Demon Copperhead

 Fiction by Barbara Kingsolver

https://www.audible.com

I have never read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, but supposedly this is a modern retelling. It's not necessary to know Dickens to understand this book, however. The idea that systemic poverty negatively affects children is not new, although Dickens did more to shine a light on it than anyone before him I think. Unfortunately, as Ms. Kingsolver, points out, it's a problem that has yet to be solved.  

Demon Copperhead is a nickname for a boy named Damon who lives with a single mom in Appalachia. He is born into poverty and lives through foster care, neglect, and worse. 

I really loved the characters in this story. The narrator was amazing as well.

I also read by this author: Unsheltered

Gap Creek

Fiction by Robert Morgan

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

The author states in the afterword of this book that he has been telling the story of his maternal grandparents in their first year of marriage around 1900. The book follows Julie and Hank, aged seventeen and eighteen respectively, as they try to start their married life in a little house in Gap Creek, South Carolina. 

It’s a really wonderful story with great characters. The hardships that the couple, especially Julie, faces, are so big as to seem almost insurmountable. It’s amazing to think of the things our ancestors had to overcome. 

Hang the Moon

 Fiction by Jeanette Walls

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of Henry “The Duke” Kincaid, uncrowned but unquestioned ruler of his little corner of early twentieth century Virginia. He unofficially controls everything and everyone in town like a king. He’s a benevolent dictator, except for the times when he isn’t quite so benevolent. 

It’s great to be the Duke’s daughter… until it isn’t. An unfriendly stepmother and a baby half-brother cause Sallie to fall from the Duke’s favor as a child, and she ends up banished for years. Then she is finally allowed back, and things really start happening.

This was a really good story and I enjoyed it a lot. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Duke’s real name is Henry, as he strongly resembles the controlling and capricious monarch Henry XIII of England. Look for the parallels, if you’re interested.

I recommend this book!

I also read by this author: Half Broke Horses

Wednesday's Children

 Nonfiction by Kathryn Anne Michaels

https://www.amazon.com

Kathryn Ann Michaels was a nurse and social worker in Appalachia in the seventies. This is an interesting book, although it's more of a series of separate anecdotes about things that happened, rather than one cohesive story. Therefore I'd say it's more of a set of recollections than a memoir.

The Essay

 Audible Original Fiction by Robin Yocum.

https://www.audible.com

Jimmy Lee Hickam grew up dirt-poor in the mountains of Ohio, born into a family of troublemakers and convicts. Still, he was able to leave the area and become James L. Hickam, a successful journalist in the big city.

This story begins with the adult James interviewing the poverty-stricken folks of Appalachia for a news story, and then explores his past. I really liked the story and the characters; I did wish that the author had either returned us to adult James at the end, or else begun with Jimmy Lee. The beginning of the story with the news interviews seems oddly tacked-on.

Still, a good story!

I also listened to by audible originals: The Forever

Icy Sparks

Fiction by Gwen Hyman Rubio.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a pretty good story; it's about a girl growing up in Appalachia in the early sixties. It was a little hard to get interested in but I'm not sure why.

Snow in Summer

Youth Fiction by Jane Yolen.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Interesting retelling of the Snow White story, set in Depression-era Appalachia.

I also read recently by this author: Curse of the Thirteenth Fey