Richardson doesn’t shy away from describing the difficulties and oftentimes horrors of life in mid-century Appalachia, but readers will be captivated by Honey’s courage and resourcefulness.
Packed with Appalachian history, The Book Woman’s Daughter examines women’s rights, extreme poverty, the treatment of minors, and the power of women helping women. But when she angers the wrong man, she has to fight to preserve both her freedom and her life. With the support of the region’s first female firewatcher, Honey takes on her mother’s old packhorse librarian route, delivering books to the poorest residents of the Kentucky mountains. When the family friend she takes refuge with dies, Honey must prove that she can care for herself-a mighty task given that Honey has a mild case of methemoglobinemia, which causes her hands to appear blue, like her mother’s. To avoid being sent to the House of Reform-essentially a prison for children-Honey absconds with her mother’s faithful old mule and hightails it back to the family homestead in Troublesome Creek. Considered “colored” under the law, Honey’s mother was prohibited from being married to Honey’s white father. Her mother-whose story is chronicled in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek-is one of the famous “blue” people of Kentucky. In 1953, sixteen-year-old Honey Lovett watches the sheriff haul her parents to jail for violating Kentucky’s miscegenation laws.
Richardson delivers another beautiful, heartbreaking, yet uplifting tale of the scrappy women of Appalachia. The Book Woman’s Daughter (Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, 2)
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