<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>199636</id>
  <title><![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[1565124529]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9781565124523]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">199636</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">9</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">1851466</id>
  <media_type nil="true"></media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">2006</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>On Agate Hill: A Novel</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:593|5:122|4:252|3:163|2:44|1:12|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">593</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">2207</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">942</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">155</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.72]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[548]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[140]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>72932</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Lee Smith]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219780700p5/72932.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1219780700p2/72932.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/72932.Lee_Smith]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>4622</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>636</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="941">
      <review>
  <id>9759994</id>
    <user>
    <id>358359</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rosemary]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Houston, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/358359-rosemary]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1189354971p3/358359.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1189354971p2/358359.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">1763398</id>
  <isbn>1428100040</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781428100046</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">3</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187893597m/1763398.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187893597s/1763398.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1763398.On_Agate_Hill</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>7</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts—her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing—and philandering—mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties—and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[readers of sagas and Civil War history]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Nov 30 09:21:11 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 30 09:25:09 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lee Smith has a lovely way with words and history and tells an enthralling tale, following orphan Molly Petree from childhood to old age. The voice of each character is distinct and engaging. Now that I'm done, I miss these characters!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9759994]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9759994]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>32666551</id>
    <user>
    <id>950679</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Erin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/950679-erin]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1208926693p3/950679.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1208926693p2/950679.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>548</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="historical-fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Sep 11 21:40:07 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 21 23:40:13 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I hardly know where to start with this review.  The book begins in the years following the civil war told mainly from journal entries and letters.  Molly as a 14 year old writes, &quot;I want to live so hard and love so much I will use myself all the way up like a candle, it seems to me like this is...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32666551">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32666551]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32666551]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39587818</id>
    <user>
    <id>1180237</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Beverly]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Colchester, VT]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1180237-beverly]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="book-group" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 08 07:12:52 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 08 07:17:40 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I am not one for reading stories about war, so I was skeptical when our book group selected this one that was presented as &quot;about the Civil War.&quot;  So I was presently surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  I found it to be more a book about an individual and a family in the Civil War p...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39587818">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39587818]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39587818]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>56834575</id>
    <user>
    <id>2308275</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Heidi]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Westland, MI]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2308275-heidi]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>true</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu May 21 05:06:02 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu May 21 05:15:40 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The novel was rather disappointing I thought.  Basically, it's the story of Molly, a little girl who's orphaned right after the civil war.  She's taken in by her Uncle who lives on Agate Hill, an old plantation falling to ruin.<br/><br/>**SPOILER!!!**  Through diary enteries, county papers, and co...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56834575">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56834575]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56834575]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>81035287</id>
    <user>
    <id>1492430</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Julie H.]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Natchitoches, LA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1492430-julie-h]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1220490425p3/1492430.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1220490425p2/1492430.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">488897</id>
  <isbn>1565125770</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565125773</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">11</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/488897.On_Agate_Hill</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>36</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A dusty box discovered in the wreckage of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in Nnorth Carolina contains the remnants of an extraordinary life: diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, and bones. It's through these treasured mementos that we meet Molly Petree.<br/> <br/> Raised in those ruins and orphaned by the Civil War, Molly is a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. When a mysterious benefactor appears out her father's past to rescue her, she never looks back.<br/> <br/>Spanning half a century, <em>On Agate Hill</em> follows Molly&#8217;s passionate, picaresque journey through love, betrayal, motherhood, a murder trial&#8212;and back home to Agate Hill under circumstances she never could have imagined.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="book-club-selections" />
        <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Dec 22 14:05:40 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 14 19:13:50 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 22 14:05:40 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[When I am semi-dreading reading something, I truly love to be proved wrong.  Lee Smith's <em>On Agate Hill</em> has provided precisely one of those instances.  It's my book group's selection for December and I just started it last night, thinking it will be a long slog through yet-another bit of Civil War fi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81035287">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81035287]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81035287]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>77467551</id>
    <user>
    <id>362900</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Susan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/362900-susan]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Nov 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Nov 11 13:42:57 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 11 13:56:22 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I have to admit that my expectations were a bit high before I started reading.  My ENG111 teacher spoke highly of this writer which prompted me to go to a workshop lecture by the author so I was psyched to read something by her.  The writing style changes throughout the book as well as switching the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77467551">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77467551]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77467551]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>59075948</id>
    <user>
    <id>584597</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Debbie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lawrenceville, GA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/584597-debbie-mcafee]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1243255922p3/584597.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1243255922p2/584597.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jun 09 18:29:17 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 09 18:58:09 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'd love to chat with someone about this book --- I was all excited about reading it since I love Southern lit, but was a tad disappointed --- I still give it 4 stars, but was hoping for a 5!  I thought that the whole fire thing was a bit unrealistic and didn't fit Molly's character.  I'm still puzz...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59075948">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59075948]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59075948]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>63530379</id>
    <user>
    <id>1705548</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nina]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Baltimore, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1705548-nina]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jun 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 14 19:55:08 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 14 20:00:27 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I like Lee Smith's books.  The first one of hers I read was Oral History.  I think I just stumbled upon it wbile browsing in the library lo these many years ago.  Since then I have read several of her books which always involve mountain or rural people in the South (NC, VA or WVa).  Her plots aren't...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63530379">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63530379]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63530379]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>59331833</id>
    <user>
