The Pecan Man

The Pecan Man by Cassie Dandridge Selleck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Looking back Ora, now in her 80s, decides to set the record straight on what happened back in the summer of 1976...

In 1976, widowed and childless Floridian Ora Lee Beckworth hires a homeless black man, named Eddie, to mow her grass and tinker in her garden - which causes an upheaval both in the community and with her friend and maid, Blanche. Eddie, nicknamed the Pecan Man, lives in a wooded area off of downtown and is not trusted by the white Floridian ladies in her small town. But Ora sees something in Eddie and still does, even when he's charged with killing the police chief's son. Ora also finds out a lot about her own character...

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Whistling Past the Graveyard

Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nine-year old, fiesty Starla has had it with living with her strict grandma - who tells her she's going to end up in reform school or turn out like her mother. Well Starla knows her momma is going to be a famous Nashville singer, that's why she left Starla's daddy. When a neighbor calls her "a no-good, cheap trash, just like her momma" Starla hits the road for the big city. Along the way and determined not to die, 'cause it will make her grandma happy, Starla catches a ride with a tall, skinny black woman driving an old rickety truck. When she hops in, Starla finds on the floorboards, a tiny, wrinkled, white baby wrapped in what looks like a pillowcase, and the adventure begins - full of people's kindness, darkness and truth.

Wonderful writing told from the viewpoint of a nine-year old girl in the turbulent '60s of the deep South. Eula and Starla, worlds apart and different colors, are complete treasures...

Favorite quotes:
"My daddy says that when you do somethin' to distract you from your worstest fears, it's like whistlin' past the graveyard. You know, making a racket to keep the scaredness and the ghosts away. He says that's how we get by sometimes. But it's not weak, like hidin'... It's strong. It means you're able to go on.."

“Here’s the thing ‘bout gif’s.” Eula stopped buttering her toast and looked straight at me. “A body don’t know how many the good Lord tucked inside them until the time is right. I reckon a person could go a whole life and not know. That why you gotta try lots of things, many as you can…experiment.”



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