Fantastic! ( )

Well this has been sitting on one of the TBR shelves forever, and I am not sure why. Excellent storytelling and a good story. Jean has had it with bad boys who beat her so she takes her daughter and through a series of occurrences winds up back in the little town in Wyoming where she is from. She shows up at her ex father in law’s house and well they hate each other.
Really good book. ( )

Mark Spragg is a very talented author who's narrative style is concise, pacing is beautiful and dialog about as good as it can possibly be. I could have read this in one or two sittings, but decided to stretch it out over a few days. It's also so well crafted that the film matches it perfectly; Mark could easily write directly for screen. The film which stars Morgan Freeman as Mitch, and JLo as Jean is well done, though I have to say I enjoyed the book equally as much. Needless to say I'm going to read the other books he's written. ( )

Nine-year-old Griff and her mom Jean flee Jean's abusive and delusional boyfriend in an Iowa trailer house and hit a westward road. The whims of the road changes their whim to drive to the Pacific coast, and they instead stop in Ishiwooa, Wyoming where Griff's grandfather lives on a ranch. Jean and Einar don't get along, but Griff is elated with the change of pace. She gets to do useful things around the property and befriends her grandfather's crippled best friend, Mitch. This story weaves the ambiance of living in the rural mountain west, a touch of Horse Whisperer-esque cliche, but otherwise keeps you reading as the family struggles to reunite despite a harsh past.

My favorite part of the story, other than it reminds me of my childhood in Colorado, is that much of the story revolves around a wise young girl and quirky old men. Old men often have the best stories, wisdom, and a youthful sense of fun. Griff didn't have that stability with her mom always selecting mean boyfriends, and through this story she discovers herself, nature, and that real wood houses are better than the fake stuff in cheap trailers. A genuine country lifestyle and old men are pretty cool for a girl like Griff. ( )

Best book I have read in awhile. I looked at it to see what Nancy Stauffer might mean by "utterly sprung to life characters." Got it. I, like the other old men in the book, am completely smitten by the 10 year old brave little girl. Wonder what Spragg is doing next and what it would take to get him to Torrey House. ( )