Heebie-Jeebie Girl

by Susan Petrone

Youngstown, Ohio, 1977. Between the closing of the city's largest steel mill and the worst blizzard in more than 40 years, the table is set for remarkable change. Unemployed steel worker Bobby Wayland is trying hard to help his family and still pay for his wedding, but the only solution he can think of involves breaking the law. On the other side of town, a little girl named Hope is keeping a big secret, one she won't even share with her Great Uncle Joe―she can make things move without touching them. Watching over both of them is the city herself, and she has something to say and something to do about all of this.

The Heebie-Jeebie Girl is the story of an era ending and the uncertainty that awakens. It's the story of what happens when the unconscionable meets the improbable. It's the story of dreams deferred, dreams devoured, and dreams dawning. It is likely to be the most distinctive novel you read this year, but it will startle you with its familiarity. Author Susan Petrone has created an unforgettable tale of family, redemption, and magic.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Magical Realism, Adult

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2020

Reviews

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was set in Youngstown, Ohio, 1977. The book was divided into three sections each telling a story from a different point of view and an omniscient voice from Youngstown herself sprinkled throughout the story. There was the young gifted child named Hope, an old man Joe who was Hope’s Great Uncle, and a reluctant villain named Bobby, whose lives intersect in an unfortunate event.

The story’s backdrop was the struggling town, where the largest steel mill was closing and thousands of people were put out of work, and life became full of uncertainty. The story was about these people’s simple lives as it gets disrupted by an unconscionable decision. Petrone’s writing beautifully and impeccably captured the characters’ desperation and guilt. I recommend this book for a gut wrenching but also a heartwarming read.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the good fortune to get my hands on an advanced reading copy of this book set in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1977. Full disclosure: the author is my sister so, not only did I recognize many of the references to actual places in Youngstown, I recognized a whole lot more. Though fiction, as Susan says, “Every word of this is true, except the parts I made up. “ The characters are so engaging and believable and I find myself thinking about the ending again and again. There is a good reason why prominent authors like Mary Doria Russell, D.M. Pulley and Stuart O'Nan are recommending it. The Heebie-Jeebie Girl is an ode to the city of my birth and sprinkled in with the gritty soot of a dying steel town is a hopeful handful of pixie dust. I love this book.

[D.M. Pulley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of unfortunate events weave together the complex and beautifully-rendered lives of an old man, a young girl, and a reluctant villain in this heartfelt page-turner set in 1977 Ohio. Petrone deftly blends suspense, fantasy, and family turmoil to paint an unflinching portrait of America's Rust Belt at its tipping point. If a city like Youngstown could talk, this is the story it might tell. I couldn't put it down!

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one of those times when I wish we had half stars for our ratings. This is a 3,5, but I'm just gonna round it down to a 3.

Even though it took me a bit (up until the 25% mark) to get into this book, when it happened I forgot I was even reading a book that was bound to end at some point, and I was shocked to see that I was already at 70%, deeply invested in the characters. The book is a modest 192 pages, but it feels even shorter than that, the pages just flew by at one point.

I loved, and let me say that again, L O V E D that Youngstown was a character with actual lines in this, and those lines were not only snarky and hilarious, but also provided some context or background info that we wouldn't be getting otherwise. The comedic timing of those bits was unbelievable, and the decision to include Youngstown as a character was ingenious. 10/10.

So, if I was invested in the characters, the writing was great enough for that to happen, and I generally enjoyed my time with this book, why does it get a measly 3,5 from me? Honestly, I'm not sure why. Probably because I wish it were longer so it'd leave a bigger impression on me (basically: I wish I could have spent more time with those characters), and I didn't much care for the climax when Hope confronts Billy, the entire "holes on the road" bit . I also think it may have been a bit forgettable (but only time will tell for sure)

**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own.**

[Miesha Wilson Headen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grandma Dolores died after thieves stole $10,000 from her house and pushed her down the steps. Her brother Joe and granddaughter Hope, the titular Heebie-Jeebie Girl, an eight year old blessed by the Virgin Mary with magical powers to move objects from Powerball numbers to concrete, set out on a journey into the industrial wasteland of Youngstown to track down the criminals. Overseeing their quest is the personification of Youngstown, an old woman mocked and derided yet full of pride and love. The Heebie-Jeebie Girl is a novel of masterful storytelling that kept me turning pages until justice was served.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know that this could be called uplifting but it's certainly hopeful. This is really well written and worked for me, with all of the right elements for a good read. A simple, but elegantly told plot with well crafted characters with unpredictable aspects that helped keep me engaged. Recommended.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

