Out of Peel Tree by: Laura Long

Title: Out of Peel Tree (Kindle Edition) Author: Laura Long Publisher: Vandalia Press, 2014 Pages: 162

Each chapter in this book is a short story in and of itself. Each of the characters in the book are relatives from West Virginia (for the most part) living elsewhere in the US. Other than a common ancestor, there is very little else they have in common. Once one gets past the fact that this isn't actually a story, but a collection of stories that loosely intertwine (if at all) ,it becomes an interesting character study. The book realistically portrays a poverty-stricken family from West Virginia trying to escape their hard lives for a better life ahead. 

Silver Star

Title: Silver Star Author: Jeannette Walls Publisher: Thorndike Press Pages: 390

From Amazon:

The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls has written a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world—a triumph of imagination and storytelling.It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.

An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town—a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister—inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.

Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices.

I loved this book. But then, I knew I would. I loved The Glass Castle. After reading the description, I couldn't wait to read this book, It didn't disappoint. Liz and Bean are two sisters basically left to raise themselves. Their mother, a spoiled, self-absorbed brat in an adult body deals with life by simply running away from all difficulty. After she abandons them for yet another attempt at furthering her musical career, they take a bus to her family farm in West Virginia. It is here that they finally find roots, family, and a home. Bean captures the heart with her headstrong, forthright ways. This was a heart warming story. I read it in two days because I couldn't bear to put it down. This is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it.

Read this book if:

*you love southern fiction

*you love novels set in Appalachia

*you love novels set in small towns

*you love novels about family

The Midwife of Hope River

Title: The Midwife of Hope River Author: Patricia Harmon Publisher: William Morrow Pages: 382 Copyright: 2012

From the back cover:

Midwife Patience Murphy has a gift:  a talent for escorting mothers through the challenges of bringing children into the world. Working in the hardscrabble conditions of Appalachia during the Depression, Patience takes the jobs that no one else wants, helping those most in need- and least likely to pay. She knows a successful midwifery practice must be built on a foundation of openness and trust- but the secrets Patience is keeping are far too intimate and fragile for her to ever let anyone in.

I loved every page of this book. I was drawn in from the first page to the descriptive imagery of Depression Era Appalachia. This was a very hard novel to put down. Patience is strong, yet vulnerable. She is brave, yet fearful of her past catching up with her. Her lack of prejudice and openness make her different from her neighbors in West Virginia.  Many of them view her with mistrust, yet they need her in a community where the only doctor refuses to help black people or poor people.

It wasn't just the midwife aspect that made this book appealing. The everyday life of two women- Patience and Bitsy (a young black woman)- making their way in rural Appalachia makes this book a page turner. There is so much more to this book than just the midwife aspect. The book deals with prejudice, spousal abuse, exploitation of Coal Miners, heartbreak, and redemption. 

I love Harman's simple writing style.  I look forward to reading more of her work.

This one is definitely a keeper.

Read this book if....

*you love novels set in Appalachia

*you love southern fiction

*you love novels about midwifery

*you love novels set in the Depression Era

*you love novels about race relations and racial issues in the early 20th century