Published by Riverhead Books Source: abc
“The truth turns sour if it idles too long in our mouths. Stories, like bottles of shine, are meant to be given away.”
Fifteen-year-old Wren Bird lives in a mountain cabin with her parents Ruby and Briar. She is home schooled and seldom goes to the nearest town. Her parents have no car, no mailbox, and welcome no visitors except for her Mother’s friend, Ivy.
“There’s is no one lonelier than the wife of a preacher.”
Every Sunday, her father leads sermons in an abandoned gas station to the mountain worshipers. He takes up the scriptures along with his serpents and everyone knows the tale of how he survived being struck by lightning as a teen. He loves his wife Ruby and his snakes. That is about all the love he has to give.
“I can’t survive her anymore.”
Ruby and Ivy have always been friends and wanted to get away but instead stay and live on the mountain, having homes near each other and relying on each other often. When tragedy strikes, Wren learns some truths, some harsh realities and perhaps Wren might be the one to get away – maybe.
“There’s danger in letting your desires define you…”
This book is about so many things: love, friendship, motherhood, loyalty, faith, isolation, heartbreak, moonshine, snakes, control, obsession, grief, fear, growing up, secrets and longing. There are several characters in this book, and they are all expertly drawn. You can feel their sadness, and loneliness dripping off the pages. They live a rough, slow, and hard life. They have also made sacrifices, suffered for those sacrifices, paid their dues, stood by their friends, hoped for better tomorrows, and made tough choices. We get to know all their pain and see how over the course of time they will either becomes stronger or dwindle away. This is also a coming of age tale for Wren as she learns more about herself and the adults in her life.
I found this book to be absorbing and captivating. Snake handling in Appalachia still exists and occurs in this book. So, does making moonshine. Both play a part in this book but mainly this book is about various forms of relationships. I was drawn into these characters lives and because of this, I found this book to be a fast read. It is not a happy go lucky book, and yet there is hope and strength within the pages. I found this book to be well written with sheer beauty in the passages.
If this book is not on your radar, it should be.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.