, and I wanted more to his character besides his non stellar up-bringing.
Some side characters to mention are Denver, Sammy's older brother who has come back for the summer too. I love the family dynamic in the story because it displayed that while you're in a hard situation, family are people you should go to. He's a likable character that wants to get away from Bittersweet, and get more out of the world. Gypsum Tuller was a very mystery character, she popped into scenes and disappeared so quickly, we won't find out till later if she's on Sammy side or not. There were more side characters that were engaging but weren't that interesting to the plot of the story.
There is another character that is usually always brought up, and that would be Sammy's ex-boyfriend, Reed. Maybe that's one of the things I didn't enjoy about this book was because he was a big impact to her past and while she didn't just saddle up with Brayton, she still had an emotional connection to Reed which bothered me most of the story. If readers knew more details from the beginning I probably would have sympathized with Sammy more, but there were alot of unclear details till near the end.
Rating : 4 Stars
I didn't really get invested into this book as I wanted to, as I wasn't too shocked to the whole situation when we are given clues to keep readers intrigued. Sammy made some stupid decisions sometimes, when she could've obviously asked for help. She eventually did, but she was too stubborn to know how to ask, and although we're in her thoughts, there were some mysteries readers won't know till later. The plot itself wasn't that gripping for me, although I did like how everything ended nicely. What I liked most of all was probably the meaning of what people can do for family and how far you can go to take those risks.
Romance Rating : 4
So, I usually like an emotional attachment for the romance to begin before any sexy times happen. They kind of have it, and I while they do get seriously involved with each other later, it still peeved me when lust was got them together in the first place. There were some misunderstandings on Brayton's part, but I think it was a little dramatic on Sammy's side since he had his own problems to deal with too. They still had a happy ending, and I liked how they did want to comfort one another in tough situations.
Recommended : Yes.
I do think people should still give it a try since I hardly read books with this type of setting in contemporary novels, but there were some parts I didn't enjoy that others might not either. It still wasn't an overall bad book and if people can get over Sammy's stubborn streak sometimes and admire it at the same time, I'm sure readers will still like the journey of solving her father's disappearance.
Title : Red Dirt
Author : Anna Jarzab
Demographic : Young Adult
Genre : Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
When Sammy Lester's father goes missing, she's gotta do all she can to find out what happened to him.
Blurb from Goodreads :
The small town of Lake Bittersweet, Oklahoma, ain't no paradise, but Sammy Lester has lived there her whole life, and she'll most likely be buried there, too. Don't matter that she barely graduated high school, or that money's tight, or that her ex-con father's on the verge of losing custody of her six-year-old half sister Decca. Sammy can't leave Lake Bittersweet. She's got nowhere else to go.
When she meets charming city boy Brayton Foster, things start looking up for once. Then one dark night, her father, Bobby Ray, goes missing, and Sammy knows in her bones who's to blame. Local drug kingpin Redbreast Tuller and his family of criminals have unfinished business with Bobby Ray, and it seems they finally caught up with him. But the sheriff is in the Tullers' back pocket, and nobody in law enforcement cares about finding Sammy's dad.
When Sammy Lester just finished high school, she doesn't know what to do with her life besides staying in her hometown of Lake Bittersweet, Oklahoma. With the custody of her half sister, Decca, about to be lost, and the arrival a new boy coming to town, she's got a busy month ahead of her. When the sudden disappearance of her ex-con father comes ahead, Sammy has more on her plate than she's ever expected.
So, I had no expectations when going into this book. I didn't know much about it besides the blurb, but wow did it put things in perspective when were placed in Oklahoma and the slang was something I had to get use to. It wasn't too distracting after bypassing mainly 'ain'ts' and shorten words in dialogue and Sammy's monologue. I do have to stay that it is for a more mature audience as there are some sexy times involved. The mystery of the story wasn't difficult to follow along but even I could see that Sammy wasn't looking in all the directions to find out about her dad, and the person who did do, wasn't all that surprising.
Our main protagonist is Sammy Lester and she's one tough cookie. I usually don't mind that in a character but I think her stubbornness made her make some wrong mistakes that got her in to some serious trouble with the Tullers', the family of known criminals in the town. I did enjoy aspects where she looked to the positive side's of her father regardless if he wasn't the greatest dad. She certainly grows as a person as she is put in the difficult situation on finding her father and trying to keep her sister close to her.
Brayton has come to Bittersweet for the summer, and has caught Sammy's eye. They have an instant lustful interaction that eventually becomes more. He's not necessarily the playboy that he played off to be, but he's trying to find himself with Sammy after a rough start of his first year of college. There wasn't anything to dislike about him, and he tried his best to be with Sammy and give her space too. I wished he was more involved in the mystery, but he was mostly a distraction for Sammy, and I wanted more to his character besides his non stellar up-bringing.
