I purchased this book after meeting Donna Everhart at FoxTale Book Shoppe.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!
When we look back on our childhood, early memories are often called into question. Have the stories surrounding the event influenced your memory? If it is a true memory, something significant happened to have imprinted this on your mind. Jessie Sasser remembers the day her mother died. Her family was at their still and four-year-old Jessie was watching her younger brother. Suddenly she heard a strange noise and saw her mother engulfed in flames. In a matter of minutes, her mother was dead. Growing up in poverty without a mother, Jessie struggles. She doesn’t have any interest in clothes, makeup, hairstyles, or shoes. Her only interest is in trying to find a way to stop her family’s production of moonshine. It killed her mother and she wants to end it. How can she stop the stills? If she is successful, will her family be able to survive on what her father makes in a regular job?
The early trauma in Jessie’s life has impacted her self-esteem. Initially, we only know how she perceives herself. She sees herself as a monster – fat and ugly. Gradually the flaws in Jessie’s thinking are uncovered. She has an eating disorder. Will anyone be able to navigate her prickly exterior to help? Jessie decides to stop eating. The school nurse recognizes that Jessie has eating issues. The nurse tries to help Jessie see herself through others eyes. Her gruff nature helps Jessie as she tries to gain control of her life. There is a gritty reality here. Can a self-destructive person be stopped? Or refocused?
Donna Everhart loves being southern. She is the epitome of the modern southern woman – genteel, soft-spoken, with a spine of steel. In this book, she lovingly and eloquently describes life at that time in North Carolina. She conveys the devastating poverty of the people while describing the beauty of the area. Her characters are flawed, realistic, and intriguing. These are people that you can see in your imagination and Jessie is a character that will stay with you for a very long time.
My Rating: 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻/5