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Songbirds and Stray Dogs
In Songbirds and Stray Dogs, Jolene has been abandoned by her addict mother on the steps of her spinster aunt’s door at eight years old. She’s spent the last thirteen years living in the shadow of the pain her mother caused and trying to prove herself worthy of her aunt’s stingy love. Unintentionally she becomes pregnant. When the father refuses her and her aunt kicks her out, Jolene tries to outrun her shame by heading to the mountains. Homeless, penniless, alone, and chased by demons from her past, she makes friends who help and hinder. She is forced to confront exactly who she is, what she wants, and what she is willing to do to get it.
Geography and a sense of place are central to Songbirds and Stray Dogs. It is a Southern story, born of sweet tea and the Bible Belt, chow-chow and cornbread, shot guns and porch rocking. But it is also a universal story of escaping the burden of your past and finding yourself at home in a strange land.
Geography and a sense of place are central to Songbirds and Stray Dogs. It is a Southern story, born of sweet tea and the Bible Belt, chow-chow and cornbread, shot guns and porch rocking. But it is also a universal story of escaping the burden of your past and finding yourself at home in a strange land.
- GenresFiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
26 people are currently reading
1138 people want to read
About the author
Meagan Lucas
7 books105 followersMeagan Lucas is the author of the award-winning novel, Songbirds and Stray Dogs (2019) and the forthcoming collection, Here in the Dark (Shotgun Honey, July 2023). Meagan’s short work can be found in places like Still: The Journal, Bull Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Dark Yonder and Rock and a Hard Place. Meagan is Pushcart, Best of the Net, Derringer, and Canadian Crime Writers’ Award of Excellence nominated; won the 2017 Scythe Prize for Fiction, and Songbirds and Stray Dogs won the 2020 Indie Book Award for Best First Novel and was North Carolina’s selection for the Library of Congress Center for the Book’s 2022 Route 1 Reads program. She teaches Creative Writing at Robert Morris University and in the Great Smokies Writing Program at UNC Asheville, and she is the Editor-in-Chief of Reckon Review. Born and raised on a small island in Northern Ontario, she now calls Western North Carolina home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
January 1, 2020
This was the last book I read in 2019, and what a way to close out the decade!
I tend to mostly read horror, but I'd seen this book strongly recommended by a reviewer I greatly respect, so I grabbed a copy and it jumped up my tbr. It's considered Southern grit lit, and as a Southerner, I couldn't agree more.
For a year or so, my family lived in California. We were homesick for Kentucky, so just after Christmas 2000, my mom and I started the long drive back. The first time we got in range of country cooking, we ate pot roast and mashed potatos and corn bread and cried. That's what reading this book felt like - like coming home to all the things you missed, no matter how screwed up they might be.
The title is apparently from a Pat Conroy novel, which is apt, because Lucas channels all the best part of Conroy while still setting herself clearly apart with a strong narrative voice, well drawn characters you care about, and a story about people doing the best they can, and messing up along the way. It gave me all the feels, and I'll be on the lookout for whatever she writes next.
I tend to mostly read horror, but I'd seen this book strongly recommended by a reviewer I greatly respect, so I grabbed a copy and it jumped up my tbr. It's considered Southern grit lit, and as a Southerner, I couldn't agree more.
For a year or so, my family lived in California. We were homesick for Kentucky, so just after Christmas 2000, my mom and I started the long drive back. The first time we got in range of country cooking, we ate pot roast and mashed potatos and corn bread and cried. That's what reading this book felt like - like coming home to all the things you missed, no matter how screwed up they might be.
The title is apparently from a Pat Conroy novel, which is apt, because Lucas channels all the best part of Conroy while still setting herself clearly apart with a strong narrative voice, well drawn characters you care about, and a story about people doing the best they can, and messing up along the way. It gave me all the feels, and I'll be on the lookout for whatever she writes next.
November 20, 2019
This pulled me in on the first page! The story of a young girl, Jolene who is raised by her aunt when her drug addicted mother drops her off at age eight. Jolene is a loner with no real friends and tries hard to prove her worth to her aunt. When Jolene becomes pregnant her aunt throws her out. With nowhere to go Jolene heads for the mountains where she meets other people, some help her and some don't. This is a heart breaking coming of age story told in true southern grit that will haunt you long after you close the cover. Lyrical and compelling. Lucas is a fresh new voice in southern literature entering with a stunning debut that is hauntingly beautiful.
Dawnny-BookGypsy
Novels N Latte Review
Novels N Latte
Book Club
Hudson Valley NY
Dawnny-BookGypsy
Novels N Latte Review
Novels N Latte
Book Club
Hudson Valley NY
August 18, 2020
Songbirds & Stray Dogs is an astonishing accomplishment in a debut novel and there is no surprise that this book won the ‘Next Generation Indie Book Awards for best novel‘ because it is a scintillating book, one that grips the reader and takes them on an unforgettable encounter, one which you will leave battered, bruised, scarred and broken. The scars reminding you long after reading that you have indeed just been run through the mill and the emotional trauma that Lucas inflicts in abundance on her captive audience.
There is heartache and sorrow, despair, hope, loss, the quest for change and the longing to belong. It’s heart-wrenching and downright masterful stuff and I’m not afraid to say that Lucas moved me to tears on a few occasions, I can’t say that I’ve ever read a book that moved me so emotionally as Songbirds & Stray Dogs – and that my friends is the mark of a masterful storyteller and one that you need to check out, because this book I can honestly say will be up there as a best book of the year contender for me and one that I will continue to shout about for many a year to come!
Huge thanks also to Well Read Beard for this recommendation as I probably wouldn’t have come across it otherwise – give the man a follow here – you won’t regret his insight and might also find some other cool titles to pick up too! But, with that recommendation over with, on with the show as they say…
The story starts with Jolene a young woman who has been abandoned and let down her whole short life. Abandoned at a young age by her mother, left by the father of her unborn child and she’s soon to be abandoned and thrown out in to the cold by her Aunt Rachel the sole person charged with looking after her – her aunt writing her off as a lost cause and damaged goods, fearing that Jolene was turning out just like her mother.