[Cassie’s Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a well written and hopeful book. Set in 1970s in Youngstown Ohio the steel industry has closed, you can feel the grittiness by the first page and the author immediately draws you into the characters lives. The “heebie jeebie girl” or Hope has the ability to move things with her mind and choose the winning lottery numbers which helps her family during the uncertain times that have fallen on the town she’s only eight years old!. It draws some unwanted attention.Hopes Uncle Joe isn’t comfortable with the family using her like that. When things take a turn for the worse and a robbery results in Grandma Delores dying and $10,000 stolen, Hope is determined to find the culprits with or without the help from the adults. Soon your taken on an adventure with a dash of magic with her family and others in the town, from a first communion, holidays and even the great blizzard of January 1978. I truly enjoyed the back story of some of the residents and the two narrators Hope and Uncle Joe and their interactions and relationship. With magic and hard times the lives of Hope, Uncle Joe and a thief are intertwined. You get a story of love, Family and forgiveness. Four Stars.

[Heather~ Nature.books.and.coffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The story takes place in Youngstown Ohio in 1977, and the city Itself actually tells parts of the story throughout the book which was really unique! The largest steel mill has closed, and everyone is out of work. Hope is a gifted 2nd grader, and has the ability to pick the winning lottery numbers. She may give some people the "Heebie Jeebies" but she is a girl full of magic! Hopes grandmother dies during a robbery where $10,000. is stolen. Hope sets out to find out who did this, with help from some family, and others in the town. I really enjoyed the characters In this book. They really made this story so appealing. This story had a fantasy to it and I wasn't expecting that, but it worked. A story of a family coming together and their love for one another. I did really love this book. I definitely want to check out more stories by this author. Highly recommend it!

[Ellen Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who grew up in Youngstown and still loves it... A must read! I read it in 2 days and it left me smiling.

[Jan Finkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all of Susan Petrone's novels, and this is her best. She employs several voices to tell her thoroughly absorbing story. Particularly impressive to me is how she makes Youngstown a character in the novel. I don't want to say any more for fear of saying too much. The Heebie-Jeebie Girl is a winner by an outstanding writer.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will admit a bias because the author is a friend of mine. That being said, I generally don’t read fiction, but I read Susan’s books. The characters are interesting and she has a way of making the supernatural seem, well, natural.

[Karen Heenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book

How can a story be utterly charming without being cloying? I don't know how Susan Petrone managed it, but she did. Its a quiet story, for all that happens, and, as should happen in every book, the location - here, Youngstown, Ohio - gets to speak its piece.

[J Pippen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and nostalgic

This book brought back so many memories for me. I grew up in the midwest with Catholic school, the close knit blue collar family. It hit all the right notes. I loved it.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I am a huge fan of Petrone's earlier novel Throw Like a Woman, this book is the one that hits it out of the park.
The novel, set in 1970s Youngstown, Ohio, during the fall of the steel industry, pulls you into this gritty city and into the lives of its inhabitants from the very first page. The book's "heebie-jeebie girl," Hope, has an uncanny ability to choose the winning lottery numbers, providing her family some welcome relief during very uncertain times. But her uncle Joe doesn't quite know what to think of his relatives "using" Hope this way. And recently-unemployed Bobby doesn't even know Hope... but he has found out where he can get some easy money so he can finally marry his sweetheart Denise...
Petrone's characters are well-drawn, regular-Joe folks who are so much like so many people we know, and Youngstown is a character like no other. Pick up The Heebie-Jeebie Girl and explore a small slice of life in a time that most of us have forgotten and some of us never knew existed. You'll thoroughly enjoy the journey and the people you meet.

[Kevin Urbanek · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Heebie-Jeebie Girl” by Susan Petrone is a story about the city and people of Youngstown centered around the aftereffects of Black Monday, September 19, 1977, when the sudden closure of Youngstown Sheet & Tube threw 5000 people out of work. It is filled with fully realized characters and descriptions that take the reader back to the time and place of Northeast Ohio at the beginning of the “Rust Belt”.
There are three main consecutive first person narrators interspersed with witty, observant commentary from the living city of Youngstown: Joe (Hope’s great uncle), then Bobby (a victim of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube closure), and finally 2nd grader Hope (the magical Heebie-Jeebie girl herself). The story begins as we find Hope appears to have great luck picking daily lotto numbers. Things take a turn after a robbery results in a grave injury. From then on, Hope takes it upon herself to find the culprits whether she has help from adults or not. We spend time with her and her family (and others) as they experience holidays, First Confession, First Communion, and the great blizzard of late January 1978. Come for the story, stay for the characters. This is a great, engaging read.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up after I heard that the city of Youngstown has a voice in this story. It was an interesting idea. Youngstown mostly chimed in to 1. Tell it’s point of view as now historical events unfolded. 2. Clarify the character’s situation. As most of us, each character saw life and his/her situation through the lens of experience. It can also be said sometimes Youngstown called out the denial and or BS the character was spouting, like a family member might do to us.

