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BOOK REVIEW: Troublesome Creek
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by: Vickie McDonough Dancing Word Reviewer
Title: Troublesome Creek Author: Jan Watson Publisher: Tyndale House ISBN #: 1-443-0447-1 Genre: Inspirational/Historical/Fiction
Laura Grace (Copper) Brown loves life in the mountains of Kentucky. The work is hard, but the playing is fun. She can't imagine living anywhere else. But if her step-mother has her way, Copper will be shipped off to a fancy girls' school to learn to be a refined lady. Copper can hardly stand to wear shoes and has no desire to learn the ways of a citified woman. She much prefers long walks in the mountain, milking her cow, or swimming in the nearby creek.
And then there's John Pelfrey, Copper's best friend and the only boy she's ever liked. Why does he have to spoil their friendship by telling her he plans to marry her? Everyone seems bent on telling her what to do. Even her sweet daddy, Will Brown, doesn't seem to object to her being sent away.
When Dr. Simon Corbett comes to the mountain to check up on his elderly aunt, Copper finally understands the importance of acting and dressing as a young lady should. Simon tickles her heart in a way John never did. But if she allows her feelings for Simon to grow, she might have to leave the mountain and the people she loves. What's a girl to do? Please the woman who raised her? Marry John so she can stay on the mountain? Or wed Simon and leave all that she loves?
I have mixed feelings about Troublesome Creek. The writing is excellent, especially considering this is Jan Watson's debut novel. I enjoyed the detailed descriptions and reading of the unusual customs and life in the mountains, and I was impressed with Copper, a naïve girl with a big heart. But in the beginning of the book, it was difficult to know whose story was being told. It seemed more about Will, Copper's father, than about her.
There are large sections of back-story, often told through flashbacks, which can be confusing because they are sometimes told through a minor character's point of view. The book really took off for me when the story finally returned to Copper's point of view.
Winner of the 2004 Christian Writer's Guild Operation First Novel, Troublesome Creek is a sweet coming-of-age story. The mountain life is highly detailed and the customs are fun to read about. If you don't mind wading through the back-story in the beginning, you'll find an interesting tale at the heart of this book. ($12.99, 369 pages) |
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