Ghost On Black Mountain by Ann Hite

Nellie Clay marries Hobbs Pritchard against her Mama's wishes at the tender age of only seventeen.

 

"she saw my future in her tea leaves: death."

 

He is eight years older than her and they move to the Appalachia Black Mountain to live. Nellie should have listened to her Mama's wise words, Hobbs isn't a nice man, as his new bride gradually realises. Not long after moving into her new house Nellie starts to see ghosts and finds out that, although a powerful man on the mountain, Hobbs is disliked by most people and with good reason too.

The story is set during the depression and told through the voices of five women who are all connected in some way including Nellie and spans different generations. Hers is the first part in the book and my favourite as well but they're all gripping. Ghost On Black Mountain is Southern fiction story telling at it's best, a book to pick up and lose yourself in and one that I didn't want to end.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Book Beginnings On Fridays (Ghost On Black Mountain)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

   

Ghost On Black Mountain by Ann Hite:

 

Mama warned me against marrying Hobbs Pritchard. She saw my future in her tea leaves: death. I was young, only seventeen, and thought I knew all there was to know about life. Nobody could tell me different. 

 

 

 Book Description: 

Nellie Clay married Hobbs Pritchard without even noticing he was a spell conjured into a man, a walking, talking ghost story. But her mama knew. She saw it in her tea leaves: death. Folks told Nellie to get off the mountain while she 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 in the stunning voices of five women whose lives are inextricably bound when a murder takes place in rural Depression-era North Carolina, Ann Hite’s unforgettable debut spans generations and conjures the best of Southern folk-lore—mystery, spirits, hoodoo, and the incomparable beauty of the Appalachian landscape.
 

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler

Seventeen year old Isabelle falls in love with Robert but there's an issue. He is black and she white and, as this is 1930s Kentucky, interracial relationships are completely unacceptable. Their story is heartbreaking, the path of true love certainly doesn't run smooth.

 

In the present day Isabelle is being driven to a funeral from her home in Texas to Cincinnati by her hairdresser and friend Dorrie. Dorrie is a black single Mum and has problems of her own. The story is told from both women's point of view, Dorrie tells us about their journey and Isabelle about her life in the past and at the end of the book we discover the identity of the person whose funeral they are attending.

 

This is well written but at first I was disappointed, I'd heard good things and the story just wasn't grabbing me. Once Robert and Isabelle got together though it became much more interesting and I raced through, desperate to find out what would happen to them. It doesn't matter how many times I read about these times and how people were treated it never fails to shock or upset me. Will definitely appeal to readers who enjoy Southern fiction and good storytelling.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

CeeCee is only twelve years old when her mother, who has suffered with mental illness, dies. Her father sends her to live in the south with an unknown relative of her mothers, Aunt Tootie.

This book sounds like it could be quite dark but it is far from depressing and is an uplifting story full of hope. There are plenty of eccentric and funny characters and I defy anyone to read about Miz Hobbs's travelling brassiere and not laugh.

I have now read both of Beth Hoffman's novels and she's a good writer and storyteller. Hopefully I won't have to wait too long for her third. 

Rating: 4 out of 5

 Some of the book blurb:

Twelve-year-old CeeCee is in trouble. For years she’s been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille— the crown-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town. Though it’s 1967 and they live in Ohio, Camille believes it’s 1951 and she’s just been crowned the Vidalia Onion Queen of Georgia.

The day CeeCee discovers Camille in the front yard wearing a tattered prom dress and tiara as she blows kisses to passing motorists, she knows her mother has completely flipped. When tragedy strikes, Tootie Caldwell, a previously unknown great-aunt comes to CeeCee’s rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. Within hours of her arrival, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricities—a world that appears to be run entirely by women.

Book Beginnings On Fridays (Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

 

My book beginning: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Momma left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road. That's what three eyewitnesses told the police. The first time I remember my mother wearing red shoes was on a snowy morning in December 1962, the year I was seven years old. I walked into the kitchen and found her sitting at the table. No lights were on, but in the thin haze of dawn that pushed through the frostbitten window, I could see red high-heeled shoes peeking out from beneath the hem of her robe. There was no breakfast waiting, and no freshly ironed school dress hanging on the basement door knob. Momma just sat and stared out the window with empty eyes, her hands limp in her lap, her coffee cold and untouched.


