The Moonshiner's Daughter:
A Southern Coming-of-age Saga of Family and Loyalty
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by
Southern Historical fiction
Young Adult
Kindle edition/368 pages
Quote: "I ain't likely to take up something I hate, Merritt. No matter how good the money is. I might as well go out and be a prostitute, or something."~ Jessie Sasser
From the Cover:
Set in North Carolina in 1960 and brimming with authenticity and grit, The Moonshiner's Daughter evokes the singular life of sixteen-year-old, Jessie Sasser, a young woman determined to escape her family's past...
Generations of Sasser's have made moonshine in the Brushy Mountains of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Their history is recorded in a leather-bound journal, that belongs to Jessie Sasser's daddy, but Jessie wants no part in it. As far as she's concerned, moonshine caused her mother's death a dozen years ago.
My Review:
The first time this book popped up on my Goodreads recommendations, I knew I had to read it!
I haven't read any of Donna Everhart's books, but this probably won't be my last.
I'm a sucker for anything Southern set, and the vivid characters Everhart has created makes them ones you won't easily forget.
From the beginning we see Jessie, a teenager struggling with so much already, in her young years.
At age four, she witnessed her mother die in a horrible accident. Now, with only her father and brother close, she struggles with feeling unheard, unappreciated, an eating disorder, trying to find her true friends, and learn who she is. All the while, having to hide what her family truly does.
Jessie has always felt moon shining was bad in every way. She's seen it kill her mother, make her uncle a mean alcoholic, who is also greedy. It has cost her brother his baseball career, her father put in jail, and caused violent tension between them and the neighbors.
Through most of this book, I wanted to cry for her, or scream at her to RUN!
She starts out with such strong convictions. Her reasoning is completely valid, and although she has typical(at not so) teenage problems, she seems to be unwavering on the issue of bootlegging.
By the last few chapters, I was ready to through the book, literally!
The story just seems to make a wide U-turn, and completely throw me off.
I won't say too much, but the ending was completely unexpected!
As a whole, the book was beautifully written. At times, I felt I was inside Jessie's world. To me, that makes a great book.
I did only give this one 3 stars. I just felt the end was sort of too unbelievable. Maybe, it just wasn't what I would have chosen, or how I would have ended Jessie's story.
I hope you enjoy this review.
Let me know if you've read this one, or any of Donna Everhart's other books.
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