Jolene has known nothing but the shocking pain of abandonment and the aching loss of her adolescence. Of the constant let downs and misplaced trust in her fellow human beings. Jolene is one of those people, that I know you might have seen, the type of person that pain and suffering are attracted to, that no matter what they try to do they can’t break free. Pain always finds its way back however-much she tries to free herself. Each time she thinks she’s on the way to something new she is reunited with pain and abandonment time-and-time again.
Jolene is like a dog that’s beaten by its master a glutton for punishment, she can’t seem to leave this place of despair and if she could, this sadness would most probably follower her and plague her with its suffocating presence wherever she might roam. But Jolene has got a fighters spirit and wants to try, even though she is on the ropes a small coal burns deep within her, pushing her to fight ’till her last breath and somewhere along the line she might find the peace the hope and the belonging that she’s been searching for her whole life.
What I enjoyed about Songbirds & Stray Dogs was the attention Lucas paid to developing her characters, they are what makes this such a powerful story. I don’t think I’ve read a book where I cared so much for the outcomes for the cast of characters within as much as I did with Songbirds & Stray Dogs. I was compelled to read and hope for the main protagonists, and I was also at points despising some of the peripheral secondary characters. One in particular I’d go as much as saying that I wanted to see the bastard bleed at one point (I hated that son-of-a-bitch with such passion – and I don’t use the word hate often, but here it is the only word that works). I love my gritty realism and this book is born out of that stuff, the characters are broken and gritty and for me that’s what makes the story all the more powerful; these broken souls wandering from place to place like ghosts looking for somewhere to finally settle down to haunt to live out their days in peace. The character work that Lucas has been able to achieve here is remarkable for a debut author and I would say is reminiscent of the masterful work of Donald Ray Pollock, Patrick deWitt and the Coen Brothers – what with their believability and depth and their brokenness and gritty realism that Lucas deftly covers her story in.
As the story progresses we are introduced to Chuck, another broken soul and our other main protagonist – I loved Chuck, I loved his aura his way of being, his openness and his hopefulness. But I also loved the darker side to his character, the pieces of his life he is trying to hide and run from, again another broken individual for us to champion. You see Chuck is looking after his sisters son Cash (she is out of the picture – but is also a key driving force for the story later) he’s an older man, thrust into caring for a school aged child, he can’t fathom if what he’s doing is right, but he’s sure doing a better job than his sister Cora would be doing right now. The dynamic between these two is touching and very well rendered, causing the reader to fall under Lucas’ spell at creating rich characters and producing a story that is unforgettable.
What I enjoyed about Lucas’ work is that the book is split into four parts, the first part centres around Jolene and the chapters are significant dates in her life. Then when we are introduced to Chuck in part two, the same dates (significant dates) are rehashed here – showing a sort of link or connection at this early stage between these two protagonists. Then part three is when Jolene and Chuck meet, their lives intersecting and joining, how they mesh with one another in this new place how their lives connect. And the final part is the culmination of the story, how their lives move on from where they are now and the hope for tomorrow.
Megan Lucas is a stunning writer, she held me captive the whole way through Songbirds & Stray Dogs, tossed me here and there, beat me down, gave me hope and then snatched it away (on many an occasion), she singlehandedly made me a blubbering mess and I hate her for that, but I also love her for that too! I would liken Lucas to a cat playing, teasing with an injured bird, she’d hit me and I’d take it, she’d play with me, jabbing and prodding at my thoughts and emotions and in the end she’d just ravaged me and leave me to my wounds, she destroyed me. And I’m grateful at being destroyed by her words.
There are moments in this book that pull at the heartstrings until they unravel like a ball of yarn, there are times of despair and suffocating loss, but I feel the biggest thread running through this book is the quest for wholeness and belonging. Songbirds & Stray Dogs displays a rich tapestry of emotions, ones that when finishing you can’t easily put back in the bottle because Lucas has smashed that bottle to pieces and all you have is the wreckage that is left.
Songbirds & Stray Dogs is not for the weak of heart and is an exceptional piece of storytelling. It’s unlike anything I have read in recent years, an extraordinary, breathtaking encounter that pulls no punches and leaves the reader changed all for the better for having encountered Lucas’ beautiful debut. This is a five star review and one that I will seriously be championing you all to purchase!
Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. So above all else, be kind.
There is heartache and sorrow, despair, hope, loss, the quest for change and the longing to belong. It’s heart-wrenching and downright masterful stuff and I’m not afraid to say that Lucas moved me to tears on a few occasions, I can’t say that I’ve ever read a book that moved me so emotionally as Songbirds & Stray Dogs – and that my friends is the mark of a masterful storyteller and one that you need to check out, because this book I can honestly say will be up there as a best book of the year contender for me and one that I will continue to shout about for many a year to come!
Huge thanks also to Well Read Beard for this recommendation as I probably wouldn’t have come across it otherwise – give the man a follow here – you won’t regret his insight and might also find some other cool titles to pick up too! But, with that recommendation over with, on with the show as they say…
The story starts with Jolene a young woman who has been abandoned and let down her whole short life. Abandoned at a young age by her mother, left by the father of her unborn child and she’s soon to be abandoned and thrown out in to the cold by her Aunt Rachel the sole person charged with looking after her – her aunt writing her off as a lost cause and damaged goods, fearing that Jolene was turning out just like her mother.
Jolene has known nothing but the shocking pain of abandonment and the aching loss of her adolescence. Of the constant let downs and misplaced trust in her fellow human beings. Jolene is one of those people, that I know you might have seen, the type of person that pain and suffering are attracted to, that no matter what they try to do they can’t break free. Pain always finds its way back however-much she tries to free herself. Each time she thinks she’s on the way to something new she is reunited with pain and abandonment time-and-time again.
Jolene is like a dog that’s beaten by its master a glutton for punishment, she can’t seem to leave this place of despair and if she could, this sadness would most probably follower her and plague her with its suffocating presence wherever she might roam. But Jolene has got a fighters spirit and wants to try, even though she is on the ropes a small coal burns deep within her, pushing her to fight ’till her last breath and somewhere along the line she might find the peace the hope and the belonging that she’s been searching for her whole life.
