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Rising Above Shepherdsville
In the tradition of The Higher Power of Lucky and Because of Winn Dixie, a young girl deals with her mother’s suicide in this riveting debut novel that explores love, loss, family, friendship, and redemption.
In the summer of 1977, twelve-year-old Dulcie Louise Dixon arrives on the doorstep of her Aunt Bernie’s farmhouse in Shepherdsville, Ohio, with no voice, a spelling bee trophy, a Webster’s Dictionary, and a box full of ashes. She tries to adjust to her new situation, but can’t forget the words she left behind or the mother she’s lost to suicide.
One day, Dulcie discovers a secret place: a swan’s nest in the woods where at last, her broken world begins to mend. With the help of her surprising new friends—a guitar-playing runaway, a poetry-loving preacher, a one-armed gas station attendant, a singing seamstress, a chained-up hunting dog, and a family of swans—Dulcie is finally able to rise out of her sadness and grief to find her voice once again.
In the summer of 1977, twelve-year-old Dulcie Louise Dixon arrives on the doorstep of her Aunt Bernie’s farmhouse in Shepherdsville, Ohio, with no voice, a spelling bee trophy, a Webster’s Dictionary, and a box full of ashes. She tries to adjust to her new situation, but can’t forget the words she left behind or the mother she’s lost to suicide.
One day, Dulcie discovers a secret place: a swan’s nest in the woods where at last, her broken world begins to mend. With the help of her surprising new friends—a guitar-playing runaway, a poetry-loving preacher, a one-armed gas station attendant, a singing seamstress, a chained-up hunting dog, and a family of swans—Dulcie is finally able to rise out of her sadness and grief to find her voice once again.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 21, 2019
2 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Ann Schoenbohm
1 book7 followersAnn Schoenbohm lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and two children. She holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a BFA in acting from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She currently volunteers with several organizations as a literary tutor and teaches writing in Minneapolis community education programs. Rising Above Shepherdsville is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
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July 25, 2019Until this week I've read two books more than once. A Prayer for Owen Meany and To Kill a Mockingbird. And now I've read Rising Above Shepherdsville twice. I could hear and see and know all the characters in Sheperdsville. And I love them all, except one, and she deserves it. LOVE this book. I'm taking it on a family vacation next week where we will read it aloud. I am confident the 11 year old boy, the 79 year old grandma, and all of us in between will enjoy it.
October 14, 2019
First sentence: There I was, Mama, standing in the tall grass right next to Redeemer Baptist Church, the day after the Fourth of July, when I spied what I would have sworn on a heap of Bibles was an angel rising straight up to heaven.
Premise/plot: Dulcie Louise Dixon stars in Ann Schoenbohm’s coming of age historical novel. (It is set in 1977.) After her mother’s death, Dulcie has lost the ability to speak. Ray, her mother’s steady boyfriend, has tried his best to raise her since her mother’s death. But both are grieving—though in different ways. He’s a trucker. His livelihood depends on him trucking. Someone needs to be there day to day to take care of her. Ray sends her to Aunt Bernie. Dulcie is reluctant for another change. But life in Shepherdsville might just be the absolute best thing for Dulcie...the place where she finds her voice.
My thoughts: I loved this one. I did. Dulcie’s narrative was amazing. I don’t particularly share her interest in swans. But I absolutely loved the sideline with Evangeline and Faith. This one has characters that I loved and championed.
One thing that I absolutely loved was the religious/spiritual aspect of it. The book wasn’t preachy. Christianity is just a major backdrop for the story. While it isn’t at all unusual for middle grade novels to have a strong school setting, a church setting is unique and refreshing. Reverend Love’s patience and empathy is something beautiful. I loved how his relationship with Dulcie developed. (There isn’t a hint of creepiness.)
Premise/plot: Dulcie Louise Dixon stars in Ann Schoenbohm’s coming of age historical novel. (It is set in 1977.) After her mother’s death, Dulcie has lost the ability to speak. Ray, her mother’s steady boyfriend, has tried his best to raise her since her mother’s death. But both are grieving—though in different ways. He’s a trucker. His livelihood depends on him trucking. Someone needs to be there day to day to take care of her. Ray sends her to Aunt Bernie. Dulcie is reluctant for another change. But life in Shepherdsville might just be the absolute best thing for Dulcie...the place where she finds her voice.
My thoughts: I loved this one. I did. Dulcie’s narrative was amazing. I don’t particularly share her interest in swans. But I absolutely loved the sideline with Evangeline and Faith. This one has characters that I loved and championed.
