This book. Wow. Incredible.

Betty is actually the authors mother and it is based on her real life. If you read Tiffany McDaniel’s first book, The Summer that Melted Everything, it takes place in the same town and you’ll discover a link.

If you and I ever sat down to a conversation back in 2016, chances are I probably brought up The Summer That Melted Everything and gushed over it for a lengthy amount of time.

So when I received an ARC of Betty, I nearly passed out. I’m obsessed with Tiffany McDaniel’s writing. I’m also a glutton for books that bring me emotional pain, and this one brought it. You guys, I read to CRY.

I would like to say, I do not recommend this book for everyone. There are a lot of triggers and really disturbing scenes that had me burying my face in absolute horror. If you’re like me and tend to go towards the painful, dark and traumatizing... you’ll enjoy this book and the gorgeous writing.

Trigger warnings: rape, abuse (to people and animals), incest, racism, suicide attempts, murder, drugs and over dosing... it’s a very heavy read.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I received a copy of Betty. Even if I had expectations, they would almost certainly have been wrong. Tiffany McDaniel has written a beautiful but heartbreaking story that draws you in right from the beginning. The characters are complex and well-crafted; I found myself quickly developing strong feelings for each main character. The book is heavy on dialogue and fast paced. McDaniel’s novel is so grounded in a specific time and place that I felt as if I was right there alongside the characters as I read along. I was pleasantly surprised by Betty and would recommend this book to all readers who are open to unique stories that don’t look and feel like so many popular contemporary books. Betty felt a bit different than most newer novels and I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read.

A beautifully written powerful and heavy story that reads closely like a memoir! The author based this story around a strong woman in her life and you can tell because it reads with so much heart that I teared up at times.

just prep a light book for after because Betty is not fluffy. She will stick with me for a long time.

I will be thinking about Betty and the story of her youth for a long time after reading. I can’t do justice with my own summary. There are some heartbreaking things that Betty has to witness, so be prepared. But even with that, it was written so well and has some heartwarming parts, too. Often while reading I would remember that this is actually based on the author’s mother’s life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is everything I want in Literary Fiction. Give me deep characterizations, drama and trauma, and hope at the end of it all.
Author, Tiffany McDaniel, through research and interviews based this fictionalized story on the life of her mother, Betty. Betty the character who is born half Indian half white, is raised poor but that seems to be the least of her problems. Her family is riddled with every type of abuse imaginable and death comes often. Racism based on her Cherokee heritage is prevalent throughout Betty's life and relationships as is sexism. That Betty can see both the beauty in nature and the profane in humans is a testament to her resilience and extraordinariness. She experiences hate and love within her own family as well as the outside world. Her father's deep connection to his Indian Heritage brings mysticism and an uncommon bond between them.
Betty will have you feeling all the emotions and at times, those were overwhelming.
Thank you to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are mine.

This book devastated me. It left me an emotional wreck; I can’t remember the last time I cried so hard while reading. But man, it was worth it.
First, let me warn you that if you’ve got a trigger of ANY kind, this book is going to trigger it. All of them. It was hard to read sometimes, and I’m pretty hard to trigger. (Did I say “trigger” enough?)

“ A girl comes of age against the knife. She must learn to bear its blade. To be cut. To bleed. To scar over and still, somehow, be beautiful…” This is the coming-of-age story of Betty, a young half-Cherokee girl growing up in the Appalachian foothills of southern Ohio in the early 60’s. She has 7 siblings and more woes than you can imagine. Her family is full of secrets and mythology, and Betty learns to rise above her pain by writing about it.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of here, but every one is so beautifully wrought, as if Betty’s Cherokee father had whittled them himself. I felt their pain, their fury, their sorrow, and in the end, I felt Betty’s hope.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just cannot read another story about young girls getting abused. I was interested in this novel until we get to hear the mother's story and I stopped right there. I am glad people are loving this! I wanted to...it's just a trigger for me with a young daughter.

