Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee

Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee
Series: a standalone
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers on October 3, 2023

REVIEW BY VERA DAY

It’s 1943, and five spinster sisters live together in a cabin in the Tennessee Appalachian Mountains. They have no electricity, no plumbing, and no phone. Songbird is a pregnant teenager who crosses paths with the sisters. Reese is a midwife working in Tennessee thirty years later. Appalachian Song is a dual timeline story told from the point of view of Songbird, Reese, Reese’s acquaintance Walker (who is a country music star), and one of the sisters, Bertie.

To cram all five sisters into a small cabin story-setting was brave on Shocklee’s part, and she accomplished the task with skill. It’s easy to tell the sisters apart, and each sister is adorable (or a little intimidating) in her own way. Jennie assumes responsibility. Bonnie is tough and does hard chores without complaint despite her arthritis. Rubie has a special connection with God. Amelie is skilled in sewing and knitting. Bertie has a big heart and takes a liking to Songbird.

Bertie is my favorite character in the whole book. She finds much to love in her simple life and appreciates the love she receives. She explains to a worldly man from the city:

Livin’ life ain’t about seein’ and doin’. It’s about lovin’ and takin’ care of those who’ve been put in your path.

Michelle Shocklee, Appalachian Song

As you can imagine, womanhood and singleness are major themes in the story. Are women complete without a man? Without birthing a child? Shocklee tackles these issues along with adoption, abortion, education, poverty, and faith.

Shocklee fits a lot of Christian elements into this story, and she does it through the characters’ (mostly the sisters’) everyday lives. They read aloud from their pa’s Bible after every supper. The sisters’ beliefs and their faithful living flow from their personalities. It’s smooth, natural, convincing, and never preachy. Kudos to Shocklee.

For the most part, I enjoyed Shocklee’s writing style except there were some on-the-nose dialogue passages in the beginning. But the awkward dialogue disappears when the story gets going. My other nitpick is Walker, the country music star. He whines a lot and is melodramatic. (The rascal grew on me by the end of the book.) Neither of these elements distracted from my reading enjoyment too much, so only half a fish off.

A tear-inducing miracle happens near the end of the book, and that scene alone makes the story worth reading. (I just now started crying all over again remembering the scene!)

The five unmarried sisters in the book are based on the real-life Walker sisters who lived in the Tennessee Appalachian Mountains. (Walker as in the country music character. Clever!) The sisters lived their whole lives in a cabin their father had built in the 1800s. Bonus points for incorporating Appalachian history into the novel.

Overall, an enjoyable 4.5 fish!

I read Appalachian Song through NetGalley.