One thing that I absolutely loved was the religious/spiritual aspect of it. The book wasn’t preachy. Christianity is just a major backdrop for the story. While it isn’t at all unusual for middle grade novels to have a strong school setting, a church setting is unique and refreshing. Reverend Love’s patience and empathy is something beautiful. I loved how his relationship with Dulcie developed. (There isn’t a hint of creepiness.)
November 9, 2021
Halfway through the book I gave up. Too busy, not engaging enough, too many little words of wisdom expressed by at the ends of chapters, supposedly by this 12-year-old girl. And the cast of characters: "a guitar-playing runaway, a poetry-loving preacher, a one-armed gas station attendant, a singing seamstress, a chained-up hunting dog, and a family of swans" (from the Amazon.com description), it was all just too earnest for me, with rather stock characters.
That was a month or so ago. I went ahead and finished it yesterday and was glad I did; it got a little more interesting, I definitely felt more engaged with the characters, and it had an affecting (even if completely anticipated) ending.
That was a month or so ago. I went ahead and finished it yesterday and was glad I did; it got a little more interesting, I definitely felt more engaged with the characters, and it had an affecting (even if completely anticipated) ending.
December 12, 2020
I wish I could give a synopsis, but words escape me. This story of a girl who loses her mother and and loses her voice, was cathartic for me. The girl is a spelling champion whose one treasure is a copy of Webster's dictionary. the family has struggled and pinned her whole hopes and willing spelling bees and being accepted to an exclusive school. But when her troubled mother dies, she is sent back to her mother's home town of Shepherdsville, where she befriends a family of swans that live in the pond in the back of her aunt's beloved little baptist church. The young pastor of the tiny church also features prominently in the story.
February 26, 2023
Overall, a sweet and well written tale featuring some familiar tropes. I loved the flowery style and Dulcie's voice, but found the way Christianity/church was portrayed to be a bit stereotypical and buying into a lot of misconceptions. Also, the mother's cause of death was never quite clarified?? There were just a lot of, like I said, threads and tropes I've seen done before and they weren't written in a fresh or interesting way. Just my thoughts!
January 18, 2023
sometimes i feel like i’ve dived too far into reading and i miss the essence of books i read when i was younger,
so i dive back into my simpler roots to revel in a little innocence.
so i dive back into my simpler roots to revel in a little innocence.
January 9, 2025
There are not many books that earn a forever home in my heart. This one did. Such masterful storytelling... the way the author delicately dealt with such a heavy topic... the way she titled the chapters... the characters... their story arcs... and the ending, oh the ending ...did me in!
I found this book at the library as I perused the junior section looking for something to read with my girl. I judged it on nothing but the cover--my little 10yo girl was blonde-haired like this... why not read it to her? I didn't know anything about the story and blindly went into it with her. I realized quickly that this was about some pretty heavy things and I wondered if I was introducing concepts too soon or too heavy for my girl. But the writing was so good, and like I said, it was handled so delicately that I came to trust Ann Schoenbohm and decided to push forward. And I'm glad I did.
I was so choked up for the last couple of chapters that I was having a hard time getting the words out. My girl consoled me sweetly, like I was the child. That's what this book did to me... it broke into my inner child's heart and now it will live there forever.
Even though I checked it out from the library I am purchasing it so that I can have it on my shelf.
I found this book at the library as I perused the junior section looking for something to read with my girl. I judged it on nothing but the cover--my little 10yo girl was blonde-haired like this... why not read it to her? I didn't know anything about the story and blindly went into it with her. I realized quickly that this was about some pretty heavy things and I wondered if I was introducing concepts too soon or too heavy for my girl. But the writing was so good, and like I said, it was handled so delicately that I came to trust Ann Schoenbohm and decided to push forward. And I'm glad I did.
I was so choked up for the last couple of chapters that I was having a hard time getting the words out. My girl consoled me sweetly, like I was the child. That's what this book did to me... it broke into my inner child's heart and now it will live there forever.
Even though I checked it out from the library I am purchasing it so that I can have it on my shelf.
May 14, 2020
Some things are best left unsaid until the time is right to speak.
Dulcie hasn’t spoken since her mother died the day she was gone for a spelling bee. Her father figure, Ray, brings Dulcie to live at her Aunt Bernie’s place, out in Shepherdsville, Ohio. There, Dulcie meets Rev. Love, a runaway named Faith, youth Bible study participants, Evangeline, the new choir director, and, best of all, a family of swans, mute just like her.
The story addresses timeless subjects in the specific context of middle America, 1977. An energy crisis, race inequalities, harsh moralism, and poverty mark the time period. Dulcie’s personal trauma brings the era’s troubles home. The pastoral setting creates a respite in which to tackle woes.
