A review by chopeclark
Godpretty in the Tobacco Field by Kim Michele Richardson

4.0

GodPretty in the Tobacco Field started a bit over the top for me, and I worried the author was overplaying her prose. However, two or three chapters in, my interest caught purchase, and I began looking forward to my daily sit down with this book. RubyLyn and Gunnar run so hot and cold, sweet and sour, that you wonder how in the world they stand each other and stay under the same roof, but as the story matures, you learn that they understand no other way. He's horrid to her, and she takes it in spite of her common sense, and you marvel at how ignorance of the rest of the world stunts a person so. The ruthlessness that these impoverished families lived in the Kentucky hills in the sixties cuts into your being, and you wonder how anyone could ever escape such an environment, but then you realize they don't know how. RubyLyn drew me in, and the author made me root for her, but, gracious, by the end I hurt for her so darn much. When things couldn't get worse they did, and when the story came around with a well played twist, my heart just broke. The ending was satisfying, but trust me, you'll shed a tear. A book hasn't done that to me in a long time. The only reason it's not a 5 is that the author tried a little too hard in the beginning chapters, but once she hit her stride, the tale was well done.