Some side characters to mention are Denver, Sammy's older brother who has come back for the summer too. I love the family dynamic in the story because it displayed that while you're in a hard situation, family are people you should go to. He's a likable character that wants to get away from Bittersweet, and get more out of the world. Gypsum Tuller was a very mystery character, she popped into scenes and disappeared so quickly, we won't find out till later if she's on Sammy side or not. There were more side characters that were engaging but weren't that interesting to the plot of the story.
There is another character that is usually always brought up, and that would be Sammy's ex-boyfriend, Reed. Maybe that's one of the things I didn't enjoy about this book was because he was a big impact to her past and while she didn't just saddle up with Brayton, she still had an emotional connection to Reed which bothered me most of the story. If readers knew more details from the beginning I probably would have sympathized with Sammy more, but there were alot of unclear details till near the end.
Rating : 4 Stars
I didn't really get invested into this book as I wanted to, as I wasn't too shocked to the whole situation when we are given clues to keep readers intrigued. Sammy made some stupid decisions sometimes, when she could've obviously asked for help. She eventually did, but she was too stubborn to know how to ask, and although we're in her thoughts, there were some mysteries readers won't know till later. The plot itself wasn't that gripping for me, although I did like how everything ended nicely. What I liked most of all was probably the meaning of what people can do for family and how far you can go to take those risks.
Romance Rating : 4
So, I usually like an emotional attachment for the romance to begin before any sexy times happen. They kind of have it, and I while they do get seriously involved with each other later, it still peeved me when lust was got them together in the first place. There were some misunderstandings on Brayton's part, but I think it was a little dramatic on Sammy's side since he had his own problems to deal with too. They still had a happy ending, and I liked how they did want to comfort one another in tough situations.
Recommended : Yes.
I do think people should still give it a try since I hardly read books with this type of setting in contemporary novels, but there were some parts I didn't enjoy that others might not either. It still wasn't an overall bad book and if people can get over Sammy's stubborn streak sometimes and admire it at the same time, I'm sure readers will still like the journey of solving her father's disappearance.
September 12, 2017
"Red Dirt" by Anna Jarzab centers on 18 year old Sammy Lester. She is a small town hick girl with no prospects other than her looks. When her father Bobby Ray goes missing, she seems to be the only one interested in solving the mystery of where he has gone. Meanwhile her 6 year old sister's custody is in question and their is her boyfriend Brayton to worry about. This book took forever to get into, when I start a book I finish it, but it took a long time to get into this story. I did not care for the exaggerated country hick stereotype girl that Sammy portrayed. However the mystery part of the book was well thought out and written. I think some older YA or NA readers would enjoy the book.
May 31, 2017
This book is very amazing and even though Sammy has so many problems to deal with and they had gotten even bigger when Brayton was introduced into the story. It sucked that when her dad went missing none of the authorities even cared about him and then Sammy had to start caring for her as well. I like Sammy's character the most because she goes out and deals with her own problems when other people would try to look for help or someone else to dump a problem on. Overall, I loved this book and would give it a higher rating if possible. :)
August 15, 2017
This one is tough to rate. To start with the "tone" of the book took some getting use to because the narration is very "country" which I'm not use to. The book is part mystery, part romance. I enjoyed the mystery part, it was a simple slightly predictable mystery but still an okay read. The romance wasn't one I enjoyed, it was very insta-lovey on the dudes part and I felt no strong connection to it.
December 1, 2017
*2.5 stars
Mostly predictable, especially the ending, but well-written, as all Jarzab's books are. The murder plot was good, and so was the ex-boyfriend subplot. The protagonist was a caricature of small town rural life though--she was deeply elitist and suspicious of outsiders, but her brother and boyfriend also encouraged her to want more from life. Moreover, the boyfriend Brayton seemed like wishful thinking on the author's part, and the folksy proverbs grew tiresome by the end.
Mostly predictable, especially the ending, but well-written, as all Jarzab's books are. The murder plot was good, and so was the ex-boyfriend subplot. The protagonist was a caricature of small town rural life though--she was deeply elitist and suspicious of outsiders, but her brother and boyfriend also encouraged her to want more from life. Moreover, the boyfriend Brayton seemed like wishful thinking on the author's part, and the folksy proverbs grew tiresome by the end.
October 12, 2017
This book centered around family. While reading I found myself deeper and deeper in this town, the characters, even the writing style. The down side of this book for me was the two love interests Reed and Brayton. The whole romance in this book didn't really feel necessary. Overall though, this book was fast paced and I enjoyed it very much.
