In a quiet, beautifully crafted first novel, 12-year-old Mandy
shoulders a woman's burdens after the birth of Willie, her brother.
Though Daddy has a lumbering job, the Depression keeps the Perritts
and their Kentucky miner neighbors poor; when Mama is bedridden for
six weeks, Mandy, as the oldest girl, is required to stay home from
school (which she loves) to replace her. Though reluctant, Mandy is
courageous and resourceful, and develops a special affection for
the baby in her care. As recompense, she is sent to Memphis for
Christmas with her well-off grandparents; ever curious and questing
for meaning, she not only experiences the city (Aunt Laura takes
her to Beale Street; she observes the street names that "Mama says
the way Daddy names trees") but also gathers truths about her
family ("Like a crazy quilt stitched and bound together, not the
same pattern, not even the same cloth"). From the parallel between
Mama's relationship with her sister Laura and Mandy's with Willie
to the lovely shawl Mama has secretly crocheted as a Christmas gift
for Mandy, Lyons' images hold insights that illuminate the world
beyond her story; her delicate morsels of philosophy and revelation
should hold a strong appeal for the special reader. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Having been forced to act as mother and housekeeper during Mama's illness, twelve-year-old Amanda has a holiday in Memphis, far removed from the Depression drudgery of her Kentucky mountain family, and finds her world expanding even as she grows to understand and appreciate her background.
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