What I enjoyed about Songbirds & Stray Dogs was the attention Lucas paid to developing her characters, they are what makes this such a powerful story. I don’t think I’ve read a book where I cared so much for the outcomes for the cast of characters within as much as I did with Songbirds & Stray Dogs. I was compelled to read and hope for the main protagonists, and I was also at points despising some of the peripheral secondary characters. One in particular I’d go as much as saying that I wanted to see the bastard bleed at one point (I hated that son-of-a-bitch with such passion – and I don’t use the word hate often, but here it is the only word that works). I love my gritty realism and this book is born out of that stuff, the characters are broken and gritty and for me that’s what makes the story all the more powerful; these broken souls wandering from place to place like ghosts looking for somewhere to finally settle down to haunt to live out their days in peace. The character work that Lucas has been able to achieve here is remarkable for a debut author and I would say is reminiscent of the masterful work of Donald Ray Pollock, Patrick deWitt and the Coen Brothers – what with their believability and depth and their brokenness and gritty realism that Lucas deftly covers her story in.
As the story progresses we are introduced to Chuck, another broken soul and our other main protagonist – I loved Chuck, I loved his aura his way of being, his openness and his hopefulness. But I also loved the darker side to his character, the pieces of his life he is trying to hide and run from, again another broken individual for us to champion. You see Chuck is looking after his sisters son Cash (she is out of the picture – but is also a key driving force for the story later) he’s an older man, thrust into caring for a school aged child, he can’t fathom if what he’s doing is right, but he’s sure doing a better job than his sister Cora would be doing right now. The dynamic between these two is touching and very well rendered, causing the reader to fall under Lucas’ spell at creating rich characters and producing a story that is unforgettable.
What I enjoyed about Lucas’ work is that the book is split into four parts, the first part centres around Jolene and the chapters are significant dates in her life. Then when we are introduced to Chuck in part two, the same dates (significant dates) are rehashed here – showing a sort of link or connection at this early stage between these two protagonists. Then part three is when Jolene and Chuck meet, their lives intersecting and joining, how they mesh with one another in this new place how their lives connect. And the final part is the culmination of the story, how their lives move on from where they are now and the hope for tomorrow.
Megan Lucas is a stunning writer, she held me captive the whole way through Songbirds & Stray Dogs, tossed me here and there, beat me down, gave me hope and then snatched it away (on many an occasion), she singlehandedly made me a blubbering mess and I hate her for that, but I also love her for that too! I would liken Lucas to a cat playing, teasing with an injured bird, she’d hit me and I’d take it, she’d play with me, jabbing and prodding at my thoughts and emotions and in the end she’d just ravaged me and leave me to my wounds, she destroyed me. And I’m grateful at being destroyed by her words.
There are moments in this book that pull at the heartstrings until they unravel like a ball of yarn, there are times of despair and suffocating loss, but I feel the biggest thread running through this book is the quest for wholeness and belonging. Songbirds & Stray Dogs displays a rich tapestry of emotions, ones that when finishing you can’t easily put back in the bottle because Lucas has smashed that bottle to pieces and all you have is the wreckage that is left.
Songbirds & Stray Dogs is not for the weak of heart and is an exceptional piece of storytelling. It’s unlike anything I have read in recent years, an extraordinary, breathtaking encounter that pulls no punches and leaves the reader changed all for the better for having encountered Lucas’ beautiful debut. This is a five star review and one that I will seriously be championing you all to purchase!
Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. So above all else, be kind.
May 29, 2020
Just about a week or so after finishing this book it was announced that it won the First Novel Prize at the Indie Book Awards and deservedly so. Meagan Lucas has crafted a beautifully written character driven tale that I think everyone can relate to in one way or another.
Songbirds & Stray Dogs sings of the outcasts, the downtrodden, the down on your luck and things just don't ever seem to go right kind of people. The people who try their best but their best never seems to be quite good enough.
We follow Jolene. A girl who was abandoned by her mother, her baby's daddy, and the most painful of all her aunt Ruth who casts her out when she learns of Jolene's pregnancy. Homeless, pregnant, and with nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Jolene must look deep within herself for the strength to carry on. Eventually she runs across Chuck and his nephew Cash who are dealing with their own troubles.
Full of southern grit, hard people, hard places, and hard times, Songbirds & Stray Dogs weaves a tale of hope and perseverance but as in real life we don't always get a fairy tale ending. I absolutely fell in love with the characters and felt so completely frustrated for them when things didn't break in their favor. There is one character in particular whom I came to loathe. I wanted, no it is stronger than just a want, I needed bad things to happen to this person. I expressed these feelings to Meagan and she replied with a smiley face.
To me this book was all about family. Whether it was the one you were born with or the one you found. They say blood is thicker than water, and yes that's true, but what happens when that blood dries up. What happens when you look down and see the dark scab lined hollow crater in your chest where your heart used to beat. Do you give up and lie down in that ditch on the side of the highway, or are you made of tougher stuff? Do you hold your chin high even though it feels like it weighs a ton and seek to forge bonds of your own. Ironclad bonds that no blood could ever hope to break. That's Jolene's story. That is the story of all those Songbirds & Stray Dogs.
I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/0QJRYRZOBhk
Songbirds & Stray Dogs sings of the outcasts, the downtrodden, the down on your luck and things just don't ever seem to go right kind of people. The people who try their best but their best never seems to be quite good enough.
We follow Jolene. A girl who was abandoned by her mother, her baby's daddy, and the most painful of all her aunt Ruth who casts her out when she learns of Jolene's pregnancy. Homeless, pregnant, and with nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Jolene must look deep within herself for the strength to carry on. Eventually she runs across Chuck and his nephew Cash who are dealing with their own troubles.
Full of southern grit, hard people, hard places, and hard times, Songbirds & Stray Dogs weaves a tale of hope and perseverance but as in real life we don't always get a fairy tale ending. I absolutely fell in love with the characters and felt so completely frustrated for them when things didn't break in their favor. There is one character in particular whom I came to loathe. I wanted, no it is stronger than just a want, I needed bad things to happen to this person. I expressed these feelings to Meagan and she replied with a smiley face.
