Beth's Review: Tupelo Honey by Lis Anna-Langston
Author Provided Copy
Publisher: Mapleton Publishers
Released: April 25, 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Literature & Fiction
Length: 247 pages
Format: ebook
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Blurb
Publishers Weekly has this to say about TUPELO HONEY. A humorous, unconventional family yarn about a young girl navigating a hardscrabble upbringing in northern Mississippi. Meet Tupelo Honey. She divinely lays out the framework and quirky intricacies of growing up in a house only “slightly better than an orphanage,” her days spent chattering with imaginary friend Moochi, and navigating sleepovers at her pious, curmudgeonly grandmother Marmalade and mentally unstable Uncle Randall’s ramshackle house. Things change when her mother, a callous, irresponsible junkie, brings home Nash, a paranoid local drug dealer whom Tupelo surprisingly bonds with during treacherous expeditions to New York and Mexico. Through bong smoke-filled hallways at home, the pageantry of kiddie beauty contests, Sunday School, and spying on Nash burying his stockpiles of drug money in the backyard, Tupelo somehow survives. Eventually, her mother replaces Nash with another man who lives in Los Angeles, and a heartbroken Tupelo begins resenting the unsettled nature of her life. After her grandmother dies, child welfare places Tupelo in a group foster home. A loveable, engaging, original voice, Tupelo brightens this accomplished tale of dysfunction in a family where “nothing had ever been right.”
Four Boundless Stars
Tupelo Honey may be a fictional character, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to hug her and give her a loving home. Have you ever known someone with stories so unbelievable you told them “you should write a book, I would read it! LOL” Well, That’s one way to describe this book. This young girl’s adventurous life was definitely entertaining. It’s hilarious at times, but also very sad to think of a 10 year old girl thinking in such a mature way. Thank God for her Imaginary friend to help her through life.
I thought this book was written beautifully; Lis added just enough comedy right where it was needed, and knew when to write from Tupelo’s point of view to keep the flow. I really liked this book and rate it with 4 very strong Boundless stars.