From the Bookshelf of Bound Together…

Shiner

Amy Jo Burns

Start date: April 29, 2020

Finish date: May 5, 2020

Discussion: A Sneak Peek~Under the Covers

Discussion leader: Diane S ☔

Why we're reading this: Under the Covers
Apr 29th thru May 5th
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Apr 29th thru May 5th

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May 18, 2020 Angela M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: edelweiss-reviews, 2020-favorites

“Making good moonshine isn’t that different from telling a good story, and no one tells a story like a woman. She knows that legends and liquor are best spun from the back of a pickup truck after nightfall, just as she knows to tell a story slowly, the way whiskey drips through a sieve.”

“Stories, like bottles of shine are meant to be given away.”

“ I didn’t want to be a story. I wanted to live.”

This stunning story takes place on a secluded mountain in West Virginia where days of drink, drugs, dea “Making good moonshine isn’t that different from telling a good story, and no one tells a story like a woman. She knows that legends and liquor are best spun from the back of a pickup truck after nightfall, just as she knows to tell a story slowly, the way whiskey drips through a sieve.”

“Stories, like bottles of shine are meant to be given away.”

“ I didn’t want to be a story. I wanted to live.”

This stunning story takes place on a secluded mountain in West Virginia where days of drink, drugs, death, blind snake faith and isolation were dark. Then as the secrets of the past are revealed, an even darker shadow is cast. Amy Jo Burns writes in clear, beautiful prose that conveys fifteen year old Wren’s isolation and fear, difficult to endure if not for her mother Ruby and her mother’s best friend Ivy and Ivy’s children. Briar Bird, her preacher, snake handling father keeps Wren from the outside world and the outside world as far away as possible.

It’s about the shine and the religion with beliefs manifested in snake handling and the miracle of healing. The relationships are complex - between Wren’s parents, Ruby and Briar “White Eye”, between Ruby and her life long friend, Ivy, between Ruby and Flynn from her past, between Wren and her father and the hope in the budding relationship between Wren and Caleb. The author does an incredible job of fully realizing the individual characters as well. By the end of the story, we know them all.

At first I gave this four stars, but then I thought about the true healing miracles here of unconditional friendship, the capacity to love in spite of suffering caused by those you love, and the possibility of hope when everything feels hopeless and the amazing writing. I decided it was deserving of 5 stars. A heartbreakingly beautiful debut novel about all of those beautiful things that are part of a place and culture where it’s easy to be mistaken that they won’t be found here. I’m hoping for more from Amy Jo Burns.

I received a copy of this Riverhead Books through Edelweiss. ...more

155 likes · Like · see review

Apr 30, 2020 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

West Virginia, hidden on a mountain top, miles from the nearest town, Wren lives with her parents, Ruby and Briar. At fifteen she has never been to school, taught by her mother. Her father, a snake handling preacher, whose path in life was formed by a lightening strike, when he was a younger man. Wren has been hidden away from the world, seeing only her mother's best friend, Ivy and her family. That is until she meets Caleb, which sets in motion detrimental changes to all their lives.

Five fully ...more

101 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2020 DeAnn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020, edelweiss-2020

4.5 moonshine stars

This gem had so many elements that I love in a book: small town Southern setting, memorable characters, love, blind faith, friendship, passion, and tragedy.

Wren is fifteen and has been sheltered her whole life in the remote backwoods of West Virginia. She’s homeschooled, but anxious to learn more about the world. Her father is a snake handling pastor who has special healing powers after being struck by lightning.

Wren’s mom, Ruby and her best friend Ivy, grew up together but al ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Jun 26, 2020 Alena rated it liked it

Maybe 3.5.
It started with one of the best opening paragraphs I've read in a long while.
"Making good moonshine isn't that different from telling a good story, and no one tells a story like a woman. She knows that legends and liquor are best spun from the back of a pickup truck after nightfall, just as she knows to tell a story slowly, the way whiskey drips through a sieve."

Those words are Wren's - the central character (but not the narrator for the entire novel). She is the daughter a snake hand ...more

5 likes · Like · see review