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182 pp.
| Candlewick |
October, 2003 |
TradeISBN 0-7636-1437-8$$16.99
(4)
YA
Dirt-poor in Arkansas, Pert Lexie hopes to find a way up and out of her dead-end life, away from the uncle who threatens her. Leaving becomes more complicated when Pert's brother, believing he's murdered their uncle, falls under the spell of a snake-handling revivalist. Some characters are stereotyped and the plot is a little opaque, but the novel evokes both poverty's hopelessness and the family ties needed to hold on to hope.