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A review by kelseyjobrien
Velva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven
4.0
"I looked to the west, over toward the Indian nation, where I knew the road was reaching. I looked to the east and to the north, and the road wound up and onward, as far as the eye could see. I looked directly to the north-just below me-and tried to pick out my mountain, to see Alluvial and Sleepy Gap and Devil's Kitchen. Sitting up on that road, with the whole world spread out around me on all sides, I couldn't hate anything. And then it hit me. I said, 'This was what Mama meant when she said to live out there.'"
This coming of age novel has all the cuteness of Mayberry, and all the power of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Set in the 30's and early 40's, we follow Velva Jean Hart, and the story of her childhood, where she grows up in North Carolina. Her best friend is her brother, Johnny Clay, and she doesn't get along with her sister, Sweet Fern, at all. Velva Jean and Johnny Clay like to play spies and Bonnie and Clyde, and pretend that they're ne'er do wells, headed for a life of crime. Of course, that's not true at all. Johnny Clay has an exceptional gift of mining for gold, and Velva Jean has a voice that can make her a star. A Grand Ole Opry star, in fact. Which is what she wants to be more than anything in the world.
Until she meets another, former ne'er do well, by the name of Harley Bright, and falls madly in love with him. Only now, all grown up, at the ripe age of 16, he's a preacher, and is so moving that he's nicknamed the Hurricane Preacher, because he's able to bring people to their knees. They have a past, but to Velva Jean, he's only been the moonshiner's boy. Now he's got a following, and he's as handsome as a movie star. Since he was a child, he's told Velva Jean that she "has the prettiest face on Fair Mountain, or anywhere else," and upon seeing her again, he woos her with the same compliment. They start spending their days together, and eventually, with her grandfather's blessing, they get married.
Velva Jean, not one to settle, soon becomes bored of being a wife, and her dreams of becoming a singer at the Grand Ole Opry start to arise again. When she meets a man named Butch, a friend of Johnny Clay, he sets a fire in her so strong that she knows she can't ignore it. Then it comes time to make a decision. Stay a wife, or listen to her Mama, and go "live out there," where she belongs.
Man, there's a lot of stuff I left out, but I couldn't exactly tell you everything that happens! I said it was a powerful novel for a reason, because it is, but you have to read it for yourself to appreciate that. There's Cherokee blood and urban legends, mysticism, realizations, and family bonds that flow throughout this novel, that can't truly be written about as a review. The only thing I can say, is, there's a reason Velva Jean's last name is Hart. She has more heart than any character I've ever read.
I enjoyed this story so much, and I felt that Niven completely captured the emotions of what it's like growing up. I enjoyed reading about the small towns in North Carolina, and how things worked, because it's drastically different from New York, where I've lived my whole life. I like too that at the end, Niven leaves a little surprise, about roots, and where the story comes from. It's not completely fiction.
In fact, at times, I forgot I was reading fiction. I feel that the reader gets to know Velva Jean so well, that it feels like she's telling you this story as a friend, not as a character. I loved that, and also loved the fact that it came full circle, too. I love Johnny Clay like he's my own brother, and, in some way, I love Harley, too, even though, like Velva Jean, he royally upsets me. At the end, when Velva Jean makes her final decision, you go through all her emotions with her. You're happy that she's doing this for herself, you're sad because you love her family, too, but you know, just like her, that it needs to come to end, and you accept it. That, to me, is the mark of a truly talented writer.
I can't wait to read more of Niven's Velva Jean series!
This coming of age novel has all the cuteness of Mayberry, and all the power of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Set in the 30's and early 40's, we follow Velva Jean Hart, and the story of her childhood, where she grows up in North Carolina. Her best friend is her brother, Johnny Clay, and she doesn't get along with her sister, Sweet Fern, at all. Velva Jean and Johnny Clay like to play spies and Bonnie and Clyde, and pretend that they're ne'er do wells, headed for a life of crime. Of course, that's not true at all. Johnny Clay has an exceptional gift of mining for gold, and Velva Jean has a voice that can make her a star. A Grand Ole Opry star, in fact. Which is what she wants to be more than anything in the world.
Until she meets another, former ne'er do well, by the name of Harley Bright, and falls madly in love with him. Only now, all grown up, at the ripe age of 16, he's a preacher, and is so moving that he's nicknamed the Hurricane Preacher, because he's able to bring people to their knees. They have a past, but to Velva Jean, he's only been the moonshiner's boy. Now he's got a following, and he's as handsome as a movie star. Since he was a child, he's told Velva Jean that she "has the prettiest face on Fair Mountain, or anywhere else," and upon seeing her again, he woos her with the same compliment. They start spending their days together, and eventually, with her grandfather's blessing, they get married.
Velva Jean, not one to settle, soon becomes bored of being a wife, and her dreams of becoming a singer at the Grand Ole Opry start to arise again. When she meets a man named Butch, a friend of Johnny Clay, he sets a fire in her so strong that she knows she can't ignore it. Then it comes time to make a decision. Stay a wife, or listen to her Mama, and go "live out there," where she belongs.
Man, there's a lot of stuff I left out, but I couldn't exactly tell you everything that happens! I said it was a powerful novel for a reason, because it is, but you have to read it for yourself to appreciate that. There's Cherokee blood and urban legends, mysticism, realizations, and family bonds that flow throughout this novel, that can't truly be written about as a review. The only thing I can say, is, there's a reason Velva Jean's last name is Hart. She has more heart than any character I've ever read.
I enjoyed this story so much, and I felt that Niven completely captured the emotions of what it's like growing up. I enjoyed reading about the small towns in North Carolina, and how things worked, because it's drastically different from New York, where I've lived my whole life. I like too that at the end, Niven leaves a little surprise, about roots, and where the story comes from. It's not completely fiction.
In fact, at times, I forgot I was reading fiction. I feel that the reader gets to know Velva Jean so well, that it feels like she's telling you this story as a friend, not as a character. I loved that, and also loved the fact that it came full circle, too. I love Johnny Clay like he's my own brother, and, in some way, I love Harley, too, even though, like Velva Jean, he royally upsets me. At the end, when Velva Jean makes her final decision, you go through all her emotions with her. You're happy that she's doing this for herself, you're sad because you love her family, too, but you know, just like her, that it needs to come to end, and you accept it. That, to me, is the mark of a truly talented writer.
I can't wait to read more of Niven's Velva Jean series!