To me this book was all about family. Whether it was the one you were born with or the one you found. They say blood is thicker than water, and yes that's true, but what happens when that blood dries up. What happens when you look down and see the dark scab lined hollow crater in your chest where your heart used to beat. Do you give up and lie down in that ditch on the side of the highway, or are you made of tougher stuff? Do you hold your chin high even though it feels like it weighs a ton and seek to forge bonds of your own. Ironclad bonds that no blood could ever hope to break. That's Jolene's story. That is the story of all those Songbirds & Stray Dogs.
I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/0QJRYRZOBhk
May 28, 2019
This beautifully written novel is full of characters who will are so real that you feel like they are people you know in your everyday life. You'll laugh and cry with them and keep hoping for a happy life for them. The book is written so beautifully that it's difficult to believe that this is a debut novel for Megan Lucas. I am anxious to read her future books.
The year is 1982 and the location is Beaufort, NC. Jolene is a few years past high school. She has been raised by her spinster church going aunt since she was 5 and her addicted mother left her on her aunt's porch. She doesn't have any friends but she has a secret that is going to upend her life. When her aunt finds out that she's pregnant, she throws her out of the house without money and with no place to go. A dangerous journey takes her to the mountains of NC, where she finds people willing to help her. She meets Chuck who is trying to turn his life around and is struggling to raise his teenage nephew who was abandoned by his sister. Both Jolene and Chuck are lost souls at the edge of society who are trying to make better lives for themselves. Will these two lost people be able to help each other have a better life?
I got pulled into this book on the first page. Jolene was so needy that I just wanted to hug her and steer her away from her bad decisions. I felt a strong connection with her throughout the book and was rooting for her to find some happiness in her life. Chuck was trying so hard to be a good parent to his nephew and make their lives better but they were met with problems from every direction. This is a powerful novel about family - not family by blood but family with people who want to help you succeed and love you no matter what.
This is a powerful and well written novel with characters that I won't soon forget. It will definitely be in my top 10 book list for 2019.
Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
The year is 1982 and the location is Beaufort, NC. Jolene is a few years past high school. She has been raised by her spinster church going aunt since she was 5 and her addicted mother left her on her aunt's porch. She doesn't have any friends but she has a secret that is going to upend her life. When her aunt finds out that she's pregnant, she throws her out of the house without money and with no place to go. A dangerous journey takes her to the mountains of NC, where she finds people willing to help her. She meets Chuck who is trying to turn his life around and is struggling to raise his teenage nephew who was abandoned by his sister. Both Jolene and Chuck are lost souls at the edge of society who are trying to make better lives for themselves. Will these two lost people be able to help each other have a better life?
I got pulled into this book on the first page. Jolene was so needy that I just wanted to hug her and steer her away from her bad decisions. I felt a strong connection with her throughout the book and was rooting for her to find some happiness in her life. Chuck was trying so hard to be a good parent to his nephew and make their lives better but they were met with problems from every direction. This is a powerful novel about family - not family by blood but family with people who want to help you succeed and love you no matter what.
This is a powerful and well written novel with characters that I won't soon forget. It will definitely be in my top 10 book list for 2019.
Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
May 21, 2019
I devoured this book! Halfway through the reading, the wee hours of the night demanded sleep but a restless two hours later I had my advanced reader copy back in hand and did not put it down until the words "THE END" came too soon. Satisfying in every respect, the voracious reader in me yet salivated for a few more pages, a hundred more pages. I simply could not get enough of the perfect harmony of setting, characters, and storyline--realistic people forced into difficult situations with unpredictable outcomes. "Vivid" may be the best single word to sum up this book which is rich with language and description, where every paragraph offers one delicious turn of phrase after another. Poignant observations transform every day into intriguing as the author exhibits an ability to dissect human behavior down to its barest motives. Unable to escape emotional yearning for multiple characters embroiled in tragedy, I found myself both cheering and crying as either misery or triumph unfolded. I look forward to following the arc of success which awaits SONG BIRDS and STRAY DOGS.
May 20, 2019
I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this evocative debut and I was blown away. As an avid fan of Southern fiction, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of this novel and it did not disappoint. Meagan Lucas has written a poignant, powerful tale of family, determination, and redemption, with characters so real they jumped off the pages and into my heart. I had tears in my eyes through much of the book and had a hard time putting it down. If you only read one more book this year, make it this one.
July 28, 2020
I love Southern Lit,it is one of my favorite genres. This book started very strong and went awry about 2/3 of the way in.
I really enjoyed the authors ability to create characters you loved and rooted for. And characters that you wanted dropped into a pit of alligators.
My biggest issue with this book was the lack of resolution for a few characters and situations. I am not sure if there is going to be a sequel but the book was left open ended.
Over all I have the book 3 stars because of the strong characters and I enjoyed the story. I would read more books by this author.
I really enjoyed the authors ability to create characters you loved and rooted for. And characters that you wanted dropped into a pit of alligators.
My biggest issue with this book was the lack of resolution for a few characters and situations. I am not sure if there is going to be a sequel but the book was left open ended.
Over all I have the book 3 stars because of the strong characters and I enjoyed the story. I would read more books by this author.
September 21, 2020
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t plan to read this book. It’s not the genre I usually read. For some reason I kept seeing it pop up in my Amazon suggestions. Then I saw other youtubers I follow do reviews. So I figured I had to check it out to see what all the fuss is about.
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t plan on finishing this book. The main character was not one I felt I could relate to. She’s not the kind of character I usually read. But then I kept reading a little more and more. And that more and more became a lot more until it was finished.
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t plan on loving this book. It’s not the kind of book that would normally keep my attention and make me invest my emotions into. Then I finished it, and thought about it, and thought about it more, and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I realized, I love this book.
Songbirds and Stray Dogs is a dark emotional tale of struggles to survive when the one thing every person should have to rely on, family, has turned its ugly back, leaving you out in the cold, scared and confused.
