A review by tigerknitting
Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh

4.0

I don't usually read historical fiction, but I picked one up recently called Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh. It follows the lives of 5 children in Bakerton PA, a small mining town, starting in the 1940s. At the start of the book Stanley Novak, coal miner and father of 5, dies shortly after returning home from work. His wife, Rose, is left to raise the children. George, the oldest, is already away from home serving in the armed forces. Dorothy is about to graduate from high school, Joyce is a few years younger. Sandy is in grade school and Lucy is an infant. Without their father around, Sandy becomes a bit wild and Joyce takes on the role of the second parent-making sure that Sandy and Lucy go to school. All the children think that they want to move away from Bakerton. Some move away and then come back. Some make good choices, others not so much.

This was not an edge of your seat type of book. The story moved at a leisurely pace. The reader was able to see each child's perspective on living in or away from Bakerton. I would recommend it to people who like family sagas.