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A review by bubblewombat
Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains by Cassie Chambers
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
3.5
This book has been on my radar since it came out, and the first part of it, covering Cassie's childhood and family history, lived up to what I was expecting. The second and third parts weren't my favourite, however.
The author's mother, aunt and grandmother are such strong and interesting women, they're exactly why I read this book. I wish Hill Women had focused more on them and their stories instead of Cassie's college years, for example.
And listen, I know this is her memoir and she can write it however she wants, I just wasn't all that interested in Wellesley, Yale or Harvard. I wanted to know more about United World College, but that was barely a passing mention.
Another reason why I disliked the college chapters, was her desperately trying to fit in, and using her family's money (not always, but) to buy designer stuff. I completely understand her mentality at the time, I just didn't feel like listening to it.
And then there's the third part, which is about her moving back to Kentucky, and working as a lawyer which started off interesting, but then deviated into politics...which makes sense, I Googled her to see how she was doing after I finished the book, and saw she's a Senator, (good for her), but that section wasn't particularly engaging to me.
Her strongest writing is in that first part, you can feel how much she loves her family and her roots, even if she was ashamed of them at some point, which I can relate to.
If Cassie ever decided to expand more on her ancestors, I'd love to read it, as for this, it's a 3.5ish.
The author's mother, aunt and grandmother are such strong and interesting women, they're exactly why I read this book. I wish Hill Women had focused more on them and their stories instead of Cassie's college years, for example.
And listen, I know this is her memoir and she can write it however she wants, I just wasn't all that interested in Wellesley, Yale or Harvard. I wanted to know more about United World College, but that was barely a passing mention.
Another reason why I disliked the college chapters, was her desperately trying to fit in, and using her family's money (not always, but) to buy designer stuff. I completely understand her mentality at the time, I just didn't feel like listening to it.
And then there's the third part, which is about her moving back to Kentucky, and working as a lawyer which started off interesting, but then deviated into politics...which makes sense, I Googled her to see how she was doing after I finished the book, and saw she's a Senator, (good for her), but that section wasn't particularly engaging to me.
Her strongest writing is in that first part, you can feel how much she loves her family and her roots, even if she was ashamed of them at some point, which I can relate to.
If Cassie ever decided to expand more on her ancestors, I'd love to read it, as for this, it's a 3.5ish.