September 8, 2018
Started off a bit slow, but once it picked up I really enjoyed this book. The dialect is done well and dialogue is believable. The romance between Sammy and Brayton is believable for the situation. A bit of vigilante justice, a bit of small town life, a bit of backwards superstitious magic... Really a lot of things came together to make this book a solid 4 stars for me.
July 16, 2018
Goodreads giveaway
January 25, 2020
Originally posted at https://bickeringbooks.wordpress.com/...
Summary: Sammy truly loves two things: her family's land and her baby sister, Decca, but when her father disappears both of Sammy's loves are threatened. Sammy and her brother, Denver, must team up to find their missing father to protect their legacy and their family however Sammy is about to be very distracted by Brayton, a wealthy boy who is new to town that makes Sammy feel things that she shouldn't.
Review: I tried to describe this book to someone when they asked what I was reading and the best I could come up with was a cross between Winter's Bone and a slightly smutty teen romance. I stand by that comparison because I think it's fair and it illustrates why I enjoyed this book so much. This is the story of a teen girl trying to protect her family. She is street smart, strong, and just a little sassy. She is also incredibly fun to read about and, honestly, I enjoyed being in her head. Sammy is drawn into a dark mystery of missing people and organized crime which feels on par with most teen mysteries with the twist and turns are well plot but where the mystery ends isn't all that surprising. However, Jarzab makes her novel stand apart from others in this genre through the relationship between Brayton and Sammy. There are tenderness and love that slowly grows in a realistic way. Yes, their interactions are steamy but there is also a gentleness in the depiction of love and sex which was kind of refreshing in a YA book. Jarzab shows all sides of life including the ugly and the pretty, the soft and the hard, and the disappointing and the unexpected which made the book realistic in a way that many YA romance are not. This was my first novel by this author but I plan to revisit her books in the future.
Summary: Sammy truly loves two things: her family's land and her baby sister, Decca, but when her father disappears both of Sammy's loves are threatened. Sammy and her brother, Denver, must team up to find their missing father to protect their legacy and their family however Sammy is about to be very distracted by Brayton, a wealthy boy who is new to town that makes Sammy feel things that she shouldn't.
Review: I tried to describe this book to someone when they asked what I was reading and the best I could come up with was a cross between Winter's Bone and a slightly smutty teen romance. I stand by that comparison because I think it's fair and it illustrates why I enjoyed this book so much. This is the story of a teen girl trying to protect her family. She is street smart, strong, and just a little sassy. She is also incredibly fun to read about and, honestly, I enjoyed being in her head. Sammy is drawn into a dark mystery of missing people and organized crime which feels on par with most teen mysteries with the twist and turns are well plot but where the mystery ends isn't all that surprising. However, Jarzab makes her novel stand apart from others in this genre through the relationship between Brayton and Sammy. There are tenderness and love that slowly grows in a realistic way. Yes, their interactions are steamy but there is also a gentleness in the depiction of love and sex which was kind of refreshing in a YA book. Jarzab shows all sides of life including the ugly and the pretty, the soft and the hard, and the disappointing and the unexpected which made the book realistic in a way that many YA romance are not. This was my first novel by this author but I plan to revisit her books in the future.
July 5, 2017
Sammy has just graduated from high school and doesn't have any prospects for the future. Sammy is fiercely loyal to those in her life, so when rich boy Brayton blows into town, she doesn't know if she can trust an outsider. Sammy is truly tested when her father mysteriously disappears and she fears the worst. Sammy takes the law into her own hands and will find the truth no matter what. Perhaps, Brayton can become the perfect partner.
This book was what I expected from a Harlequin novel. There were many steamy romance scenes, but the characters will appeal to teens and new adults. Overall though, I did enjoy the mystery and can see myself giving this to someone looking for a quick romance novel.
This book was what I expected from a Harlequin novel. There were many steamy romance scenes, but the characters will appeal to teens and new adults. Overall though, I did enjoy the mystery and can see myself giving this to someone looking for a quick romance novel.
January 1, 2018
The engaging mystery in Red Dirt pulled me in quick and kept me reading. But Sammy Lester's search for her father was not the only story line that kept my attention. This story is really about a girl learning to accept who she is, where she comes from, and how she can move forward with her future. Overall, an enjoyable read!
to-read-maybe
February 1, 2017So, based on the synopsis, this is not something I would usually want to read. However I have enjoyed everything I've written by this author, so I will most likely check it out.
October 7, 2017
FTC Disclosure: I received this book free from Goodreads hoping I would review it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews