Ghost on Black Mountain

Title: Ghost on Black Mountain Author: Ann Hite Publisher: Gallery Books Pages: 329

I bought this book at Barnes & Noble.

From the back cover:
Nellie Clay married Hobbs Pritchard without even realizing he was a spell conjured into a man, a walking, talking ghost story. But her mama knew. She saw it i her tea leaves: death. Folks told Nellie to get off the mountain while she still could, to go back home before it was too late.  Hobbs wasn't nothing but trouble. He'd even killed a man. No telling what else. That mountain was haunted, and soon enough, Nellie would feel it too. One way or another Hobbs would get what was coming to him. The ghosts would see to that...

 Told through the eyes of five women, this book really captures the folklore, people, and traditions of Appalachia. Nellie was an innocent, yet headstrong girl when she married Hobbs Pritchard.  She had no idea what kind of person he really was, or how badly he was hated on Black Mountain.  The decision she is forced to make in order to survive affects the lives of many people and will come back to haunt her in unexpected ways.  The ghosts in this story add so much to the atmosphere.  Ghost stories are a huge part of Appalachian folklore and Hite captures this and plays it well into the story.  I liked the way the characters were well- rounded.  For example, in the beginning Rose is pictured as simply "the other woman". Later, we come to know Rose and the reasons for her decisions.  Hite is  a great writer. I look forward to reading her next novel.

Read this book if....
*you love southern fiction
*you love stories that take place in Appalachia
*you love a good ghost story

The Last Queen of the Gypsies

Title: The Last Queen of the Gypsies Author: William Cobb Publisher: NewSouth Books Pages: 318

I checked this book out from my local library.

From Amazon.com:
William Cobb's first novel in nine years is a brilliant, quirky, highly readable story as compelling as it is fresh and original. The book interweaves the stories Lester Ray, a 14-year-old boy who was deserted by his mother when he was a baby and has now escaped his abusive alcoholic father, and Minnie, a woman who was abandoned by her Gypsy family of migrant fruit pickers when she was 11--while they journey on parallel quests to find families they never really knew. It ranges from the Great Depression to the new millennium and from the panhandle of Florida, where the novel is basically set, to New York City during World War II, to the Georgia and Carolina coast, to Fort Myers and south Florida. Lester Ray, dimly aware that his mother was probably a Gypsy, runs away from the little town of Piper, Florida, carrying with him a substitute family: Mrs. Mack, an elderly neighborhood woman, and a bizarre 14-year-old girl named Virgin Mary Duck. 

The first thing that drew me to this book was my long-time fascination with Gypsies.  As long as I can remember I have been intrigued by their culture.  Cobb did his research on this one.  The novel portrays Gypsies in the south from the Great Depression through the early 1960's. Minnie, an 11-year-old gypsy girl, is abandoned by her family on a lonely Florida road for no other reason than having one blue eye and one green eye.  Her mother believes this to be bad luck, and so Minnie is dropped off like unwanted baggage to fend for herself in rural Florida.  Minnie quickly learns to take care of herself as she travels from Florida to New York City, and back to Florida again on a journey to nowhere in particular.  She only knows that she has to keep moving.
Lester Ray was abandoned by his Gypsy mother when he was a small child.  Left behind with a drunken father, Earl, he mainly takes care of himself. His only ally is Mrs. Mack, an elderly neighbor who feeds him and often gives him a place to sleep.  At fourteen, Lester Ray decides to search for his missing mother.  He takes Mrs. Mack with him, to protect her from her greedy son, Orville. Orville wants nothing more than to place his mother in a nursing home and forget about her.  The two are joined at the last minute by Virgin Mary Duck, a fifteen-year-old dwarf girl who wants to escape her abusive father.  The three set out together on an adventure- two are running away from family and one is running toward family. 
With colorful characters and settings, Cobb weaves a tale of Gypsy life from migrant farm workers to traveling carnivals in the American south. Although I wasn't all that pleased with the ending (no spoilers) I will say that I found this book to be an OK read.  It made me think.  What made Minnie keep moving, and why was she so afraid of standing still?  Would she ever settle down?  What would make a mother walk away and leave her child, especially with someone like Earl? I still don't completely understand her choices, but the story was believable.  Although she left her old life and started a new one many times, her actions still had lasting consequences.  One day she would have to face up to her past.

Read this book if....
*you are interested in Gyspy culture
*you like stories that take place in the south
*you like stories that take place "on the road"

Raney by: Clyde Edgerton

Title: Raney Author: Clyde Edgerton Publisher: Center Point Large Print Pages: 287 (Large print edition)

I borrowed this book from my local library.