The swans act as a powerful link between the natural environment and abstract ideas. To Dulcie, the regal swans provide a comforting protectiveness of the soul as she struggles with remorse and other adult concepts. Calling to mind an otherworldly presence, they remind Dulcie of her mother, who gives her strength to face foes in the town. The swans imbue the narrative with dignity.
Each chapter is titled by a spelling word. Episode by episode, the words introduce big ticket ideas through experience. Treated one at a time, the individual words point to the delicateness of silence, giving time and space for grief to run its course. Dulcie’s first person narration, addressed to her mother, couches words like forgiveness, metamorphosis, dogma, pilgrimage, and others, in intimacy. Dulcie breaks her silence without breaking her bond with her private memories.
A tender coming of age story set in rural Ohio connects with contemporary audiences through natural beauty and brave characters.
Dulcie hasn’t spoken since her mother died the day she was gone for a spelling bee. Her father figure, Ray, brings Dulcie to live at her Aunt Bernie’s place, out in Shepherdsville, Ohio. There, Dulcie meets Rev. Love, a runaway named Faith, youth Bible study participants, Evangeline, the new choir director, and, best of all, a family of swans, mute just like her.
The story addresses timeless subjects in the specific context of middle America, 1977. An energy crisis, race inequalities, harsh moralism, and poverty mark the time period. Dulcie’s personal trauma brings the era’s troubles home. The pastoral setting creates a respite in which to tackle woes.
The swans act as a powerful link between the natural environment and abstract ideas. To Dulcie, the regal swans provide a comforting protectiveness of the soul as she struggles with remorse and other adult concepts. Calling to mind an otherworldly presence, they remind Dulcie of her mother, who gives her strength to face foes in the town. The swans imbue the narrative with dignity.
Each chapter is titled by a spelling word. Episode by episode, the words introduce big ticket ideas through experience. Treated one at a time, the individual words point to the delicateness of silence, giving time and space for grief to run its course. Dulcie’s first person narration, addressed to her mother, couches words like forgiveness, metamorphosis, dogma, pilgrimage, and others, in intimacy. Dulcie breaks her silence without breaking her bond with her private memories.
A tender coming of age story set in rural Ohio connects with contemporary audiences through natural beauty and brave characters.
November 21, 2019
The author writes well and this is her debut novel. You can tell unusual care was taken to get everything just right, as full of feeling as possible, and aiming for transcendence. But ... depressed mother dies, word-loving protagonist returns to mom's hometown to live with the relative she never knew, Mean Kids and Small Town Narrow-mindedness but also Kind Helpful Adults (including a textbook Magical Negro), a new tough-as-nails friend who deepdown just wants to be loved, secrets, moral dilemmas, running away, Healing... so many Very Familar Tropes, which hardly seems the way to stand out in a crowded crowd. That said, the climactic scene at the end felt fresh and right, and if the author gets another book out, I'd probably give it a look.
March 11, 2020
I really enjoyed reading this book. I randomly picked it off the library shelf. I am reading through books that take place in all the United States, and this one was my pick for Ohio. I find it interesting that there no Shepherdsville, Ohio in real life, but there is one in Kentucky, the state where the preacher came from. I think it was very well written for a debut novel. As a homeschooling mom, I loved the vocabulary word at the beginning of each chapter. I kept forgetting that Dulcie was mute because the author did such a great job of getting her to communicate. I thought the relationships between the characters were authentic. I never felt like I was reading a children’s book. Rising Above Shepherdsville can be appealing to all ages because of its mature style of writing.
March 29, 2024
I read this book for the kids book club at my library. I don't know if I would choose it again for the age group I am teaching (3-6) because it mentions suicide, however it was SO IMPORTANT to have the conversations with them. I love historical fiction- especially ones like this that make me cry. It felt a little choppy with transitions and explaining things throughout the book which is why it is a solid 4 stars. Definitely must read!
January 30, 2019
After twelve year old Dulcie loses her mother and her voice, she doesn't know how to find happiness again. But in her new home in Shepherdsville, she'll find new family, new friends, and a nest of swans that will teach her more than words ever will. This debut will make your heart ache, your cheeks hurt, and eyes water in the beautifully cathartic way.
September 10, 2019
Schoenbohm takes chances in her debut, weaving themes of spirituality and religion into a narrative about runaways and suicide. The story, set in the 1970s, is a superb balancing act, shifting effortlessly between Dulcie’s heartfelt hurt, descriptions of her new environment, and her awe in the presence of swans. -- Booklist
March 31, 2020
I have had a hard time rating this book. If I am rating it for kids to read, which is the target audience, I give it a 3. Personally I would give it a 4. It was a beautiful story that was well crafted. Why a 3? I don't feel like my students would commit to reading and finishing it. I don't feel like they would stay with the story.
