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dannafs's review against another edition
2.0
It was a slow start, but very enjoyable book about a young woman coming of age in rural N. Carolina (1930s). By the end, I was dying for her to leave her husband and get the story wrapped up.
booksandbosox's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this one up because I received an ARC of the sequel at ALA a few weeks ago. So I read the first book in preparation for reading the ARC. I would have thought that this was right up my alley. Velva Jean lives in Appalachia in the 1930s and dreams of becoming a singer at the Grand Ole Opry. But when she falls in love with a handsome preacher, will she lose her own dreams in her attempts to support his? I love historical fiction and Appalachia has always fascinated me. But for some reason, this book didn't grab me like I would have expected. Velva Jean is a lovely character but she didn't really seem all that believable to me. She very spunky and I guess I assume that women of this time period and in this region would have been more repressed than her. The arc of her story didn't really hold my attention - it didn't seem all that unusual or unique. I kept reading because there were bits and pieces of the story that I was enjoying but I wish I had enjoyed it more.
allison_21's review against another edition
4.0
Acutal rating 4.5
You can't help but love Velva Jean - she's a genuine, well-meaning girl from up in the mountains with a voice that awes. I rooted for her the whole way, and was proud of all her accomplishments. You go, Velva Jean.
You can't help but love Velva Jean - she's a genuine, well-meaning girl from up in the mountains with a voice that awes. I rooted for her the whole way, and was proud of all her accomplishments. You go, Velva Jean.
charliebookfanatic's review against another edition
5.0
[bc:Velva Jean Learns to Drive|6193902|Velva Jean Learns to Drive (Velva Jean, #1)|Jennifer Niven|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315356010s/6193902.jpg|6374339]
Jennifer Niven did it again. I think I have officially found a new favourite author to add to the list. All The Bright Places managed to rip my heart out and that was Jennifer's YA debut. I wanted to dive into her backlist, so I stumbled upon this historical fiction series. At first, I didn't know what to expect but after reading it: Wow. Honestly, just wow.
The story is about a girl named Velva Jean who lives in the Appalachian Mountains with her whole family. Velva Jean has always dreamed about becoming a famous singer and to finally sing in the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. This dream fades when she meets Harley Bright. She fell in love with his bad-guy charms, but he turns into a revival-preacher. Eventually, it comes down to choosing between her home or her big dream.
I've lived Velva Jean's childhood with her throughout this book. I love these kind of books and it surprises me every time. I was frustrated at times with Velva Jean. I couldn't understand why she'd stay with Harley, but other times well made up for that. She learns how to drive in a time where it wasn't 'appropriate' for a woman to do that. That made me love her so much. Such a fierce and lovable character.
I do hope we'll see some of the characters who disappeared from this book in the next one. It'd be sad if Velva Jean wouldn't see these characters ever again especially because they meant so much to her. I'm very excited to read the next book and I'm so glad I finally had a better-than-average read this month. It was phenomenal.
Note to self: Read Jennifer Niven's entire backlist.
Jennifer Niven did it again. I think I have officially found a new favourite author to add to the list. All The Bright Places managed to rip my heart out and that was Jennifer's YA debut. I wanted to dive into her backlist, so I stumbled upon this historical fiction series. At first, I didn't know what to expect but after reading it: Wow. Honestly, just wow.
The story is about a girl named Velva Jean who lives in the Appalachian Mountains with her whole family. Velva Jean has always dreamed about becoming a famous singer and to finally sing in the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. This dream fades when she meets Harley Bright. She fell in love with his bad-guy charms, but he turns into a revival-preacher. Eventually, it comes down to choosing between her home or her big dream.
I've lived Velva Jean's childhood with her throughout this book. I love these kind of books and it surprises me every time. I was frustrated at times with Velva Jean. I couldn't understand why she'd stay with Harley, but other times well made up for that. She learns how to drive in a time where it wasn't 'appropriate' for a woman to do that. That made me love her so much. Such a fierce and lovable character.
I do hope we'll see some of the characters who disappeared from this book in the next one. It'd be sad if Velva Jean wouldn't see these characters ever again especially because they meant so much to her. I'm very excited to read the next book and I'm so glad I finally had a better-than-average read this month. It was phenomenal.
Note to self: Read Jennifer Niven's entire backlist.
oldrunningmom's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book, a coming of age book that takes place in 1930's Appalachia, held a lot of potential. Velva Jean marries her childhood crush, who reforms from a former "bad boy" to become a preacher, when she was 15. But her lifelong dream was to become a singer at the Grand Old Opry, which she has enough talent to achieve. There are a lot of subplots, and at times, I felt the book got a bit tedious. But it was an interesting story, and I hoped Velva Jean would triumph over her upbringing.
penny_literaryhoarders's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to this in audio because Jenna Lamia (The Invention of Wings) narrated it. She gives another stellar narration, and elevated this story. Velva Jean Learns to Drive dragged for me and it took a great length of time before Velva Jean does learn to drive and for her to achieve her dreams about making music and playing at the Grand Old Opry. A good hardscrabble southern story, but perhaps a little too long for my liking.
mutmainah's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
So objectively speaking, this was great. The setting, characters, and plot were well developed and interesting. But when it came down to it, I just didn't care, like, at all. And feeling disconnected from a story that should be empowering and emotional is not a good sign.
I might revisit this sometime as a physical book, only time will tell.
So objectively speaking, this was great. The setting, characters, and plot were well developed and interesting. But when it came down to it, I just didn't care, like, at all. And feeling disconnected from a story that should be empowering and emotional is not a good sign.
I might revisit this sometime as a physical book, only time will tell.
allbookedup4's review against another edition
4.0
Great story about life in North Carolina's mountains in the midst of the Great Depression.