From the back cover:
Raney opens on the eve of the wedding of Raney Bell and Charles Shepherd, a young couple drawn together by their mutual love for bluegrass music. Raney is a small-town Baptist.  Charles is a big-sty Episcopalian. Though both are southern, Raney is cut from calico and Charles from tweed- and though their love is strong, their cultural differences are sometimes monumental.


This story is an excellent character study.  Raney is an old-south, small-town, Bible-thumping Free Will Baptist.  Charles is a college- educated big-city boy from Atlanta- the only child of a college professor and a teacher.  When these two marry, the culture clash is phenomenal.  Each believes that her/ his way is the only way.  Raney thinks alcohol is a sin and should never be touched or allowed in the home. Charles is unused to large, close-knit families, and is miserable at Sunday dinners with Raney's family. The story is hilarious at times- Raney's family insists on calling women's breasts "dinners".  When everything comes to a head and nearly falls apart, the two must learn to compromise or lose everything.
I enjoyed this story.  It made me laugh out loud at times.  People like Raney and Charles really do exist in the south.  Thankfully, most southerners fall somewhere in the middle.  The story illustrates what is best and worst in the south.

Read this story if....
*you love southern fiction
*you love the south
See this review on Amazon.com.

2013 TBR Pile Book Challenge

I'm joining the 2013 TBR Pile Book Challenge!  I'm really excited!  I'm going for the Friendly Hug level (11-20 books).  I may try to move up a level later, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.  I'm starting with Raney by Clyde Edgerton.  Wish me luck!
Beth :-)

*I have moved up from Friendly Hug Level to A Sweet Kiss (21-30) books. (April 2013)

The Good Dream by: Donna VanLiere

Title: The Good Dream Author: Donna VanLiere Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pages: 309

I borrowed this book from my local library,

From the inside cover:
After years of rebuffing the advances of imperfect but eligible bachelors from her small town, Ivorie is without companionship, but with more love in her heart and time on her hands than she knows what to do with. Her life soon changes, however, when a feral, dirty-faced boy who has been sneaking onto her land to steal from her garden comes into her life. Even though he runs back into the hills as quickly as her arrives, she's determined to find out who he is because something about the young boy haunts her. What would make him desperate enough to steal from her garden? But what  she can't imagine is what the boy faces each day and night, in the filthy lean-to hut miles up in the hills. Who is he? How did he come to live in the hills? Where did he come from? And, more important, can she save him? As Ivorie steps out of her comfort zone to discover the answers, she unleashes a firestorm in the town - a community that would rather let secrets stay secrets.

I was drawn into this book from the very first page and I literally could not put it down.  As an adoptee, adoptive parent, and former foster parent, this book spoke to my heart on many levels.  Although I have never personally worked with a child that has been through as much trauma as the boy in this story, I found myself identifying with Ivorie as she dealt with the small mindedness and prejudices of her community.  I cried throughout the entire book.  I cried from heartbreak, I cried from joy.  The Good Dream really touched my heart. This is a beautifully written story. I was taken aback at the ignorance and cruelty of some of the characters, but they were realistically portrayed.  While the innocence and terror the child endures brought me to tears, Ivorie's fierce determination to help the child was inspiring.  This story is a beautiful illustration of the healing power of love. The characters stayed on my mind long after I finished reading.


Read this book if...
*you love southern fiction
*you love "small town" novels
*you love stories set in Appalachia
*you love stories of inspiration
*you love stories about the healing power of love

See this review on Goodreads.
See this review on Amazon.com

A Teeny Bit ofTrouble

Author: Michael Lee West Title: A Teeny Bit of Trouble Publisher:Minotaur Books Pages: 330, incl. recipe section

I checked this book out from my local public library.

From inside the front cover:
After Charleston pastry chef Teeny Templeton witnesses a murder, she discovers that her lawyer-boyfriend, Coop O'Malley, has been keeping secrets. And then even more trouble comes knocking on her door- trouble in the form of a precocious ten-year-old girl who just might be Coop's daughter. As more lies explode, Teeny finds herself trapped in tiny Bonaventure, Georgia, a zany "little Savannah" , where she must gather DNA from a child genius as she tries to outwit a stalker, decode an encrypted diary, and fend off the advances of an ex-beau.  That calls for Anything-You-Say-Can-Be-Used-Against-You-Quiche.  And just when she thinks her life can't get any more complicated, a series of not-so-teeny troubles arise, including an uneasy love triangle, a gossip-mongering tarantula breeder, a wise-cracking Southern Belle with early Alzheimer's, Coop's lovable Chihuahua-toting granny, and clues that point to something truly deadly going down in the charming southern town...But when the suspect is arrested and the bodies keep piling up anyway, Teeny doesn't know whom to trust.  As the murderers close in, Teeny unearths a revelation that threatens to flip her whole world upside down.