This is a fine example of early 80’s southern grit overcoming obstacles we may not of known existed. You’ll gasp. You’ll ponder deep thoughts. You may shed a tear or two at times. And in the end, you’ll be exhausted and wanting more at the same time.
Meagan Lucas has painted a picture through words, making us live through the dark period of a number of characters. Jolene, the sad, alone, forgotten, scared but optimistic young lady. Chuck, the over-worked, troubled young man who has been trying to set his life straight while being given a responsibility he never planned on having. And Cash, a young boy who doesn’t fully understand the reasoning behind him being in his current situation.
We learn of the strengths and motivations of these characters by seeing the interaction they have with each of the minor characters. After each encounter with other people, Jolene, Chuck and Cash develop into stronger and determined beings. This is where the books shines. You see the character development right before your eyes.
Although the book is dark and depressing mixed with real life scenarios, one can not disagree there are many undertones where you see a glimmer of hope and sunshine just upon the horizon. But with that said, this is no Hallmark Channel Movie.
This is now one of my top reads of the year. This is proof it’s ok to step out of your safety zone and take a chance on something else. Beauty is found within those chances. This story and book may look like a dull beat up rock lying in a gravel pit, but it’s the sparkle within, fighting to get out, that makes this a gem.
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t plan on finishing this book. The main character was not one I felt I could relate to. She’s not the kind of character I usually read. But then I kept reading a little more and more. And that more and more became a lot more until it was finished.
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t plan on loving this book. It’s not the kind of book that would normally keep my attention and make me invest my emotions into. Then I finished it, and thought about it, and thought about it more, and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I realized, I love this book.
Songbirds and Stray Dogs is a dark emotional tale of struggles to survive when the one thing every person should have to rely on, family, has turned its ugly back, leaving you out in the cold, scared and confused.
This is a fine example of early 80’s southern grit overcoming obstacles we may not of known existed. You’ll gasp. You’ll ponder deep thoughts. You may shed a tear or two at times. And in the end, you’ll be exhausted and wanting more at the same time.
Meagan Lucas has painted a picture through words, making us live through the dark period of a number of characters. Jolene, the sad, alone, forgotten, scared but optimistic young lady. Chuck, the over-worked, troubled young man who has been trying to set his life straight while being given a responsibility he never planned on having. And Cash, a young boy who doesn’t fully understand the reasoning behind him being in his current situation.
We learn of the strengths and motivations of these characters by seeing the interaction they have with each of the minor characters. After each encounter with other people, Jolene, Chuck and Cash develop into stronger and determined beings. This is where the books shines. You see the character development right before your eyes.
Although the book is dark and depressing mixed with real life scenarios, one can not disagree there are many undertones where you see a glimmer of hope and sunshine just upon the horizon. But with that said, this is no Hallmark Channel Movie.
This is now one of my top reads of the year. This is proof it’s ok to step out of your safety zone and take a chance on something else. Beauty is found within those chances. This story and book may look like a dull beat up rock lying in a gravel pit, but it’s the sparkle within, fighting to get out, that makes this a gem.
June 30, 2021
Everything doesn't need to be labeled, but for ease, I'd describe this as literary with a side of noir blackened grits.
Jolene has fallen pregnant and is trying her damnedest to conceal it from her conservative aunt, while Chuck is struggling to bring up his sister's son after she'd run away to fulfil her drug habit. Lucas makes you fall for these characters as they try to make their way in life before finding a silver of hope and salvation in one another.
It's a riveting work that had me glued to the pages and I really only read it over a few days when time allowed. The combination of the characters and plot along with the slick prose make this one helluva read.
Jolene has fallen pregnant and is trying her damnedest to conceal it from her conservative aunt, while Chuck is struggling to bring up his sister's son after she'd run away to fulfil her drug habit. Lucas makes you fall for these characters as they try to make their way in life before finding a silver of hope and salvation in one another.
It's a riveting work that had me glued to the pages and I really only read it over a few days when time allowed. The combination of the characters and plot along with the slick prose make this one helluva read.
November 1, 2021
A lushly-written tale of perseverance and triumph of the spirit. This was an easy five stars for me—highly recommended to anyone interested in modern southern literature.
May 27, 2019
SONG BIRDS and STRAY DOGS
In her debut novel, Song Birds and Stray Dogs, Meagan Lucas gives us characters so real and sympathetic that we know them intimately. Right off, the reader’s heart wrenches for Jolene, a pregnant young woman left at her bible-thumping spinster Aunt Rachel’s doorstep by her drug addict mother.
Lucas wastes no words. In the very first line, we are given a sense of Jolene’s body type and the lowdown of her relationship with her aunt as they’re driving:
“Jolene stared out the passenger window, her hands fisted next to the spread of her thighs, holding apologies in her mouth.”
What better way of show how indebted to her aunt she is made to feel?
Like any strong plot, this one is full of twists and turns, but each occurrence is character-driven instead of tacked on. It feels inevitable that Jolene, longing for love, accidentally gets pregnant by the first guy who gives her attention. The danger, the ante, is up and upped (you won’t be able to put the book down) when suddenly, the focus is a new character, Chuck Hannon. We meet him as he yanks open the door to his nephew’s elementary school in response to a call that his nephew, sixth grader, Cash, has gotten into yet another fight. We find out that Cash, like Jolene, was left by a drug-and-man-addicted mother and rescued from foster care by his mother’s brother, Uncle Chuck. Chuck, although he, like Aunt Rachel, resents his sibling for dumping her responsibilities on him, clearly is more capable of love than his counterpart. But, hold on, Chuck has what you might call “a little problem.” His life is being threatened by a killer.
All the while that you’re reading Chuck and Cash’s terrible predicament, you worry so much over Jolene that you can hardly bear it. Jolene is now homeless, penniless, and in severe danger from an influential and ruthless man after she headed for the hills. How and when is she going to come back on the scene? Answer: when Lucas has done a thorough job of presenting Chuck and Cash’s plight. Lucas never gives a character short shrift.