June 19, 2024
Middle school age novel. This story is great, but brushes against heavy topics: depression, suicide, abandonment, racism, child abuse, plus some. There is also a religious element to the story. Despite the hard subjects, the story is hopeful and the characters make positive changes and grow in uplifting ways.
February 18, 2020
This book was very heartwarming. Dulcie has to go on a journey of self-discovery in order to recover her voice. The use of faith as the way to seek it is very calming, and the characters all have unique, different personalities that all positively impact Dulcie by the end of the book
August 23, 2023
This book hit me at the perfect time. Last summer I was in and out of the hospital visiting my mom before she passed away. This book put into words a lot of the feelings and things I have been going through in my mourning for her. This book was a comfort and very well written...krb 8/22/23
September 3, 2020
I loved this book. It tore my heart out right away and hung on to it throughout the story. Hooray for perseverance and for seeing the good in all people and learning how to forgive.
September 20, 2025
3.6 stars
i was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as i did; i came in expecting a book that was flat and lifeless, but came out with the impression of something fairly heartfelt!
the characters were the heart and soul of this book. the characters themselves felt fairly real - i hated some and loved others, i felt the emotional moments landed very well and teared up at points in the book. the writing itself is mostly just okay, but i felt that the first person writing of Dulcie addressing her dead mom to be very heartfelt and a tearjerker. the plot was engaging but somewhat stereotypical: girl moves to new place and hates it before finding a home there and falling in love with the place. however, i did enjoy the way the ending went with her choice to move back for her school, moving forward in her life and not just "the thing i wanted all along wasn't truly the thing i wanted!l!" type of trope.
the setting felt a tad flat and a bit plain, and could have used with a bit more life in it. most of what we saw was the church and not much else, which i think this book could have used. speaking of the church, i though it would be a worse setting than it was, but i actually found it tolerable to read as the small town christen gossip was present but thankfully not TOO present, if you know what i mean. i also loved the swans, of course! they were another very enjoyable part of the book, and the ending was actually tense as a result. but the ending also played into the "curing the characters muteness" thing, which i guess made sense at it was from trauma and not meant to be permanent, but i still don't really like that kind of thing. i wish there was a book like this were the main character could just BE mute, and not be magically cured in the climax...
did i enjoy it? -yes!
would i read it again? -probably not
would i have read it knowing what i do after? -yes
i was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as i did; i came in expecting a book that was flat and lifeless, but came out with the impression of something fairly heartfelt!
the characters were the heart and soul of this book. the characters themselves felt fairly real - i hated some and loved others, i felt the emotional moments landed very well and teared up at points in the book. the writing itself is mostly just okay, but i felt that the first person writing of Dulcie addressing her dead mom to be very heartfelt and a tearjerker. the plot was engaging but somewhat stereotypical: girl moves to new place and hates it before finding a home there and falling in love with the place. however, i did enjoy the way the ending went with her choice to move back for her school, moving forward in her life and not just "the thing i wanted all along wasn't truly the thing i wanted!l!" type of trope.
the setting felt a tad flat and a bit plain, and could have used with a bit more life in it. most of what we saw was the church and not much else, which i think this book could have used. speaking of the church, i though it would be a worse setting than it was, but i actually found it tolerable to read as the small town christen gossip was present but thankfully not TOO present, if you know what i mean. i also loved the swans, of course! they were another very enjoyable part of the book, and the ending was actually tense as a result. but the ending also played into the "curing the characters muteness" thing, which i guess made sense at it was from trauma and not meant to be permanent, but i still don't really like that kind of thing. i wish there was a book like this were the main character could just BE mute, and not be magically cured in the climax...
did i enjoy it? -yes!
would i read it again? -probably not
would i have read it knowing what i do after? -yes
July 11, 2019
Beautifully written story about grief, regrets, friendship, and finding love in unlikely places. Share it with a young reader you love!
July 28, 2019
Middle of the road for me. The Ol' Yeller ending was a bit left field imo.
April 17, 2020
So lovely and heartwarming, a cross between Little House on the Prairie and Because of Winn Dixie. Needed this to feel like a child again.
October 11, 2020
I never really did know what Dulcie's mom did... maybe I missed it or maybe it just wasn't mentioned.
October 18, 2020
Tough topics in sensitive fashion intertwined with relationships and nature.
June 25, 2021
3 1/2 stars
June 6, 2025
Amazing
December 18, 2025
Incredible and amazing book! Made my eyes water!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews