Lord of the Mountain

by Ronald Kidd

Nate’s family has a secret, and it’s wrapped up in a song. The problem is, his preacher father hates music, and when he catches Nate hanging around downtown Bristol with musicians like Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, he comes down hard on him. So Nate sets out in search of himself and the song he thinks will heal his family. Set during the “big bang” of country music in the late 1920s, Nate’s journey of self-discovery parallels that of a region finding its voice for the first time.

Genres: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Mystery, Music

296 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2018

About the author

Ronald Kidd is the author of thirteen novels for young readers, including the highly acclaimed “Night on Fire” and “Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial.” His novels of adventure, comedy, mystery, and American history have received the Children's Choice Award, an Edgar Award nomination, and honors from the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library. He is a two-time O'Neill playwright who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family, faith and a boy's love of science intersect in this story about thirteen year-old Nate who is growing up in 1927 Bristol, Tennesse. Nate is fascinated by all the technological advances of the day; cars, radios and vinyl records. But at home his fanatical father wants him to have nothing to do with science or music and to put his trust in the Lord.
3.5 to 4 stars. The reason I raised this to 4 stars is because Kidd is a great storyteller and his telling of this story about a family in crisis is moving. In my opinion, this is the kind of book that receives National Book Award nominations. The challenge will be selling this book to kids who may simply see this as a story set in a bygone era.

[Keith Pruitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of country music is near and dear to my heart. I've stood at the grave of Mother Maybell Carter and of Pop Stoneman. I've been to Bristol where the music was birthed. But rarely have I seen an author blend together in historical fiction a telling of the tale for young people that helps them understand where the music came from. Those wonderful mountain people are recreated in this Ronald Kidd book Lord of the Mountain. It is a book that tells the tortured story of Nate Owens and his deeply religious and strange family. You see his father is hiding secrets, is a preacher, and believes that music is of the Devil. But Nate hears his mother singing a song Lord of the Mountain, and it peeks his curiosity to find out where the song and the feelings come from. The actions of the family seem to all center around the mysterious Sister who died at age 6 of typhoid fever when Nate was but two. Headed on a collision course, Wilver (the father) and Nate finally come to a showdown after his younger brother is bitten by a rattlesnake the preacher has been hiding in his shed. But under the tent, the younger brother is convinced he can handle Beelzebub. When he nearly dies, the older brother Nate decides he has had enough. He too has a secret. He loves science. He loves Sue. He loves the cabin they found in the mountain. And he loves MUSIC. See how the Carter family story interweaves in this riveting story of despair turned to hope.

[Virginia McGee Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Start with an Appalachian story, set it in the late 1920s, add a preacher who pitches a tent and starts his own church called The Church of Consecrated Heaven and Satan’s on the Run. Begin the prologue with, “For a long time, I thought it was a dream. A melody curled through the night, like a white ribbon on black.” There’s a significant chance of a good book in store in Lord of the Mountain by Ronald Kidd.

Nate, the preacher’s son with a strong personal draw to music, tries to make sense of his father’s adamant rejection of all music as the devil’s work. Family relationships figure into the complexity with an undiscussed dead sister, a younger brother who buys everything the father is selling, and a partial song that Nate catches his mother singing. His father’s emotional services occur on Saturday nights because he says it is the Sabbath and a chance to go toe-to-toe with the devil. They draw a large crowd with money for offerings that support the family for a while. When the novelty wears thin, his father introduces the snake.

Nate is first enticed by overheard country radio music from WSM Barn Dance before he makes his escape into downtown Bristol where he encounters new decisions and pulls in different directions. Lending a helping hand to the arrival of the Carter family of country music fame, mechanical ability that can help Archibald Lane brought in to whip the Bristol Door and Lumber Company into shape, and a hard choice to choose friendship between the Archibald’s son Gray and Sue Dean, the daughter of the union leader, leave him in a quandary – or several quandaries.

Nate leaves the community to find the rest of the song he heard from his mother, thinking it will someway bring healing to his family. The history and color of the region in that time is skillfully woven into Nate’s story with struggles, true to life for the time and place, but unbearable to consider the true-to-life dangers he faces as a very young teenager.

I read this book in an advance reading copy from Net Galley and have been waiting for publishing time to post this blog. It will be available September 1. The story has as many interesting turns as the mountain roads where it is set. Plan to start it when you don’t need to be busy for a little while.

[Debbie Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a historical fiction piece set in rural NC and TN in the 1920s. Nate lives with his parents and his younger brother Arnie. Nate's dad is a preacher, preaching hellfire and damnation in a tent out in their yard but the church has no music, as Nate's dad believes that music is the work of the devil. The mystery is why. Nate ends up finding joy in music, in their small town of Bristol, TN, some of the first music producers come to town to record local music and the Carter family shows up. This is kind of a rambling story and I'm not sure the kids would be interested enough to stay with it. I really liked looking up the musical performers and listening to their music online.

[Lee Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is quite interesting because it combines different subjects of school into it. There is a part of the book where a man that is in charge of the machines used to make records explain how the machine works to the main character Nate. It also adds a history to it which makes it a historical fiction because this book is not based off of a real story. However if you believe in Christianity, this book will frustrate you because the main character's dad is a pastor who makes sermons that is not biblical. Otherwise it was a fun and sometimes a sad book to read.

[Eileen Winfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars to this coming of age novel. As Nate struggles to get beyond the stifling influence of his pastor father’s extremism, he finds solace and friendship through country music (and Popular Mechanics magazine) during the industry’s earliest days. Touching and (for an adult familiar with the Carter Family’s music) sentimental, but speaking to the human struggle: “I wanted to do things, but I didn’t know what.”

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

The thing with writing historical fiction for a middle grade audience is that the pacing has to be there and the plot has to be attention grabbing. The idea of Lord of the Mountain was interesting enough, but the end result was sometimes mind-numbingly dull. I know that a lot of my students will struggle to finish this one.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and easy read about a young man who is on a different path than his parents, especially his father. However, it may turn out to be a pretty similar path. Great introduction to the singing Carter family. I enjoyed it.

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the birth of country music as his backdrop, a boy searches for music's place in his troubled family.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're always on the lookout for books that incorporate music or musical instruments, or that tell stories centered around music. This was a great read from a time period and place that doesn't get much attention in children's literature -- 1920s Appalachia, when country music first began to be collected, shaped and recorded.

Nate grows up in his preacher father's outdoor church tent, where music and science are banned as Satan's great evils. But when the Victor recording company comes to town, looking for singers and instrument players who know the old songs, he's drawn like a bug to a lamp.

After a few magical moments hearing the Carters perform, and watching how the equally magical equipment records their heavenly sounds, how can he ever go back to his father's tent?

Then the Great Depression strikes and he leaves home and rides the rails. While pursuing a few lines he once overheard his mother sing in the kitchen, he discovers the painful reason why his father exorcised music from their lives.

An excellent read!

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