“[A] striking debut…”—BUSTLE
He’s gonna be sorry he ever messed with me and Loretta Lynn.
Sadie Blue has been a wife for fifteen days. That’s long enough to know she should have never hitched herself to Roy Tupkin, even with the baby.
Sadie is desperate to make her own mark on the world, but in remote Appalachia, a ticket out of town is hard to come by and hope often gets stomped out. When a … ticket out of town is hard to come by and hope often gets stomped out. When a stranger sweeps into Baines Creek and knocks things off kilter, Sadie finds herself with an unexpected lifeline…if she can just figure out how to use it.
Fans of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek will love this intimate insight into a fiercely proud, tenacious community and relish the voices of the forgotten folks of Baines Creek.
With a colorful cast of characters and a flair for the Southern Gothic, If the Creek Don’t Rise is a debut novel bursting with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.
“Like Daniel Woodrell’s ‘hillbilly noir’ novel Winter’s Bone…[If the Creek Don’t Rise] unfolds like a dark, gripping alt-country ballad.”—Yahoo!
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3 out of 5 stars to If The Creek Don’t Rise, an historical fiction novel set to be published in August 2017, written by Leah Weiss. I enjoyed reading the book, selecting 3 stars because it had several strong parts but also some concerns that I’ll share later. Overall, I’m glad I read it.
Why This Book
I read the description of this book via NetGalley, where I search for all my ARCs, and thought it would be a great read prior to my upcoming trip to North Carolina, where I may be stopping in the same rural mountain area.
Plot, Characters & Setting
This is an ensemble book about a cast of 10 characters in the mid 20th century who live in the rural area of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. It covers a few events that occurred to some of the townspeople in Baines Creek, providing the view points from different sides of the story. It centers around Sadie Blue, a 17-year-old girl who marries the man who has just gotten her pregnant. From there, the book covers domestic abuse, murder, religion, family, love and friendships. At its core, the novel covers the various relationships built in the town, understanding who sits back doing nothing versus who takes action when they are passionate about the outcome and protection of life.
Approach & Style
I read the electronic version on my Kindle via an iPad over the course of five nights. The book is about 300 pages, each 20 pages long across 15 chapters. Each chapter is told from a different character’s point of view, written in the first person perspective. Dialect is important given the book is recreating life during a historical time period in a very specific region where culture and society are quite different.
Strengths
The characters are very clear and distinct. Each of the major players has a voice you will recognize and understand. Sometimes you will love them and sometimes you will hate them, but each one will leave an impression.
The setting is quite strong. You will feel transported to this rural town in the mountains. From the description, to the dialect and to the way the story unfolds, it matches what you’d expect from the constructs of this type of environment. You will feel like you are in the town.
It deals with very specific personal and family issues that will resonate will a lot of people. From a social perspective, it highlights things that happened in the past that were almost condoned or allowed to happen, due to people’s fears and lack of education or knowledge.
Concerns
When I read the description, I thought it would be a great plot and story. But when I read the book, it was quite different. This is not a novel where a primary plot point drives the chapters. It’s a character-driven story that tells of the happenings in a small town. The plot isn’t as important as the way each of the characters interpret it. I found myself skimming pages to get to the crux of the story, but it never happened. It’s a preference style, and I think the book should be marketed differently and have an alternative description or cover summary. It would help find a different set of readers who enjoy this type of book. Had I known, I might have spent more time investing in the characters in the beginning rather than trying to piece together a plot that wasn’t going to become any more clear. That said, it’s still a well-written book and will appeal to a wide audience.
Author & Other Similar Books
Although they are not of the same caliber, it reminded me of the book Beartown by Fredrik Backman. Both books cover highly controversial social issues within a small town, telling the story of how everyone reacts to a few critical events. Where Beartown brings a focus on plot, this book is more about how people interpret society’s values and actions.
It’s the author’s first book, but she shows a lot of promise. I would read another of her books, but I’d want to be careful to understand the plot and approach to telling the story to verify it matches with the way I like to read a book.
Final Thoughts
In my world, a 3 is a good review. It means you had good elements and a few things I didn’t quite latch on to. If this had a little more action and some clarity around the plot and point of the book, I might have given it a 4. That said, it will definitely resonate with many readers given it has a strong pull to connect you to the characters and the setting. Hope you enjoy it.
I loved, loved, loved the honor in the people of Appalachia. They seemed to think of others always, and not just to protect their own actions. No matter how needy these folks are, they seem to at least try to reach out and take care of one another. Sure, there are “bad guys” in this novel, but understandably so, not to lessen the horror of what they do, for sure. However, they use common sense, all resources available, and live lives that appear not to need materialistic adornments. Much about the human spirit!
Great book club discussion.
If the Creek Don’t Rise was an intriguing story which brought the difficulties, traditions, and history of the Appalachian people to life. The characters were diverse and realistically developed. The story would around their lives and closed with an unexpected twist. A great book!
Lovely book. The writing captivates one and the story pulls one along and a lovely tale
Unique and very engaging. Hard to put down. There’s a lot of tragedy, but also hope. The author has developed wonderful and interesting characters. I’m happy to recommend this book. It’s a selection for my book club.
Outstanding first novel
I’m actually a huge fan of every word in it, thanks to the writer.If you have some great stories like this one, you can publish it on NōvelStar.
A story of twists and one big turn. The characters’ complicated variety of personalities presrnting hatred, revenge, caring and concern. The chapters lead to one horrific event. That chapter and several different paragraphs, I just could not read because of the descriptions given. Not my choice of book.
OMG-the ending!!! Worth every hard knock that was thrown!
Loved this book not quite finished.
This book was decent. It was definitely a sad story though. I just don’t understand why Sadie killed Billy after Billy killed Roy, but I suppose it’s because Billy probably would have taken claim to Sadie for killing Roy for her. I don’t understand why the story was told from different perspectives, or why the teacher was such a big deal. Since the author made such a big deal about the teacher, I really thought the teacher would be the one to save Sadie. Overall it wasn’t a bad read though.
The voices of Appalachia rang true in this tragic, realistic tale. The characters shaped by poverty and isolation were believable and I wanted to know them better with every page. The O Henry-esque twist at the end was perfection!
I couldn’t put this book down, but didn’t want it to end. It’s filled with unique characters and is a gripping story.
Really, really well written. I felt like I was there and I don’t say that lightly. Just outstanding!!
Great read!
Loved the ending!
While the author attempts authentic dialog, it just didn’t work for me.
One of the best books ive ever read, hands down!!!!!!
I loved this book. The characters were original and authentic to the Appalachian culture. Very interesting, flavorful characters kept the book interesting. Some violence, but tolerable for me (who hates violence). Independent women, women searching for their voices, or stuck in dependent relationships will enjoy Sadie Blue and her evolution. Justice was served in the end. A very satisfying read. Recommended for both men and women.