Hard to talk about such an engaging book without spoilers, but you wonder how the author painted such vivid pictures of some of the dangers her characters were in without having been in them herself. But that is a writer’s gift, particularly this writer. Like Daphne du Maurier, Lucas knows just when and where to cut a chapter for the most suspense and get you to a new one without the reader experiencing what I call “backstory fatigue” or “over-explaining.”
Song Birds and Stray Dogs is a church-going, porch-rocking, gun-toting, chow-chow, and cornbread Southern story. But it’s also a universal one of how you change and grow if you leave the burdens of your past and face the challenges, no matter how risky, to builds a new and unexpected world (both for the character and the reader).
In her debut novel, Song Birds and Stray Dogs, Meagan Lucas gives us characters so real and sympathetic that we know them intimately. Right off, the reader’s heart wrenches for Jolene, a pregnant young woman left at her bible-thumping spinster Aunt Rachel’s doorstep by her drug addict mother.
Lucas wastes no words. In the very first line, we are given a sense of Jolene’s body type and the lowdown of her relationship with her aunt as they’re driving:
“Jolene stared out the passenger window, her hands fisted next to the spread of her thighs, holding apologies in her mouth.”
What better way of show how indebted to her aunt she is made to feel?
Like any strong plot, this one is full of twists and turns, but each occurrence is character-driven instead of tacked on. It feels inevitable that Jolene, longing for love, accidentally gets pregnant by the first guy who gives her attention. The danger, the ante, is up and upped (you won’t be able to put the book down) when suddenly, the focus is a new character, Chuck Hannon. We meet him as he yanks open the door to his nephew’s elementary school in response to a call that his nephew, sixth grader, Cash, has gotten into yet another fight. We find out that Cash, like Jolene, was left by a drug-and-man-addicted mother and rescued from foster care by his mother’s brother, Uncle Chuck. Chuck, although he, like Aunt Rachel, resents his sibling for dumping her responsibilities on him, clearly is more capable of love than his counterpart. But, hold on, Chuck has what you might call “a little problem.” His life is being threatened by a killer.
All the while that you’re reading Chuck and Cash’s terrible predicament, you worry so much over Jolene that you can hardly bear it. Jolene is now homeless, penniless, and in severe danger from an influential and ruthless man after she headed for the hills. How and when is she going to come back on the scene? Answer: when Lucas has done a thorough job of presenting Chuck and Cash’s plight. Lucas never gives a character short shrift.
Hard to talk about such an engaging book without spoilers, but you wonder how the author painted such vivid pictures of some of the dangers her characters were in without having been in them herself. But that is a writer’s gift, particularly this writer. Like Daphne du Maurier, Lucas knows just when and where to cut a chapter for the most suspense and get you to a new one without the reader experiencing what I call “backstory fatigue” or “over-explaining.”
Song Birds and Stray Dogs is a church-going, porch-rocking, gun-toting, chow-chow, and cornbread Southern story. But it’s also a universal one of how you change and grow if you leave the burdens of your past and face the challenges, no matter how risky, to builds a new and unexpected world (both for the character and the reader).
January 7, 2020
Right from the outset, the lush, evocative prose drew me right into the world of the novel. I’ve never been to the US, let alone to North Carolina, where the book is set, but that didn’t matter at all, and as I read I became immersed in the setting, although to call it a setting does not do justice to the rich, real and fully populated world Meagan has conjured up. (I looked up some pictures of Hendersonville after I finished the book and was not surprised to find it looked just as I had pictured). The towns and countryside of Appalachia are perfectly conjured and the sense of place permeates everything – not just the landscape, but the speech, the food – wow, the food! – the music.
The one book I had read recently that Songbirds put me most in mind of was, strangely enough, The Five, by Hallie Rubenhold. This was because the precariousness of life in 1980s North Carolina, as portrayed in Songbirds and Stray Dogs, seems only a little less extreme than that of 1870s London. One mistake, bad decision, accident or simply a turn of fate can throw someone from a safe and happy life into misery. Once down, it might never be possible to get back up again – and even if you can, the life you fell into might not let you stay up. For 21-year-old Jolene, abandoned by her mother as a child, what causes her to fall is an unexpected pregnancy. She is then exposed to the full range of human responses to hardship, from the worst to the best. For Chuck Hannon it’s the local crime boss, and his hold over Chuck’s drug-addicted sister, which drags him back to a world he’d fought to escape from. Chance brings the two together as they struggle with the raw deal life dealt them.
Songbirds and Stray Dogs is beautiful, rich, heartwarming and heartbreaking – often at the same time. It’s gorgeously written and I highly recommend it.
The one book I had read recently that Songbirds put me most in mind of was, strangely enough, The Five, by Hallie Rubenhold. This was because the precariousness of life in 1980s North Carolina, as portrayed in Songbirds and Stray Dogs, seems only a little less extreme than that of 1870s London. One mistake, bad decision, accident or simply a turn of fate can throw someone from a safe and happy life into misery. Once down, it might never be possible to get back up again – and even if you can, the life you fell into might not let you stay up. For 21-year-old Jolene, abandoned by her mother as a child, what causes her to fall is an unexpected pregnancy. She is then exposed to the full range of human responses to hardship, from the worst to the best. For Chuck Hannon it’s the local crime boss, and his hold over Chuck’s drug-addicted sister, which drags him back to a world he’d fought to escape from. Chance brings the two together as they struggle with the raw deal life dealt them.
Songbirds and Stray Dogs is beautiful, rich, heartwarming and heartbreaking – often at the same time. It’s gorgeously written and I highly recommend it.
March 19, 2021
Within the opening pages we learn that the title of this book was taken from a Pat Conroy novel, and as a big fan of "The Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini," this was a pleasant surprise. What followed read like a Conroy novel too. There's love and pain all mixed together, just like real life. Highly recommended.
September 13, 2020
I put off finishing this book until I had the proper time to give it the review it deserved. I had the opportunity to read the first draft but put it off and never finished it. I don't know if it was a mistake or it made me love this book even more because I recognized certain parts of the novel as pieces I had loved in the original manuscript.