I didn't even have to read inside the front cover to know I'd love this book.  I love Michael Lee West's books! She is an awesome southern writer. I checked the book out and brought it home without even opening it- and it did not disappoint.  Teeny, like all Wests heroines, is easy to love.   Wests' females are human- imperfect, sometimes a little neurotic, and always easy to identify with.  Teeny makes mistakes.  She can be impulsive and stubborn.  She has bad hair days (every day), and has a strange fashion sense.  The reader is immediately drawn to her. Who wouldn't be on her side?  Her boyfriend may be seeing his beautiful (and evil) ex.  A smart-alek ten-year-old claims he is her father. Then, after witnessing a murder, Teeny is in fear for her own life.  Life has never been easy for Teeny- her own mother abandoned her at the local Dairy Queen when she was only eight years old.  Raised by her loving Aunt Bluette, Teeny has had do to the very best she could with what little she had to work with. This is what makes her vulnerable.  It also gives her strength.  Teeny is a gourmet cook, finding recipes for every situation (including The Right To Remain Silent Salsa and I've Already Hired An Attorney Chips).  Recipes are included!

West writes a great mystery.  I had no idea which character(s) were guilty until the very end.  (Don't worry, I won't spoil it.) This book was hard to put down.  There were twists and turns on every single page.  Just when you think you've got it all figured out, another clue is unearthed which changes everything.  Once again, Michael Lee West has written a great southern read- an a great mystery as well.

Read this book if...
*you love southern fiction
*you love a great mystery
*you love "small town novels"
*You are a fan of Michael Lee West

See this review on Amazon.com

Summer in the South by: Cathy Holton

Title: Summer in the South Author: Cathy Holton Publsiher: Center Point Publishing Pages: 510 (large print edition)

I checked this book out from my local library after seeing it on  Library Thing.

From the cover:  After a personal tragedy, Chicago writer Ava Dabrowski quits her job to spend the summer in Woodburn, Tennessee, at the invitation of her old college friend, Will Fraser and his two great aunts.  Her charming hosts offer Ava a chance to relax and write at their idyllic ancestral estate, Woodburn Hall.

But Ava soon learns that ancient feuds and modern rivalries lurk just beneath the estate's placid surface.  Fascinated by the family's impressive history- their imposing house filled with treasures and their mingling with literary icons Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Faulkner- Ava stumbles onto rumors about the darker side of the family's legacy and discovers a multitude of skeletons in their closets.  As Ava struggles to write the story of the Woodburns, she finds herself tangled in the tragic history of a mysterious Southern family whose secrets mirror her own.

Being a fan of southern fiction, I had to give this one a try.  I had a stack of books in my TBR pile, but this one caught and held my attention from the first page.  The author does a great job of capturing the uniqueness of a southern small town (waving at everyone you see, revealing one's life story in line at the grocer).  However, I never could find myself rooting for Ava.  She seemed nosy, blunt and cold to me.  Actually, I think this is the way southerners tend to view many non-southerners.  It just isn't the way we do things.  Therefore, I think the author does a great job in capturing the way non-southerners are viewed by others here (often unknowingly). 

The mystery itself is vaguely interesting, but I kept wondering why, exactly, Ava really cared?  In her relentless pursuit of finding the true killer of Charles Woodburn she questions other family members continuously. She also writes their family secrets down and intends to publish them.  (Can you see why I find her so unlikeable?)  I kept asking myself (over and over) why Ava even cared?  These people were essentially strangers to her.

 Another thing I found distracting was this quote:  "They'd spend the summer driving around town picking up girls in a 1967 Corvette they'd bought at an auction. Jake was the worst. You didn't dare get into the back with him unless you wanted to come out with bruises and whisker burns all over your face and other places too embarrassing to mention."  Think about it.  A 1967 Corvette has no back seat.

So was all the hanky panky taking place- in the trunk? A minor detail, indeed, but very distracting.
I'm not saying I didn't like the book. It was a pretty good mystery and I was surprised at the outcome.  However, I am not used to books where the main character is actually unlikable.  Again, this is an excellent portrayal of how non-southerners appear to southerners.  The author actually did an excellent job with this.  It was a quick read, and not a bad one.  At least it made me think.....

Read this book if....

*you love southern fiction

*you love a good mystery

*you have no knowledge of classic cars (smile)