As this story was set in a dying mid-west steel town of the 70’s, and I was born in the early 60’s, it was history refresher on the times of that era. I was also reminded of my youth.

The characters were interesting. I loved the pluck and spunk of the little girl. As she try’s to grasp the world around her, and the lives of those in her small world, she becomes very endearing. She lives through milestones of her age and circumstances. She’s a smart gal and very determined; not yet old enough to just accept life and keep moving forward, she wants understanding and accountability.

I won’t speak to the other characters as I don’t want to provide any spoilers.

It’s an easy read and a good story.

[Barbara Turk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is dedicated to Youngstown, Ohio. Youngstown is both the setting and an off-stage commentator throughout the story, adding wry asides about the people and the place. The story features grandmother-love, a first communion dress, the closing of a steel mill, a couple of bars, birds a laid-off worker named Bobby, an Uncle you'll wish you'd had, and it centers on Hope. Hope is a seven year old girl with the gift of magic. Youngstown is a little hard on my home town Cleveland in the book, but the details of the story brought back all kinds of memories of that time and place (1977-78), when Dennis Kucinich tried and failed in his bid to buy the power plant and turn it into a public utility and "Rust Belt" entered our vocabularies. I loved the story and the storytelling, enough to want to read this author again.

[Jennifer Miroglotta · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone who was born in Youngstown, raised there until I was four, and visited there for many years thereafter to see relatives both in Smokey Hollow and Brier Hill, two areas specifically discussed in the book, The Heebie-Jeebie Girl brought back some vivid memories of a place very dear to my heart, and the book is a fitting tribute to the people who made the city what it was and continues to be. Furthermore, the city of Youngstown herself emerged as one of the narrators in the novel, offering commentary, slightly harsh at times, and backstory on some of her residents. The technique worked well. I especially enjoyed two of the narrators, Uncle Joe and Hope, whose characters and interactions with each other were an engaging and delightful combination. The city, the people, and of course a little bit of magic, combined to make this a memorable and worthwhile read, which I highly recommend.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heebie-Jeebie girl takes place in Youngstown, Ohio 1977. It’s an end of an era for this small factory town. Hope is a young girl who’s family has lived in Youngstown for generations. Hope has a secret that leads to her family crossing paths with a man named Bobby who has recently loss this job with the factory closure and a man with a few dollars to his name. This book gives you a perspective from both lives which is eye opening. It also gives you thoughts from the town itself. It tells the story of how our lives intertwine and how the choices we make effect more than just ourselves.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to like in this tale set in Youngstown, Ohio in 1977-78. The story is told in the voice of three people and one city (yes, the voice of Youngstown is heard throughout the book). Unfortunate circumstances surrounding the closing of a factory that once employed 5000 people lead to a crime and the reader is left with a lot to think about. I think this would be an excellent book for a discussion group.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is INCREDIBLE!!! The story is woven together so intricately you feel as though you’re in Youngstown, Ohio with Hope and her family. I especially loved the reader having to find out who the third narrator is on their own. I’m definitely going to check out this authors other books. This book would make an amazing TV series or movie. Easy 5 stars for me!!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story. I enjoyed that it was set in Youngstown, which is near me and I recognized some of the locations. It ended in a sudden way and I was curious to find out more, but somehow the ending also seemed right. Life goes on.
I would recommend this book for a quick and easy read.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read, gritty but full of hope. Could not predict what was going to happen next. Really enjoyed it.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever been sad when a book ends? Well that how I felt. Growing up in Youngstown has given me great memories and this book revives those memories. I absolutely love this book.

[Virginia Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heebie-Jeebie Girl is a really fun, smart read. I read through it much faster than I usually read novels; it was so good I didn't want to put it down. And hurray for the city of Youngstown, Ohio, for getting such a heart-warming showing. Susan Petrone has written a novel you don't want to miss!