“Some blamed God for taking too few. Others accused the devil of leaving too many. Between God and the devil, our family tree grew with rotten roots, broken branches, and fungus on the leaves.”
-Betty, Tiffany McDaniel

Betty is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve ever read. No exaggeration, it’s that good. I have to warn potential readers, however, that it is a very heavy subject matter—despite its unassuming cover. I had no idea what I was getting into, therefore, nested at the bottom of this review I’m going to leave some trigger warnings. They of course won’t directly spoil the plot, but if you want to go into the book completely blind, just skip over them.

What made Betty unforgettable to me was the intimate stories and observations throughout the book. Based in Ohio, we follow a family throughout various points of their lives. Though the book is told from one of the daughter’s perspective (our Betty), it is just as much about the rest of her siblings, and her parent’s histories. This perfectly demonstrates the weight that generational trauma and our family’s histories intersect with our own—no matter how much we might try to escape them. This lends certain desperation to the story just as much as it lends sadness.

I grew up in Appalachia, so certain ideals, unexplainable to anyone outside of it, crept in. The relationship to the land itself. The history. The hurt. Though this felt like an exclusive introduction to a world that even I’m not privy to, because of that fact that Betty’s father is a Cherokee man. The stories of the indigenous people are weaved throughout the entire novel. It feels like a privilege (and it is) to be invited into it by both the author and the narrator. Betty’s conversations and reflections about her father are among some of the most gorgeous prose I’ve ever encountered. In the same breath, however, revelations and crude observations about life will cut you like a knife. Often as a reader I felt entrapped in a wonderful dream, only to see it spiraling downward, without any way to stop it from crashing. I felt drained after finishing this book. The writing is so effective.

This is one of those books that I adore but will cautiously recommend. It is indeed a horror novel. A quietly strangling horror novel that gets under your skin not only because of the content but because of the normalcy of it all. The reader is forced to feel every loss, every hurt, every injustice, and while this is sometimes necessary, it might not be something every reader, even horror readers, want to explore.

Below I’m going to leave the list of TWs’ that I can recall. These depictions are not just implied or brushed over in the narrative. They’re very much a part of it.

Betty is a masterpiece, without any doubt. But prepare yourself for the ride.

So many thanks to author Tiffany McDaniel for the review copy. I’m honored to have read it.
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Another winner from Tiffany McDaniel! I read her first book The Summer That Melted Everything when it was released four years ago and was blown away so I was pretty eager to get my hands on her newest novel. Both books are set in the same town of Breathed, Ohio and there were a few quick glimpses of some familiar characters but otherwise, these were two very different stories. I ended up loving this book just as much as I loved her previous novel.

It did take me a long time to read this book. One reason is that my life has been absolutely crazy for the past few months and time to read has been hard to come by. Another reason, and probably a bigger one, was the fact that I really needed to process some of the scenes in this book. This book is based on the life of the author's mother which made it even more heart-wrenching. This was a book that I wanted to savor every moment of and I am glad that I took my time and really gave Betty the time that she deserved.

This book tells the story of Betty and the rest of the Carpenter family. We see Betty's mother and father meet, marry, and bring their children into the world. Betty's father is Cherokee and she is darker like him which makes life difficult for her in 1960's Ohio. Her family was poor but they made things work. Her father had a garden that helped to feed the family and used his knowledge of plants and herbs to make medicines for the local community. We see the challenges that all of her family members face through Betty's eyes and hear their stories through Betty's ears. I was often just as horrified as Betty was.

The writing was just as fantastic as the story. I love the way that the author was able to share an event in such brilliant detail that I felt like I could actually see what was happening. Betty's family was quite large but I felt like I knew her brothers and sisters almost as well as Betty. The story had a wonderful and I found myself wanting to go over certain passages more than once just because I felt the power and beauty of the words.

