Cover Image: Let the Willows Weep

Let the Willows Weep

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This was a beautifully written story of life, and being grateful with what you have. The description of the relationships in the family made me feel like I was watching life pass through their window. It read a lot like Where the Crawdad’s Sing, which was another book I loved. I adore the dynamic between siblings, and how they adjust to each other growing up, especially the nickname Denny gives, BirdDog. Just a beautiful story of life, and I highly recommend to fans of contemporary stories.

Was this review helpful?

Birddog Harlin, grows up in a coal mining town in America, she has two brothers Denny and Caul. Her mother is unhappy, she deserves more than to be married to a poor dirty coal miner, and she takes her frustration out on Birddog.

Nothing Birddog does is right, her brother Caul loves tormenting her and getting her into trouble with her mother. Her father and Denny love her and she loves them. Her daddy dies when a mine collapses, Denny’s dreams of a better life are shattered, he starts working in the dangerous mine and slowly he loses hope.

Slowly life for the Harlin’s gets harder, Birddog falls in love, and each member of the family goes their separate ways. Let The Willows Weep is a story about a girl called Birddog, I would have liked her real name to be included in the narrative, it's about hardship, cycle of poverty, and the consequences of falling in love, and three stars from me.

Was this review helpful?

I have recently been especially drawn to books on rural, and often forgotten, America and this one does not disappoint. It was incredibly interesting how Sherry Parnell wrote about a family struggling with poverty and rough family relationships. What I liked most was the emotional storyline throughout that made me feel for the main character, Birddog, as she navigated her life. I felt like I was on that journey with her.

Was this review helpful?

"Birddog" Harlin is a young girl growing up dirt poor in a mining town with her brothers and parents, facing devestating hardships starting as a young girl. Let the Willows Weep follows her into young adulthood, carving her a devastating path of hearbreak, grief, class struggles, racism, and sorrow.

So many points in this lovely but crushing book did I want to pull Birddog into my arms and embrace her. Blow after blow she withstands, none of which she deserved. My heart broke every time it seemed maybe things would mend between her and her mother, only be called "a disappointment" again, or worse. There is nothing quite as defeating as feeling like there is no one who loves you, no one to turn to.

I did love that the cycle seemed to finally break with Birddog eventually. While of this book was terribly sad, it was still beautiful and elegant. I loved the poetic prose woven throughout and found myself easily picturing the scenes even though the setting or time period is never revealed. This author surely stole my heart, even if most of the time she broke it into pieces.

Thank you kindly to Netgalley and the publisher for extending the opportunity to read and write an unbiased review. This was a delight to read.

Was this review helpful?

Let the willows weep is a beautifully told story of life growing up in the south and an emotional coming of age story for the main character, Birddog. Birddog is the youngest of three kids born to their miner dad and mother. Let the willows weep paints a picture of what it was like growing up in a working class family during this era and displays the types of prejudices that existed. Birddog endures a lot of hardships in her life, including loosing family members, abandonment and more. This story is depressing but the storytelling was really well done.

I do recommend this one but definitely recommend reading it when you’re ready for a sad story. Read this if you like coming of age stories & historical fiction! I also wanted to mention content warnings for loss of a parent, miscarriage, abandonment, racism

Was this review helpful?

This book about a young girl names Birddog is so beautifully written, it reads like poetry despite the difficult subject matter. I won't go into too much detail but Birddog's life as a poor girl and then teen and then woman in the rural South is filled with heartache and tragedy and it's one you'll never forget.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ecopy of this book to review.

Was this review helpful?

While the protagonist of this book, Birddog, was endearing, the rest of the characters - minus one or two - were completely unlovable. Also, the author forces you to come to a lot of conclusions that are not clearly stated in the book. When the story begins, you're introduced to one character and it confusingly jumps way back in time to the actual main story. Also, there's not a sense of closure or conclusion throughout.

That being said, the characters you do get to know well are mostly wonderful. The writing was beautiful and made Birddog very relatable. She pulls at your heartstrings, especially when you're seeing her life through her eyes, living with a mother who will always be impossible to please.

I would definitely recommend the book to someone who loves this genre, but would caution them against getting super high hopes.

Was this review helpful?

This is an emotional yet warm-hearted novel that follows the life of a young girl growing up in poverty in a small town with cold mother whom she can never please, no matter how kind and good she is. Overall a good read, but I was a bit confused by the opening and the closing. I think the narrator switches, but it isn't really clear. Either way, I'm not sure the switch is necessary or that it adds anything to the story. I did find myself wanting a more solid conclusion. However, I enjoyed this novel. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Was this review helpful?

This one is difficult and heartbreaking, though the redemptive quality of the ending is moving, albeit short-lived. As a southerner who has a deep fascination with weeping willows and southern fiction, I was instantly drawn to this story and beautiful, simplistic cover.