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up in a small town not too far from Youngstown, I knew this was a book I needed to read. Youngstown is “home.” It is familiar. And, quite frankly, nothing is ever set in Youngstown because it’s a small city compared to places like Chicago, Miami, or New York City. Youngstown is often overlooked, forgotten, or unheard of.

Between the worst blizzard in 40 years and the steel mills closing, laying off hundreds-maybe thousands-of workers, Youngstown and her people are hopeful yet desperate for a change, and for things to start looking up again.

Hope, an 8-year-old girl with powers to pull the winning lottery numbers, is trying to figure out who broke into her grandmother’s house and stole her winnings. Bobby Wayland, a man who was laid off from the steel mill but trying to find a way to still pay for his wedding, is desperate and all he can come up with to get the money he needs is to break the law and break into the house of the little old woman he saw cashing in her lottery tickets. He pretends to be a worker for the water department, and with a friend in tow, weasel their way into Delores’s house and steal about $10,000. Unfortunately, while breaking into her house, Bobby bumps into Delores on the steps and knocks her down, breaking her hip. She is then hospitalized and ultimately dies while trying to recover. Devastated, Hope sets out with her Uncle Joe to try and find the men who hurt and robbed her grandmother.

This story is maybe a little more fantasy than I had expected, and more fantasy than I like to read, but for this story, it worked. The city of Youngstown was personified, watching and listening to her people, telling the reader some of the back story of the characters, the steel mills, the history. I was glad to see that Youngstown is not just some little city in Ohio, but it’s a place where people live, and work, and a place that people love.

The only thing I did not enjoy about this book-and maybe this is petty- but the number of places, street names, landmarks, etc. that seemed to just be placed haphazardly into the story. Yes, these places are real, and they are a piece of Youngstown. And maybe the point was to make sure the reader is certain that this story is set in Youngstown instead of any other city of a similar size. I can appreciate the fact that the city is being given the credit that the author felt was due, but it just seemed a little too much for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and following Hope on her journey to find the man that did her grandmother wrong. The city personification was unique and refreshing, and it added a little extra element to the story.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one for me and I would never have heard of it except that I received an email from Lou Aronica telling me of a novel called "Impacted" which sounded like a novel I would like and then received another email from The Story Plant telling me of their book club called "Beyond The Book Club" and named the books this month. "Impacted" was one of them but did not get picked but all three of them intrigued me. They sound just quirky enough to be ones I would enjoy so I joined and this was the one they picked. You have to be open to novels that aren't just the run-of-the-mill novels that we have read SO MANY OF if you are a voracious reader. It is difficult to find too many that are different.
I loved this book for a number of reasons, one of which is that one of the characters is an 8 year old little girl and I have been finding that I'm liking books that feature young girls who are innocent but are usually old beyond their years and say so many wonderful things. Another reason I enjoyed this one the that the town of Youngstown, Ohio in 1977 is a character and speaks off stage and reminded me of Death in "The Book Thief", a favorite of mine. I was a little anxious as the story was ending; afraid I was going to be disappointed but I wasn't.
There are other reviews on here that explain more of what the novel is about so I'm not going into that.

[Emily Rodgers-Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because it was Mary Doria Russell's favorite book of the year. I enjoyed the characters, especially the city itself; I enjoyed the Catholic culture I grew up in, and the magical realism.

[Claudette Dunk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. I see I'm very much in the minority here, but I did not enjoy this novel. To some degree, this was because magical realism isn't my thing and one of the main characters had magical abilities. And though the characters were very well drawn and likeable, the author chose to make the setting itself (Pittsburgh) one of the characters and to insert that character's "thoughts" fairly frequently, interrupting the narrative in a way that had me pulling my hair out. There were many subjects floating around this novel: the nature of sin, the impact of economic collapse, the importance of family, the comforts of religion, the difference between solving a mystery and righting a wrong, the mitigating circumstances to consider when judging another human being. All of these topics are interesting but, somehow, they did not coalesce in this novel, which could have been so much better than it was.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's weird reading about happenings that are a 10-15 min drive from me.

I love that Youngstown itself was a character in this book- a snarky and sarcastic one- that gives tidbits of background sprinkled throughout the story. It took a bit for me to get into it as historical novels and magical realism aren't really my thing but once I did, I loved it and was invested.

I knocked off a star because the climax and (lack of) resolution was a bit lackluster for me. (Although I do get the point that real life doesn't have neat little endings, it's unsatisfying, book wise.)