I read Beth Hoffman's second novel  Looking for Me earlier this year, absolutely loved it and bought this one straight away, Hoffman is a very good storyteller.

The book blurb:

When Camille Sugarbaker Honeycutt, the pretty but crazy 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen, dies suddenly, her twelve year old daughter CeeCee is whisked off by her Great Aunt Tootie to the fable city of Savannah in the most magnificent car CeeCee has ever seen.

Soon among the sweet scent of magnolias and the loving warmth of her aunt and her colourful friends, it looks as though CeeCee has arrived in paradise. But when a darker side of the Southern dream threatens this delicate, newfound happiness, Aunt Tootie and her friends must rally to CeeCee's aid.

Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby

Olivia always tried to avoid the marriage and children trap, only marrying late in life to Charlie Doyle, but unfortunately  it's not long until she's a widow. She's very superstitious and thinks eleven is an unlucky number so when 11 year old Ethan Allen Doyle arrives on her doorstep, saying both his parents are dead and looking for his grandpa Charlie, she's wary. 

As I was offered a free copy of this book by the author I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Spare Change is an easy but ultimately enjoyable read that's well written. Although some of the subject matter is dark there is plenty of humour and good characters throughout so it's far from depressing. 

Rating 3.5 out of 5 

Friday Finds

 

Friday Finds is run by Should Be Reading and is a chance for you to share the books you've heard about this week and have added to your TBR/Wish list.

This week mine are both American southern fiction books:


The Lost Saints Of Tenessee by Amy Franklin-Willis


The Prince Of Tides by Pat Conroy

Dream With Little Angels by Michael Hiebert

Twelve years ago in the fictional town of Alvin the dead body of missing girl Ruby Mae Vickers was found underneath a willow tree and now fourteen year old Mary Ann Daily has seemingly vanished into thin air after getting off the school bus. Just days later Tiffany Michelle Yates has also disappeared.

This story is narrated by eleven year old boy Abe Teal, he lives with his teenage sister Carry and his Mum Leah who is the small town cop. Leah is still haunted by her first case, the unsolved murder of Ruby Mae. Abe and his best friend Dewey were the last people to see Tiffany before she went missing and he is determined to find out what has happened.
As much as it is a mystery/crime novel it is also a coming of age story and covers the families problems, Abe's Dad died when he was very young, in fact he can't even remember him and secretly gets hold of a photo of him that he takes around with him and his sister is getting older and has changed since becoming interested in boys. It also touches on the racial issues of the time and Abe trying to learn the difference between what is acceptable to say and what is racist.

I hadn't heard of the author Michael Hiebert before but as I have recently been enjoying a lot of southern fiction I thought I'd request it from Netgalley and was lucky enough to be approved for a copy. Dream With Little Angels does draw some parallels with To Kill A Mockingbird but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. It's an easy read with enough humour throughout to stop it becoming too dark, I loved the pie contest at the harvest festival.
If you enjoy southern fiction then it's worth a read.

Whistling Past The Graveyard by Susan Crandall

I received a copy of  Whistling Past The Graveyard by Susan Crandall in May 2013 from Netgalley to review:

Nine year old Starla's Dad works away on an oil rig and her Mother left her when she was young to try and become a famous singer in Nashville so she lives with her paternal grandmother in Mississippi. One day after she has one of her 'red rages' she fears she'll be sent to reform school and decides to run away to live with her Mother. She soon meets and accepts a lift from Eula, a black woman who has a young white baby with her and so begins a journey for them across America. However, as Starla is white and this is set during the summer of 1963 when racial segregation was still normal this isn't as straight forward as it could be.
The story is told through the eyes of feisty Starla and I found her voice and thoughts believable. I also loved Eula and Miss Cyrena and was rooting for them all the way through the book. It's a well written story, is easy to read and gave me a good insight into what it must have been like to be black and living during those times.