Slow moving emotionally compelling story of àa broken, poor family and the life of the young daughter. A cycle of abuse and emotional unavailability just doesn't seem to change. Not believable to me but written with passion.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

This was a beautifully written novel about family, love and loss. When the book opens, the main character, Birddog, is a young girl. She comes from a dysfunctional family living in a small mining town. We follow her as she becomes a young woman. The author creates a mesmerizing atmosphere and really pulls us into her world. The only criticism I have is the ending, which seems abrupt and contrived. Inexplicably, two characters resolve their fractured relationship. I received an advance of this book. I am leaving my honest review.

This was very beautifully written and I very much enjoyed the story. I have found that I have a strong liking for most southern fiction. This one absolutely did not disappoint.

I like this book even though it is hard to read at at times. The main character, who is nicknamed Birddog, has a truly tough life in a very dysfunctional family. Her two brothers are treated somewhat better by their mother but she refers to Birddog as disappointing and useless. The story is told in beautiful prose in spite of the subject matter and it certainly kept my attention. Great book. I highly recommend.

Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this amazing book for my honest review.

"How odd, I thought, that she could
feel so much pride for one child
and so much spite for another.

Birddog Harlin grew up in a mining town with two older brothers, Caul and Denny. Her father, a miner, worked long hard days. Her mother was cruel to her and loving to her boys. Denny, being her favorite.
This was a sad read of a dysfunctional family after a tragedy within their home.

“The harder your heart, the harder
those bars are to break .”

Such a great novel. Sad and heartbreaking at how the words you speak can break a person's spirit and their self-worth.

Thank you to Publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Impactful and strong are word that comes to mind when reading Sherry Parnell's novel. It's a short and quick read, but there's still a lot happening in the story and the main character (nicknamed Birddog) is both believable and interesting. She goes through a lot throughout the story never really fitting in anywhere. She does not come from a really stable home, there's death in the family, she is being called useless and being bullied. These are themes I think many people can connect to in some extent, or at least relate to. The story wins you over, so to speak, and I very much enjoyed reading it.