I grew up in rural MS in this exact time period and found myself relating very much to this character-driven story. Chantry Callahan's story unfolds slowly over 500+ pages but I was invested the entire time. Very good read.

You get lost in this Southern small town and it's scandals.

This poor boy's story of loss and love and stubborn determination to right wrongs is heartwrenching and hopeful. You keep waiting to see what he encounters next.

I knew about 30 pages in that this was not a book for me. It was the suggested read for my book club though, so I really, really tried to get into it.

Is it just me, or does it bother everyone when an author develops these ridiculous character names that you can't seem to pronounce in your head? I'm sorry, if I can't hear it in my head, I can't connect. Petty? Yeah, but I am the one who has to enjoy it, not feel tortured.

The characters were more like caricatures, exaggerations of people that could have very well existed sometime, somewhere. Just too much, piled on top of too much. No bueno.

Decent coming of age story with good characters that I grew to like quickly. Some of their characteristics become a little repetitive as the book progresses, but not enough to completely spoil my enjoyment.