jaclynrei 's review for:

Stay and Fight by Madeline ffitch

4.5

adventurous reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This novel explores the lives of three women living in Appalachia. We are introduced to the region through an outsider's perspective as one of the women, Helen, moves from Seattle to purchase a 20-acre plot of land in rural Ohio. Helen has her B.A. from attending a liberal arts college and is incredibly eager to learn the "best" practices for living off the land, much to the frustration of those who have lived there for generations. The other two women, Karen and Lily, are a couple living on a women's land trust, until they become pregnant with a son and move onto Helen's property. Together the three women begin living a life of their own choosing, building a house and limiting grocery store visits. We watch as this chosen family raises a son together, while in constant battle with one another. Karen and Helen are equally strong-willed, yet their backgrounds continually put them at odds with one another.

The reader grows accustomed to their way of life with limited amenities that when CPS takes their son away, we understand a living situation that we, as outsiders, would have deemed as unacceptable before knowing how and why they got here.

Our stereotypes of rural Appalachia are continually subverted throughout the novel, as some of the most seemingly ignorant characters prove to have a deeper understanding of power and equality than our college-educated protagonist. Amongst the hardships the characters face, they fight for what is right in humorous ways - such as illegally planting fruit trees in suburban yards late at night. The characters are rough around the edges as we all are, but we learn to love them as those around them have done.