This debut novel by Meagan Lucas is one of the best I have read in a long time. I fell in love with the under dog and recognized very easily this could be someone's story, their truth. The story was gritty and left me wanting more.
I highly recommend to anyone looking for a great Southern read to pick this up, it's got something for everyone.
This debut novel by Meagan Lucas is one of the best I have read in a long time. I fell in love with the under dog and recognized very easily this could be someone's story, their truth. The story was gritty and left me wanting more.
I highly recommend to anyone looking for a great Southern read to pick this up, it's got something for everyone.
July 23, 2020
This book had me from the moment I started it and I seriously could not put it down! Jolene's story made me feel so many emotions as hurdles just kept getting thrown her way! I just wanted to jump in the book and try to save her and give her a hug! This girl truly had nobody, when she ends up pregnant and thrown out of her home with her aunt, and she needs to start completely over. With no family she starts a new life in a new town and meets some very kind and some very horrible people that affect her life. You will not want to put this book down and you will race through it to find out what will happen to this poor young girl! An absolutely wonderful debut novel that will tear at the heartstrings.
June 14, 2021
There are a lot of 5 star reviews for this book. The writing is really wonderful. But the story is bleak and a brutal attempted rape scene disturbed even me, and I am a retired prosecutor. I wish there was more about how the characters continue to grow as a family- I felt like it needed one more chapter to tie up loose ends. That said, as you read you become invested in Jolene, Chuck, and the other characters (again, which is why I wished there was a bit more at the end). It is described as "heartwarming" by some reviewers, but I found it difficult to read at times. There aren't many bright spots and the ending was heartbreaking to me as Jolene still faces a difficult road ahead. (SPOILER: Very happy with how Mr. Webb got his comeuppance.)
June 16, 2020
What a lovely, irresistible debut novel. Meagan Lucas crafts such vivid, compelling characters, and this book is a real page-turner, too. I found myself rooting hard for Jolene, Chuck, and Cash, while hoping the bad guys would meet an untimely end. The sense of place is strong here, and the author is a gifted storyteller. I look forward to her next book.
December 27, 2019
Southern lit can be a tricky thing for me. At its best, it's extremely gritty and engaging. At its worst, it's all country-lyrics-come-to-life. So when the book leads off with Jolene, our twenty-one year old protagonist, pregnant with nowhere to go - the baby daddy gone and the auntie who raised her kicking her out - I was prepared to chalk up Meagan's debut as the latter. I just can't stomach a story in which the leading lady is down and out and in need of a man to rescue her sorry ass. And don't get me wrong. That's bascially Jolene in a nutshell... she's dealt one shit hand after another, each one propelling her forward into another bad situation. I mean, this girl can't catch a friggen break. But damn if Meagan can't write. The story pulls you along, and you find yourself quite willing to follow, if for no other reason than to see if your hunches and predictions play out as expected.
A solid debut, all in all. Looking forward to more grit in the next one!
A solid debut, all in all. Looking forward to more grit in the next one!
January 2, 2021
A Stunning Debut
This novel is one of those rare gems that comes along once in a great stretch, even if the miles between are filled with excellent books. The characters are vibrant, the prose lush and engaging, the tale layered with heartbreak and desperation. I had seen this book recommended by reviewers I admire, and it not only landed on my list of all-time favorites, but is one I expect to revisit on a regular basis. Songbirds and Stray Dogs is a stunning debut novel, and I look forward to reading more work from this author in the future.
This novel is one of those rare gems that comes along once in a great stretch, even if the miles between are filled with excellent books. The characters are vibrant, the prose lush and engaging, the tale layered with heartbreak and desperation. I had seen this book recommended by reviewers I admire, and it not only landed on my list of all-time favorites, but is one I expect to revisit on a regular basis. Songbirds and Stray Dogs is a stunning debut novel, and I look forward to reading more work from this author in the future.
May 6, 2021
Review of Songbirds & Stray Dogs (debut novel) by author, Meagan Lucas
Songbirds & Stray Dogs is not your peaches and cream - southern breeze of a story that glides like honey from the hive, it's an atmospheric gem, rich in grit, desperation, hope and strength. A journey that is both heartwarming and heart-breaking beyond measure...
I was pulled into this impressive story immediately as to its true and rooted southern feel, fractured characters, and the harsh realities tied to circumstance and choices that spans the beaches of the Carolina Lowcountry to the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Ms. Lucas has created a tapestry of love and pain in a most unique and unforgettable way that glimmers one minute, and hits you like a lightening bolt the next, as Jolene, and Chuck find themselves balancing their worlds between right and wrong~ their pasts and their futures.
Songbirds & Stray Dogs is a most engaging tale that delivers to the reader layer upon layer of emotion that goes far beyond the beauty of the hills and sweetness of the grass. It also kicks up the dirt as it takes you on a most unexpected path to these characters finding their true selves...
I thank the author for my personal copy of Songbirds & Stray Dogs which I recommend to anyone looking for a story that will be most memorable.
5 Stars
#Songbirds&StrayDogs
#MeaganLucas
#MintHillBooks
#MainSreetRagPublishing
Wild Sage Book Blog
Songbirds & Stray Dogs is not your peaches and cream - southern breeze of a story that glides like honey from the hive, it's an atmospheric gem, rich in grit, desperation, hope and strength. A journey that is both heartwarming and heart-breaking beyond measure...
I was pulled into this impressive story immediately as to its true and rooted southern feel, fractured characters, and the harsh realities tied to circumstance and choices that spans the beaches of the Carolina Lowcountry to the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Ms. Lucas has created a tapestry of love and pain in a most unique and unforgettable way that glimmers one minute, and hits you like a lightening bolt the next, as Jolene, and Chuck find themselves balancing their worlds between right and wrong~ their pasts and their futures.
Songbirds & Stray Dogs is a most engaging tale that delivers to the reader layer upon layer of emotion that goes far beyond the beauty of the hills and sweetness of the grass. It also kicks up the dirt as it takes you on a most unexpected path to these characters finding their true selves...
I thank the author for my personal copy of Songbirds & Stray Dogs which I recommend to anyone looking for a story that will be most memorable.
