Anesa Miller

The story begins and ends quite abruptly. Personally, it took me several chapters to get invested in the story-line and characters. Once I was drawn in, the characters and their struggles came to life. Miller does a great job developing the characters and keeping the story moving. I would recommend this story as a bedtime read.

The main character, Miriam, goes through several changes during the story. She is a young girl, raised in a strict religious household, who is thrust in to a foster family who goes to church, but has very different views than those she was raised with. Miriam and her siblings are faced with opportunity to change their lives, some change for the better and others for the worse.… (mehr)

This book, set in Appalachia, is all about family. Miriam Winslow, nine-years-old, has grown up in a fundamental religious home. But when her mother dies and her father is arrested Miriam becomes a foster child to Rick and Deanne Fletcher. She now has a younger brother and sister, new clothes, new school. The Fletchers encourage Miriam to keep contact with her biological family. Miriam is torn between allegiance to her biological family and foster family.

Older sister Rachelle, filled with anger and self-loathing, deals with the family dynamics by drinking. With 14-yeaar-old Rachelle the topics of drinking, sexuality, and abortion are explored. I think her character was my favorite in the book. Ms. Miller did a superb job of developing a typical young teenage girl who is anger and strikes out, but at the same time just wants to be loved. Some of the best parts of the book are the interactions between sisters Rachelle and Miriam.

Older brother Josh is determined to get Miriam away from what he considers a godless family. Josh, stubborn and self-righteous, is having sexual relations with Angie while engaged to Bekka, a naïve young girl who is trying to find a balance between what Josh expects of her and her desire to move away and do more with her life. Josh promised his father Levi that he would look after his sisters. However, Levi has not set a very good example for Josh.

Josh’s older brother Isaac, who is married, is in sharp contrast to Josh in his behavior. While both grew up in the same family, Isaac has mellowed out.

Even though the Fletcher family seems to “have it all”, they have their baggage to deal with.

Ms. Miller develops the characters well enough for you to care about what happens to them. Most of the characters are relatable.

I received a free copy of this book through Librarything in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)