Bev Marshall

This is one book that I thought about a lot when I wasn't actually reading it. The story is narrated by different characters in each chapter. This way you get different views of what is going on, which adds so much to the story.

Set in a small town in rural Mississippi just before WWII, it is the story of the death of a young girl, and the events leading up to it.

Sheila Barnes is a character that you can't help but to fall in love with. She comes to work at Lloyd Cotton's dairy farm, and becomes best friends with Lloyd's daughter Annette. The two are like sisters, sharing secrets. Sheila is poor and uneducated, but her wisdom is valuable and wise far beyond her years. Everyone that meets her is transformed by her....she is plain, and has a hump on her back, but after talking with her, no one notices those things....only Sheila's unconventional outlook on life. To Sheila, every cloud has a silver lining. Her outlook on life is as magical as she is...forever an innocent child in a cruel world.

I will never forget this story....I am ranking it up there with my very favorite reads. This is the first novel that I have read by Bev Marshall, and I look forward to reading her others.… (mais)

A coming-of-age story with a dysfuntional parent. Layla Jay is 13 and living with her wild and crazy mother Frieda and her religious grandmother and not so religious grandfather. Not a combination that works well, but Layla Jay is happy with her life. Then a handsome, young preacher sweeps Frieda off of her feet, and there are enormous changes in Layla Jay's life, and not all good ones. The preacher is not what he seems, and Frieda is out of control, and Layla Jay is forced to be the adult. The writing was good, the characters well-written, but the overall story was a little uneven.… (mais)