5 Stars
#Songbirds&StrayDogs
#MeaganLucas
#MintHillBooks
#MainSreetRagPublishing
Wild Sage Book Blog
November 28, 2021
Songbirds and Stray Dogs is a novel of great characters. We're immediately on the side of Jolene. We know that her poorly chosen lover and her shallowly religious aunt are going to reject her long before she knows, and yet we hope and stick with her. And she proves herself worth sticking with from beginning to end.
We're immediately on the side of Chuck as well, who shows up in the second section of the novel. He's in over his head in all kinds of ways--his past, his family, etc. But in spite of his past and present troubles with Jackson and his henchmen, he's a good man--a very well drawn character. He's subject to more than his share of violence, at the hands of wicked men and lost or near-lost women.
Surrounding these two--from the opening pages to the closing--are the good, the bad, and the ugly: the people of Beaufort, Aunt Rachel, lawyer Webb, Ruby, Jackson, Roy, that really big guy, Joe, the good police sergeant, the bad deputy, Dottie, Cora, Lulu, Cash, and others.
Meagan Lucas's Songbirds and Stray Dogs tells an energetic and affecting story, from its opening secret to its final conflagration.
We're immediately on the side of Chuck as well, who shows up in the second section of the novel. He's in over his head in all kinds of ways--his past, his family, etc. But in spite of his past and present troubles with Jackson and his henchmen, he's a good man--a very well drawn character. He's subject to more than his share of violence, at the hands of wicked men and lost or near-lost women.
Surrounding these two--from the opening pages to the closing--are the good, the bad, and the ugly: the people of Beaufort, Aunt Rachel, lawyer Webb, Ruby, Jackson, Roy, that really big guy, Joe, the good police sergeant, the bad deputy, Dottie, Cora, Lulu, Cash, and others.
Meagan Lucas's Songbirds and Stray Dogs tells an energetic and affecting story, from its opening secret to its final conflagration.
February 10, 2021
Jolene is a newly knocked-up 21 year old who fights tooth-and-nail to keep her pregnancy under wraps. When her body betrays her secret, she is cast out to make it on her own with no place to call home.
This read knocked me out. Flat out levelled me. I regularly read horror and dark fiction, but this is a tale of true horror. The ugly in everyday people. The dreary forecast of those destined for a life in the dirt. The beauty in small hope and resiliency. Every ragged emotion was pulled out and left bare.
Meagan Lucas is in a class of her own. She builds real people, real situations, and real outcomes. Her handle of prose left me awestruck. From the very first page I cared deeply about Jolene, and knew this was not a story about sunshine and rainbows. I made connections with characters with ease and believed every action they took as testament. I will read everything this author writes now.
This read knocked me out. Flat out levelled me. I regularly read horror and dark fiction, but this is a tale of true horror. The ugly in everyday people. The dreary forecast of those destined for a life in the dirt. The beauty in small hope and resiliency. Every ragged emotion was pulled out and left bare.
Meagan Lucas is in a class of her own. She builds real people, real situations, and real outcomes. Her handle of prose left me awestruck. From the very first page I cared deeply about Jolene, and knew this was not a story about sunshine and rainbows. I made connections with characters with ease and believed every action they took as testament. I will read everything this author writes now.
March 21, 2021
Although Songbirds and Stray Dogs doesn’t fall into a genre I typically read (I’m not even sure what genre it is, exactly – Appalachian Lit maybe?) it’s a fantastic novel that was hard to put down. Lucas strikes the perfect balance between description and dialogue (for me anyway), which keeps the plot moving at a decent clip.
My only real quibble with the book was that some of the references weren’t historically accurate. One example that jumped out was the main character talking about going to see Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1982. Jedi didn’t release in Theatres until May, 1983. There were a few others, and while they pulled me out of the narrative briefly, it didn’t happen often enough to take away from the story.
Dark and brutal, Songbirds and Stray Dogs has the trappings of a good horror novel, yet it remains firmly entrenched in more traditional literary fiction. Regardless of what you normally read, this is one you shouldn’t miss.
My only real quibble with the book was that some of the references weren’t historically accurate. One example that jumped out was the main character talking about going to see Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1982. Jedi didn’t release in Theatres until May, 1983. There were a few others, and while they pulled me out of the narrative briefly, it didn’t happen often enough to take away from the story.
Dark and brutal, Songbirds and Stray Dogs has the trappings of a good horror novel, yet it remains firmly entrenched in more traditional literary fiction. Regardless of what you normally read, this is one you shouldn’t miss.
April 27, 2021
Powerful story and unforgettable characters told in a gritty realism that is reminiscent of Dorothy Allison at her finest. Readers will cheer for Jolene as she struggles to make her way in a world that has put one obstacle after another in front of her and continue to hold her close long after the ending, which is the mark of a good book and a gifted storyteller. Read the novel then check out this talented new voice of Southern lit on the Charlotte Readers Podcast: https://digitalbranch.cmlibrary.org/c....
January 13, 2021
Songbirds & Stray Dogs - Debut Novel (WOW!)
A story built on strength and realistic characters. Families are created in many ways. This is a tale of how one family came to be, regardless of decades of hurt, deception, & death.
Highly recommend!
A story built on strength and realistic characters. Families are created in many ways. This is a tale of how one family came to be, regardless of decades of hurt, deception, & death.
Highly recommend!
July 22, 2020
Songbirds and Stray Dogs grabs you from the first word to the last. The characters feel like friends you've always known. This author is a master at her craft and I can't wait to read her next work.
July 11, 2021
Review to come
August 2, 2020
I'm not ashamed to say I got weepy twice reading this novel. It's great gritty Southern lit.
July 21, 2020
In the beginning I found this book a little hard to get into only because I was sitting at hospital with my boyfriend and I would read a page then put the book down. Finally after a few chapters in, I got totally involved in reading this amazing book. It pulls at alot of my emotions, and I loved the strength that Jolene showed in this story. It was a gritty protrayal of life when being pregnant before marriage was extremely frown upon. I would recommend this book to others. I received a copy of this book as a gift, and all opinions expressed here are my own.
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