Title: Evocative novel of a Southern town in the 1970s
Product review: This coming-of-age novel packs a surprising punch. McCorkle deftly shows her ability to build a large set of characters, to let them loose, and to have them behave believably. She captures a small Southern town in the midst of social change. Integration is on hand; a Toyota dealer now sits alongside a Ford dealer on the pike; a new high school is being built. We follow McCorkle's main character, Katie, through childhood and early adolescence, to her first love. As she makes her way in the world, she learns about loyalty, betrayal, and dishonesty, and she understands that adults make mistakes. The key is how to deal with one's mistakes and what to learn from them.This highly evocative novel uses the popular songs of the 1970s and earlier decades as its soundtrack. It fills the reader's mind with the sights, tastes, and smells of the decade. It quietly achieves a high level of literary success.
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