Review: Roseflower Creek by Jackie Lee Miles

From the publisher: Thus begins the story of Lori Jean, whose short life and early death are woven into this worldly-wise novel set in the rural South of the 1950s. Told from the point of view of ten-year-old Lori Jean, a sensitive dreamer of a child who longs for a "normal" family, Roseflower Creek boldly explores the dynamics of a dysfunctional Southern family. Abandoned by her father when she was five years old, her world consists of a weak-willed mother and an alcoholic step-father who can't—or won't—keep a steady job. Yet Lori Jean is filled with the curiosity and hope common to all children.

After Lori Jean's step-father, Ray, begins attending AA meetings, he seems like a changed man, and Lori Jean begins to think that finally she and her mama are going to experience some long-overdo happiness—to be a real family and "git ourselves one of them futures, just like regular folks." But when Ray returns to his former ways and Lori Jean uncovers his secret, everything begins to spin out of control and she pays the ultimate price for what she knows.

My Thoughts:

I wanted to like this one a lot. Really, I did. Unfortunately, I found it slow going. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it even though I usually love southern lit or maybe it was the dialect the narrator used or the fact that none of the characters grabbed me or even the predictability of the plot. Granted it was a sad story, and the characters had pitiful lives but a lot of that was due to their own choices for which I had no sympathy.

Roseflower Creek is a short read, a litany of one tragic event after another, but at the end of it, all I felt was depressed. This is just how the book made me feel, please make your own judgements. One thing I did like is that Miles evoked the atmosphere of a small Georgia town quite well. 2**

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Sourcebooks, Inc.