I would highly recommend this book to others. This was a wonderful story of resilience and strength even when things were at the lowest point. Tiffany McDaniel has cemented her position as an author I plan to follow.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group via NetGalley.

READ.THIS.BOOK.

We follow Betty, this is the story of the author’s mother, growing up Cheerokee in the Appalachian Mountains of Breathed, Ohio with her family.
Tiffany created an outstanding story that tackles a lot of harsh topics, one that is difficult, important and magical all at the same time. With beautiful writing, setting, and characters I will never forget, we follow Betty as she’s learning to become a woman and learning how to heal from trauma. A book that truly feels like you are experiencing everything Betty is going through💔

With a mistery unfolding in the town and the curse in the house where the Carpenter family lives, Tiffany McDaniel writes a beautiful and unforgettable story.

I loved Landon’s beautiful character, the love and relationship he creates with his children, one where he allows his children to see the beauty in the a broken world.
I loved Betty so much. Her will to stay strong by writing her childhood experiences, her will to keep the world around her hidden and safe, and her strong character to keep being the best self throughout all the harsh moments in her life.
This book is a though one to handle..be ready to be sad, cry, and feel overwhelmed. Truly heartbroken at the moment💔😭
Trustin, I cried for you. Betty, you’re such a strong and beautiful girl. Fraya, I raged for you. Lint, you’re the sweetest little boy ever. Flossie, you’ll always be a star.

❣️There is so much more to this book and the beauty in it will only be understood if you read Betty yourself❣️

TW: animal abuse, self harm, racism, rape, sexual abuse, drug use/overdose, and mental illness.

Tragedy follows Betty.

I think that the fundamental premise of this work is - how does a family find its way through intergenerational trauma?

There was so much pain in this book. I often felt sick to my stomach, I lost sleep. I had trouble finding times to read this book because I did want to read it, but I also found myself shying away from it at the same time.

This book is an important examination of intergenerational trauma in Indigenous families. It's also a commentary on small town America, class and colourism.

Important book, but difficult to digest.

I really loved this book. The characters are so well drawn and I found myself really trying to understand the motivations of some of the more difficult characters. Highly recommend.

Inspired by the story of Tiffany McDaniel’s mother, BETTY is a personal and meaningful undertaking. It is a story of racism, abuse, poverty and amongst it all one of love and connection. This is not an easy read. It is devastating and absolutely heartbreaking. The beauty of the author’s writing is certainly there, for anyone who read The Summer that Melted Everything and fell in love with the writing style. But it is a much heavier read.

There are many wonderful aspects of this novel: the magic of storytelling, the fierce protagonist, and the folklore to list a few. The fact that it is filled with so much violence and trauma made it a difficult book to get through and one I was not eager to pick up. As a reader who does not at all gravitate towards heavy reads, it was especially challenging. I truly appreciate this novel and the very personal journey of writing a story based on family history.

This book is a paradox. It has some incredibly lovely writing, lyrical to the point of being folkloric. The prose is with-a-doubt my favorite aspect of this book, truly stunning. On the other side, this book details some of the most gut-churning cruelty I have ever read. There are no fade-to-blacks to spare you from the abuses the characters face. I do not consider myself a sensitive reader—I've never concerned myself with content warnings as I'm usually not bothered—but I almost put this book down several times after some particularly heinous passages. I was, quite literally, squirming with discomfort.

Though our narrator is the titular character, Betty, this is a solid inter-generational story. Despite being told (mostly) from a single perspective, the author really captured how experiences—good and bad—are inherited by children and grandchildren. This book is really the greatest possible testimony to that, as a story inspired of the author's real life mother, Betty, and her family.

If you, likewise, enjoy lyrical prose and coming-of-age stories and can stomach the brutality then I would absolutely recommend this book to you. It really is remarkable. It's an eye-opening look at the life of a mixed-race, Native American-White, 20th century family in the depths of poverty in an incredibly rural area of Appalachia. You can absolutely tell that the story is inspired by reality because, boy, it is painful in its honesty. You can see the scars of family trauma all over these pages. Its a story that will sit in the pit of your stomach and fester long after the sweet writing has left your tongue.

