This coming-of-age novel, set in 1906 in a small southern town, is as real as life. At times sad and often funny, it's sweet and sentimental without being syrupy.

The story is told by Will Tweedy, who was 14 the year his grandmother died and Grandpa eloped only three weeks later with a pretty young thing half his age. The whole town is scandalized by the sudden marriage and Will's aunt and mother, Grandpa's daughters, are hurt and mortified. Making matters even worse, the bride is a Yankee, and the Civil War, which robbed Grandpa of his arm, is still a current event to many Southerners. The bride stands strong against the scorn and gossip -- in public at least. As Will helps the new bride with household chores, a friendship develops between the two, and as he drives the newly weds around the countryside, he develops an understanding of their true relationship. Will matured that year as he absorbed Grandpa's philosophy on how to treat others and his unorthodox views on religion, and learned about love and death and living life to its fullest.

I listened to the audio version of this book and I can't say enough good things about the reader, Tom Parker. His narration is as wonderful as the story itself. I'm not a huge fan of audio books, but in this case I don't see how I could possibly enjoy reading the printed book as much as I enjoyed listening to Parker read it to me. ( )

Will Tweedy was 14 years old and living in Cold Sassy, Georgia, in the summer of 1906 when his grandpa came home one day to announce he was marrying a woman half his age, not three weeks after the death of his first wife, Will's grandmother. The town, of course, is scandalized, and continues to be so as the story wears on. This is more of a "slice of life" depiction than much of a story - the author starts with a setting (the town of Cold Sassy) and a premise (Grandpa's new bride), and meanders through clever little anecdotes and asides for a while until the author decides it's time to end the story and starts killing off characters. This is not a bad story, just a fairly standard one. I don't have very strong feelings about it either way. The constant backcountry dialect got kind of old, but I feel that way about all books narrated in dialect so that's not exactly serious criticism. On the other hand, I could hear all the characters in my head with no problem. In the end, if you like this era of historical fiction, you'll enjoy the feeling of living in Cold Sassy; if you prefer more plot-driven stories where everything happens for a reason, you might want to skip this one. ( )

an excellent story appealling to any age group ( )

One of my favorite books. Try to find the old cassette recording by "John Boy" Richard Thomas... the perfect voice for Will Tweedy. ( )