 |
Nancy Keane's | Booktalks -- Quick and Simple | |
|
|||||||
 |
Bayard, Louis. |
|
|
When
fourteen-year-old
Melia’s mother Brenda
dies, resourceful
Melia is determined to
survive the tough days
of the Depression in
rural Virginia. Not
only does she run
Brenda’s Oasis, the
family auto repair
shop and gas station,
but she also cares for
her younger siblings
Earle and Janey and
fights to stave off
villainous Standard
Oil entrepreneur
Harley Blevins, who is
plotting to take over
Melia’s business. To
ward off the Warren
County Juvenile Court
and the specter of
foster homes, however,
underage Melia needs
an adult parent – so
she makes a deal with
Hiram Watts, a drunken
hobo who has fallen
off a coal truck, to
act as their father.
The unpromising Hiram
turns out of be a wise
advisor and a
brilliant player in
the battle with
Blevins. A terrific
cast of characters, a
fast-moving plot, and
the gutsy and
outspoken Melia
combine to make this a
wonderful read. (Vermont
Dorothy Canfield
Fisher Book Award,
2018) |
| SUBJECTS: Brothers and sisters -- Fiction. Depressions -- 1929 -- Fiction. Historical fiction. Orphans -- Fiction. Poverty -- Fiction. Virginia -- History -- 20th century -- Fiction. |
Except
where otherwise noted, content on this site is 