“Full Beaver Moon” by Peter Skinner is a compelling historical novel set in the 1950s South, following the journey of an eighteen-year-old biracial boy named Willie Greeves. After his mother’s death, Willie inherits a list of influential men who visited her Virginia bordello and some money, which he plans to use to attend university and restore his mother’s home. The novel explores themes of kinship, compassion, and faith, with Willie navigating a landscape fraught with racial tensions and personal dangers

This is the story of a biracial young man's journey to achieve and realize his potential in the mid century South. Good pacing, interesting characters and good mix of emotion and social commentary made this a worthwhile read

This book had my heart wrenching so many times. There were times in this book that you wanted to just help the MMC so much and want someone to just give him a break!! This is a story about a young biracial man that takes over his mother's "business" and every road block that he would endure to find a long lost friend. The journey that Willie takes to come out from under racial divide just makes you wish that it doesn't happen unfortunately we know that it still exists. Willie tries to do the right thing and make a better life for himself and for his girls. He tries to find the right in a whole lot of wrong.

This book never arrived in my queue despite numerous attempts to load it. Therefore, I cannot review it, which is sad because I was looking forward to the read..

This novel got off to a really hard start for me. I did not understand what was going on at all. Early on in the book, when in dialogue with a woman, the main character admits he didn't understand most of what she was saying. (136/3668) I know exactly how he felt because I didn't understand it either. About a quarter of the way into the book, we finally receive enough the backstory to make sense of what was going on. I do wish that backstory had been given to us earlier.

This novel was one I did not finish. That is something rare for me. I realized I was not enjoying the book and was frequently lost. I found it was still confusing to me about half way through so finally stopped reading.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Swell Media. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Set in 1950s Virginia and the Deep South, Full Beaver Moon was not a book that I would normally pick up, but I am so glad that I did. Peter Skinner has written an engaging story that shows people at their best and their worst. Willie, a teenager, inherited a car and the rundown home that used to house the girls that worked for his mother. After renovating the home for his own business, he sets out on a road trip to find a missing friend. It takes him into the South, where he experiences bias and segregation, but he also encounters people who will go out of their way to help him.

Willie is self-taught and has the drive to succeed. He hopes to attend university and befriends one of the professors, who recognizes his talents. Skinner fills his story with a number of quirky characters. Willie treats the girls who work for him like family. Cary was an ambulance driver, decorator and later one of Willie’s employees and friends. The police threaten to shut his business down, but the chief is also one of his references when he applies to the university. The use of slang at the beginning of the story was sometimes difficult to follow, but the story flowed as Willie matures and faces the challenges that life throws at him. This is not always an easy story to read, but it is highly recommended. I would like to thank NetGalley and Books Go Social for providing this book for my review.

Using the slang that was popular at the time added authenticity to the story line. Set in the 1950s when the line between black and white was drawn clearly and enforced violently, one young man would risk his life to find his missing friend. Peter Skinner has done an excellent job of portraying how hard life could be when you do not fit in.

This is not my usual cup of tea as they say. But once I started reading Full Beaver Moon I found it hard to put down.
There are some quirky slang words in there that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The premise of the story follows eighteen year old Willie Greeves on a road trip around the Deep South in America based in the 1950's.
Willie is trying to look for his friend and encounters some very disturbing experiences along the way.

American author Peter Skinner’s Full Beaver Moon (2023) features Willie Greeves, an eighteen-year-old on a road trip in the Deep South of America in the 1950s. He is searching for a friend and trying to repay a kindness, yet encounters many disturbing incidents and trying experiences. Supposedly a literary thriller, it has a dark undertone with challenging language (or slang) and narrative style, making it a difficult read at times. Whilst trying to capture the tone of the times, it was a discomforting tale with a two stars read rating. With thanks to BooksGoSocial and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

This was a really well done novel, it had everything that I was looking for. It had a great suspenseful feel to it and was everything that I wanted from the genre. Peter Skinner wrote great characters and a great plot.

Full Beaver Moon is my first book read by author Peter Skinner. I love the premise but found I was challenged mightily with the prose and often found myself lost but kept reading as I loved the characters so much.
Set as a Historical Fiction in the later 1950's, we follow a bi-racial boy soon to become a man search for an older friend while reestablishing his deceased mother's private club aka whorehouse. Along the way we meet the new girls, the gay manager of the facility, the local sheriff and many more colorful characters.
Racism and white privilege are a couple of the themes explored. My favorite theme was that of belonging, making family where none exists.
I rate 3.5 stars due to confusion I felt from the jumping around within the story.

Thank you to Peter Skinner Books providing an early e-copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars more accurate! I really liked this, & it was the 1st time I'd read anything from this author.....I'll definitely be looking for more from him! Initially the 'slang' manner of writing/speaking kind of challenged me.....but once I adjusted to that, I found it quite hard to put down, & wanted to read on .......although some of the situations presented were tougher than the 'slang' to deal with....violence, beatings....'what people do to others when no one is looking'.... The book is set in 1950's, much of it occurring in the deep South, dealing with a racial aspect....whew....very sad.........& yet, Skinner tells a story of real goodness among people too.....the reader has to weather through some of the storms though! Skinner really does a very good job of writing/describing, so that the reader feels the tension/anxiety......& the goodness too, of the situation.... A very good read....maybe not the easiest of reads, but very, very good!
I received an e-ARC from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley for review purposes. These are my own honest opinions.

Challenging to describe this lovely book. Insightful, descriptive, entertaining. I loved it and would definitely recommend reading it.

Once I got into it, I really enjoyed this book. Some quirky characters, social commentary, and a well paced plot kept me reading straight through in one setting. The author's writing style took me a bit to get into, Things were happening that weren't fully explained until later, so I felt like I was always playing catch up. Once I settled into that rhythm, I found the book entrancing. Strongly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.