I haven’t been reading as much as I sometimes do. I just haven’t had a lot of time along and I have been listening to podcasts more. I’ll tell you about them in another blog post.
I did find a book that piqued my interest, Appalachian Daughter by Mary Jane Salyers. The book came up as recommended book in my Facebook feed. I didn’t want to buy it so I checked both of my online libraries and found it on Hoopla.
So did I like it…
I did. I love all hardscrabble books. I love coming of age stories. This book was exactly that, a hardscrabble coming of age story.
I was hoping for a big climax and dynamic plot but that didn’t really happen. The book just told a slice in the life of Maggie’s life. There was no twist or turns or big realizations…just a slice of the life so I was a little disappointed but still overall a good book.
“On the last day of eighth grade, Maggie begins to dream of finding a way to escape the drudgery and confinement of life in the hollow and establish her independence. Her plan begins to fall in place when she enters high school and discovers she has a natural talent for excelling in shorthand, typing, and other business classes. Meanwhile, she spares no effort in helping her family continue to survive despite their poverty, a less than fertile few acres, and a family history of instability. The typical spoken language, folkways, traditional beliefs, and religious practices are skillfully woven into this portrait of Appalachian family life. The author’s sympathetic insights into mountain culture combined with memorably etched characters and events create a realistic reflection of Tennessee mountain life during the decade following World War II. Maggie’s life takes an unexpected turn when her cousin JD reveals a dark secret that could shatter the family. Maggie struggles to maintain her dreams of a better life amidst the many trials that will test the grit of this Appalachian Daughter.”
Amazon readers gave the book 4.3 stars. I’m going to say 4.2 stars.
If you are a Kindle user, the book was currently free when I wrote this post. You can find it HERE.
The description with the reference to typing and shorthand brought back memories. Took those classes in high school and used them when I worked during college. We can always say that shorthand was just an early version of texting abbreviations.
This sounds interesting. I enjoy the “hard scramble” stories too. My favorite is “Five Little Peppers and How They Grew”. I remember how Mamie was so frugal with her thread and how they had to patch the hole in the old stove’s oven in order to bake anything.