4+ strong stars for this unforgettable story!

This is a story about family. Betty is the daughter of a white mother and Cherokee father. Of all her siblings, Betty develops the most physical traits of her Cherokee heritage. Betty’s father takes pride in teaching his children the stories of his ancestors and passing down his family traditions involving the healing powers of plants and herbs. Betty’s family struggles to fit in no matter where they live, but her family unit keeps her grounded and confident that things will get better. Based on the authors’ mothers’ life, this story is brutally honest, haunting and exceptionally well written.

I will warn you that this is not a book to read if you are feeling emotionally vulnerable in any way. There are several ugly, gut wrenching, dark and horrific scenes. Yet, as uncomfortable as those scenes were to read, the exquisite writing pulled me so deeply inside this family that I simply couldn’t turn away from them. My heart ached for what this family endured, yet I remained hopeful for them.

The main theme of the strong sense of family bond and loyalty was captured so perfectly. I was teary eyed more than a few times while experiencing the love and comfort these siblings offered each other.

This was a sad but beautiful story that I highly recommend.

"I remember the fierce love and devotion as much as I remember the violence."

Betty is an unbelievable story of the author's mother's upbringing. She has a white mother and a Cherokee father and in the 1960s in Appalachia this created issues for Betty. She and her siblings navigate through troubled times, some better than others. The relationships Betty has with her sisters is quite endearing at times, I definitely laughed out loud a few times at their shenanigans.

While there is a lot darkness in this book (DM me for trigger warnings) there is also a lot of light. Betty's relationship with her father is special and their connection is profound.

On to the narration...y'all, it was out of this world. Hands down one of the best narrators I have ever listed to. Dale Dickey is an actress that you've likely seen in a few things and has the PERFECT voice for this book. She made this story come to life and I was so submerged in the story I found myself walking around doing chores and having to stop and sit to just cry (which I did twice) or laugh (which I did a lot).

The book is literary fiction/rural fiction/coming of age that reads like a memoir. I found it reminded me in a way of The Glass Castle meets Educated but only portions because Betty was so much more.

Thank you to @aaknopf for reaching out and giving him a free copy to review.

"I realized then that not only did dad need us to believe his stories, we needed to believe them as well. To believe in unripe stars and eagles able to do extraordinary things. What it boiled down to was a frenzied hope that there was more to life than the reality around us. Only then could we claim a destiny we did not feel cursed to."

Betty is born in 1954 to a Cherokee father and a white mother. she is born sixth in the line up of eight brothers and sisters and the only of her siblings who inherited her father's looks. Betty grows up living with a mentally-ill mother, and a father who teaches hope and beauty through his fantastical stories. Their life is one of poverty and brutal hardship. The family is living in the shadow of past traumas and unprocessed familial grief.

Do you know that feeling you get when you have cried very hard for a sustained amount of time and you sit in the aftermath of all the tears. sticky-faced, blurry-eyed, gulping breaths like you're starving for air? That is how I felt reading this book. Like a good cry, I felt both better and resigned to everything I had witnessed through the brutal telling of this story.
This is one of those books that I am deeply grateful I pushed through and finished because the writing was incredible...but... It was deeply difficult to finish. I had to set it down for a couple weeks and read something else for awhile. When I returned to the read I had hoped I had gotten through the most brutal parts... I had not even scratched the surface. This book pulls no punches and the redemptions of its characters comes at the curtain call of the story; too little too late to do much more than mop up a drop of blood on the outskirts of a massacre.
This novel was a wasteland of hopelessness. The fragile hope of this story came solely from the stories Betty's dad told his children. Stories of Eagles that carry your sorrows to the heavens so you don't have to hold on to them. Stories of magical books with stories written in flames. beautiful stories, unrelenting in their deeply hopeful messages and rich with faith for a better world. I clung to the the stories Betty's father told as a refuge from the full on emotional assault of this novel in the same way that I imagine his children found pockets of respite from their life long storm of grief and hardship. The magic of this story is this father's love. The undoing of the reader is that his love is not enough of a protection against the beating fists of destruction.
I don't think I will ever forget this story and the longer I sit in the finale of it, the more spectacular it seems.

