Amy B. (BaileysBooks) reviewed on 8/19/2011 + 491 more book reviews

I am writing this review as someone who grew up in Mississippi, who learned the "crooked letter" song as a child, who moved away but then came home again.

Somehow, Franklin managed to make this fictional town in Mississippi as much of a character in the book as the people who supposedly lived there. He was able to harness those intangible elements of everyday life here and make them intimately recognizable to those of us who know what to look for. I could almost feel the humidity of the summer here dripping off the pages.

I always wonder how books like this will look to those who don't live in Mississippi, and especially to those who have never been here. But this is a book that is about so much more than race. It is a book about memory, regret, forgiveness, and redemption. It is a story about loneliness, friendship, and finding your true family.

There were elements of the plot that were not much of a surprise, but there was so much more that was meaningful in many other ways. This is a haunting but easy read and one that I would gladly recommend.

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