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Title details for Prayers and Lies by Sherri Wood Emmons - Available

Prayers and Lies

by Sherri Wood Emmons
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When seven-year-old Bethany meets her six-year-old cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a kinship of misfits that saves both from a bone-deep loneliness. Every summer, Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. For Bethany's mother, the trips are a reminder of the coalmines and grinding poverty of her childhood, of a place she'd hoped to escape. But her loving relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae, keep them coming back.
But as Bethany grows older, she realizes that life in this small, close-knit community is not as simple as she once thought. . .that the riverside cabins that hold so much of her family's history also teem with scandalous whispers. . .and that those closest to her harbor unimaginable secrets. Amid the dense woods and quiet beauty of the valley, these secrets are coming to light at last, with a force devastating enough to shatter lives, faith, and the bond that Bethany once thought would last forever.
Spanning four decades, Sherri Wood Emmons' debut is a haunting, captivating novel about the unexpected, sometimes shocking events that thrust us into adulthood—and the connections that keep us tethered, always, to our pasts.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 1, 2011

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780758267948

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780758267948
      • File size: 2695 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 11, 2010
      Emmons makes a strong debut with the story of Bethany Wylie, whose coming-of-age is rocked by revelations that could up-end her family. Bethany cherishes summers spent in West Virginia's Coal River Valley with her cousin Reana Mae, who is closer to her than her real sisters. Her childhood is innocent, despite the alcoholism, violence, and secrets swirling just out of her grasp, but as she grows up, she becomes more attuned to the cracks in her family's idyllic facade. Reana Mae, meanwhile, grows up faster than Bethany could imagine, and the dark secrets of their family's past, once revealed, could rip them apart. Emmons has a rich voice that pairs well with the earthy setting, and she handles Bethany's education with an easy hand. Though the plot could use some shaking up—its reliance on stereotypically unsavory redneck doings is the book's biggest flaw—the characters are wonderfully drawn and reason enough to stick with it.

    • Library Journal

      December 1, 2010

      This debut coming-of-age novel revolves around two young girls and the secret that entwines their families. Every summer, narrator Bethany and her family travel from Indianapolis to West Virginia, where she develops a friendship with her cousin Reana Mae. The book details Reana Mae's horrible childhood as well as oddities in Bethany's sister, Tracy. An inexplicably evil girl with "bad blood," Tracy emotionally tortures Reana Mae. While the plot is rich, there is a little too much exposition without action, lending a slow start, and some characters, particularly Tracy and Reana Mae's mother, are so despicable that reading the book becomes difficult. It is impressive that Emmons is able to portray characters with such vitriol that the reader can instantly hate them, but the problem also lies in so many bad things happening to these characters in such a relatively short time. VERDICT It's a bit like a West Virginia version of the 1998 Todd Solondz film Happiness--technically good, but everyone will need a quick jolt of antidepressants afterward. Readable, but only for those with a penchant for realistic, dark stories.--Shalini Miskelly, Seattle

      Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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