Thank You to Knopf publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

McDaniel writes an amazing story that is heart wrenching. It was hard to read about so many different types of abuse that happened to one person. It was very harsh and hard to get through the entire book.

Once upon a time an author contacted me and asked if I’d read her debut novel ‘The Summer That Melted Everything’. I was interested in the devil that walked as a boy in coveralls that was invited to the town of Breathed, Ohio by a man named Autopsy Bliss. The book was brilliantly written and I couldn’t stop talking about how much the story within touched me. Years later, this same author would contact me again with a story that she wanted to share. She trusted me to take care of this story because it meant a lot to her.

The story that I read...I did not know what to expect. I promised Tiffany I would have it read and reviewed by its publication date of August 18th. The same day my children went back to school, “distance learning”. I had good intentions. Then I started reading. I read and read some more. Stopping to screw up my face in frustration. Slamming my fists down at the injustice. Then around the 30% mark, I cried. I cried for Freya. I cried for Betty. I cried for Trustin and his drawins. I cried for Yarrow and Waconda. I cried for Flossie and Nova. I didn’t stop crying. Wracking sobs exploded out of me from what felt like every chapter. I cried for the Carpenter family. I cried for the love given by Landon to his children. I cried for the love that was hard pressed from Alka. I cried because this story has so much in it. So much love and loss. So much family and flames. No family should have to endure this much pain.

I promised a review on the publication date. I couldn’t deliver that promise because there was too much at stake. This story isn’t one that you read in between chores and emails. This story isn’t for the flippant, casual, pick up on occasion reader. This story is one that you feast on. You start off being polite, taking small bites with a fork and knife. Cutting off bite sized pieces and thoughtfully chewing before swallowing. But soon you are diving in head first. Silverware forgotten. You snarl at interruptions. You’ve become so focused on the need to eat you don’t stop at just the meal, but start eating the plate too. Through the broken teeth and cut up gums you chomp. Then comes the napkin and tablecloth. Soon you are feasting on the table. Your belly is fit to burst and still you continue working your way down each table leg. Tears flow freely now as your swollen and splintered lips try to close over more and more. You are finally left with the chair you are sitting on. You contemplate if the chair too needs to be consumed, but you’ve found yourself at the end of the story.

The story is powerful like Cherokee women. They are the ones that plant the seeds. Only they can grow a garden. Men can only dig the holes.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget this story of Betty, little Indian to her father, squash to her sisters. She might have hated herself when she was younger, but grow up to be a warrior.

Thank you Tiffany for trusting me with your mothers story. I will cherish it. I will learn to be braver. I will continue to love and forgive and grow.

“You know what the heaviest thing in the world is, Betty? It's a man on top of you when you don't want him to be.”

McDaniel writes a story that is NOT for the faint of heart (animal abuse, sexual assault, physical abuse runs rampant), but these tough moments and topics do not give this book a sense of voyeurism but really shape the story. Filled with moments of familial tenderness and terrible, painful moments that make it hard to breathe, Betty is the character driven novel that I didn’t know I needed.

What a STUNNING novel. From the first few lines, I knew I was going to love this to pieces. Betty had it’s fingers gripped tightly around my heart through the whole thing. I’m sorry not really if you know me in real life, because I am going to be shoving this novel in your face and demanding you read it.

Thank you thank you thank you to Tiffany McDaniel, Knopf Doubleday Publishing & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.