Similar to #wherethecrawdadssing and #bastardoutofcarolina this story paints a portrait of loss, grief, poverty, humility, and redemption, through the childhood and later life of Birddog Harlin.



Birddog’s entire life is drowned in the shadows of her abysmal relationship with her mother, a woman who carries such deep and complicated resentments towards her only daughter it is sometimes hard to read through certain depictions. A poor family growing up in the rural south and supported by their father’s work in the local mines, Birddog’s world is continually shattered by various tragedies, an interracial relationship in an era of the Ku Klux Klan and systemic racism destroyed by hatred and judgment, a broken and dismantled family, and her inability to belong.



As this title says, “Let the Willows Weep.” A southern tale that is painful yet searingly deep and hopeful at its core.

Was this review helpful?

I liked this more than I thought I would. I was a little skeptic because it was compared to Where the Crawdads Sing but it was heart breaking. This follows the dysfunctional family of the Harlin's. Birddogs mother favored her two sons but treated her quite the opposite. She struggles with self love and worth due to her childhood emotional trauma. It's so sad to watch how this effects her in her life. I don't want to give much else away so definitely read this for yourself! Thank you for the arc netgalley!

Was this review helpful?

I'm not crying, you're crying!!!!

What an amazing story!!!! I was reminded of the emotions that I felt when I read "The Great Alone" and "Where the Crawdads Sing", it's been a while since I have felt something so heart wrenching.

This is the tale of Birddog Harlin, a young lady growing up in rural america in a dysfunctional family.

You will fall in love with Birddog and she will rip your heart out.

I'm going to be thinking about this story for months to come.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Sherry Parnell for providing me with a reader copy.

Was this review helpful?

Heartbreaking - but powerful. A coming of age story.

A highly emotive read that follows the story of Birddog and the way in which the past can still trouble you and have a hold on you.

The story details the childhood struggles that Birddog faced, after a difficult relationship with her mother; her father dying in an accident and her brother taking over his role within the family, before realising that he needs to take care of himself and moves out of their mother’s house.

Written in a cyclical narrative, the story ends where it started, with Birddog’s daughter touching her hand and her watching as her husband leaves her. The story is bittersweet, as the main character learns that life isn’t fair and this forces her to grow up. This is w coming of age story that would likely be geared towards young adult readers, but nevertheless an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The beginning of this book was a little slow but before I knew it I was sucked into the story. The main character of the story is about a girl nicknamed Birddog by her older brother, Denny. She is transported back to her childhood by her daughter touching her hand.
We learn about how she had a rough childhood through her eyes and how she learned about love after her father was killed in a mining accident. Her older brother tries to take the place of her father and protect her from life. Until he learns he has to take care of himself and get out of his mother's house. He tries to share with Birddog the importance of looking out for yourself.
Birddog earns herself a new nickname, Daisey Girl, as she meets her first love. The lessons she learns during this time is very hard for her because it causes her to grow up and learn the world is not fair.
The book ends, as it started, Birddog connects with her daughter as her husband leaves her.
The book was a enjoyable and easy read. I would suggest this book is more geared towards high school/adult readers. A good coming of age story for readers to escape into.

Was this review helpful?

Wow, this book was heartbreaking, and I loved it. Birddog's life was so hard for stop bet ping but The ending was good

Was this review helpful?

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The plot was not I just never got that interested in it.

Was this review helpful?

This is a wonderful book. It is a quick read that will tell the story of the relationship between mothers and daughters and how the past can affect your relationships in the present.

Was this review helpful?

This book was very emotional! We follow a young girl through her life named Bird Dog, and her life is so hard. I read this during covid-19 which was not the best time to read this story for me perhaps. It was beautifully written but just so sad to me. I loved the weeping willow reference. This was just a hard read for me, but beautifully written.

Was this review helpful?

Let the Willows Weep is a heart-wrenching story of one girl's journey through life. Raised in a home where she cannot seem to please her Mother and one tragedy after the next seems to occur, the reader is taken on a beautifully written and descriptive journey of Birddog's life. I always find books like this heartbreaking and they make me question how a parent cannot love their children equally or even at times at all. The strength given to the main character is incredible and her story is one of strength. I would recommend this book and I thank Netgalley, the publishing company and the author for the advance copy of the book.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a heartbreaking novel, as the author's writing really made the character's emotional ability believable and relatable. The fact that the main character, known as Bird Dog was able to go on with life looking for a positive change as things kept getting worse for her was sad to read. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more from this author.

Was this review helpful?

Let the Willows Weep, I would highly recommend, this book will pull on your heart and it’ll linger there for a long time. This book is filled with tragedy, hope and redemption. You can’t help but fall in love with some of the characters and really cling onto hope for them as the story unfolds and brings you into it.
This is a book that should be added to your bookshelf. It’s a beautiful book, to be shared with many.
Thank you to the author, publishers, and Netgalley for this ebook copy. All options expressed are of my own

Was this review helpful?