    <id>2114348</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Judy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2114348-judy]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="on-agate-hill" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jun 11 16:58:33 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 22 21:05:43 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was my second Lee Smith book and, oh my, what a great read. As in Oral History, Ms. Smith tells her story through journal entries, letters, and other archived information. This story is set post Civil War and tells the tale of one young lady from roughly 13 to the end of her life. In the tellin...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59331833">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59331833]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59331833]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>70538596</id>
    <user>
    <id>865423</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mary]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Arlington, VA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/865423-mary]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1202351357p3/865423.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1202351357p2/865423.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Sep 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Sep 08 18:57:10 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 08 19:04:08 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lee Smith is by far one of my favorite writers, but this book was not up to par.  There seemed to be little point to most of the story.  The narrative lacked what I like to think of as an underground current that carries the reader along and holds all the secrets.  There was not that nuance in this ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70538596">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70538596]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70538596]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>51486116</id>
    <user>
    <id>2173331</id>
    <name><![CDATA[John]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Salisbury, NC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2173331-john]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 04 10:47:22 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 09 08:38:12 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[On Agate Hill, by Lee Smith is a historical piece that follows the life of the orphaned Molly Petree.  The reader first meets Molly in 1872 at the age of 13.  She is living in her uncle’s house and has just begun to keep a journal, which is one of the forms that are used to tell her story.  In fac...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51486116">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51486116]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51486116]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>24987321</id>
    <user>
    <id>558587</id>
    <name><![CDATA[itpdx]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/558587-itpdx]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1244603718p3/558587.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1244603718p2/558587.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 20 09:57:29 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 20 10:38:39 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A well written historical fiction story about a girl in the reconstruction south.  An interesting study of a time when class structure was fractured and reformed--from the southern families that had been able to survive the war with some of their wealth (represented by the girls at the boarding scho...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24987321">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24987321]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24987321]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17361562</id>
    <user>
    <id>842772</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kellie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Charlotte, NC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/842772-kellie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1250816576p3/842772.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1250816576p2/842772.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="2008-reads" />
        <shelf name="bookclub-books" />
        <shelf name="fiction-literature" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Mar 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 09 06:34:42 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 13 09:51:46 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was a very unique book.   It starts off with a letter from a young girl who is writing to a college asking to be let back into the program she was in.  She tells the director of this school that she has a diary and some letters from the civil war.  It is unclear if she sends the Director all th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17361562">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17361562]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17361562]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>1775987</id>
    <user>
    <id>48404</id>
    <name><![CDATA[JG]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/48404-jg]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1177393269p3/48404.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1177393269p2/48404.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="4_star_reads" />
        <shelf name="appalachia" />
        <shelf name="civil_war" />
        <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="mostly_for_women" />
        <shelf name="read_in_2007" />
        <shelf name="reviewed" />
        <shelf name="southern-lit" />
        <shelf name="strong_females" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 08 09:32:28 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 09 17:45:17 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Finally!  A great book!  I was on a mediocre stretch there for a while.<br/><br/><em>On Agate Hill</em> is the story of Molly Petree, an orphan girl growing up in the Reconstruction South.  The book is made up of a lot of journal entries and letters, and it begins with a young Molly telling her own story, ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1775987">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1775987]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1775987]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>19522197</id>
    <user>
    <id>762121</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Martha]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Raleigh, NC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/762121-martha]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Lee Smith fans, Southern history buffs]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 05 10:38:25 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 05 10:51:13 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is by far the best book I have ever read by Lee Smith. The leading character was believable and the history seemed accurate. It seemed as if she had done a lot of research for this book.<br/><br/>The story is revealed through Molly's diary, letters and other documents that have been discovere...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19522197">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19522197]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19522197]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>64654054</id>
    <user>
    <id>172839</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Joan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/172839-joan]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jul 23 10:07:08 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 23 10:11:10 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I did not read this.  I listened to it on tape while traveling to and from Hendersonville.  I am not sure how it feels on the page.  On tape, it is probably ovelong, but it did hold my attention.  It follows the life of orphaned Molly Petree who at 13 has gone to live with her uncle Julius at Agate ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64654054">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64654054]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64654054]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>53815645</id>
    <user>
    <id>9686</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Adriana]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sumerduck, VA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9686-adriana]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1254936109p3/9686.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1254936109p2/9686.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Apr 24 07:30:22 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue May 05 07:14:47 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was an amazingly powerful book. Told in alternating voices and through letters and journal entries, this narrative formed a devastating picture of life after the Civil War for the south, and of love and passion, duty and dereliction thereof. <br/><br/>While there are few admirable male charac...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53815645">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53815645]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53815645]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>3660828</id>
    <user>
    <id>162045</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Annis]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Nashville, TN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/162045-annis-marney]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Southern women, mostly]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jul 27 12:13:57 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jul 27 12:17:54 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Very good. I've read a lot of Lee Smoth's novels over the years. She lived in Chapel Hill and used to be married to a poetry professor there, so I've been reaing her since I was in college. Nice characters, always, strong women figures, all in Appalachia and surrounding areas, so familiar territory....<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3660828">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3660828]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3660828]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20543746</id>
    <user>
    <id>245194</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Meredith]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Afton, VA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/245194-meredith]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1186031007p3/245194.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1186031007p2/245194.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">199636</id>
  <isbn>1565124529</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781565124523</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">140</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642m/199636.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172623642s/199636.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199636.On_Agate_Hill_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts&#8212;her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing&#8212;and philandering&#8212;mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties&#8212;and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="hollins-writers" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Apr 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 19 16:43:53 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 21 16:06:09 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[if you got to the end of <em>Fair and Tender Ladies</em> and wished for more, then this is the book for you.  this is a very similar story to <em>Fair and Tender Ladies</em>, with the same kind of plot arc, and the same dreamy and passionate characters.  the main difference is that, instead of telling the main charac...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20543746">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20543746]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20543746]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>63563009</id>
    <user>
    <id>1677450</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Andrea]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Muncie, IN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1677450-andrea]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">1763398</id>
  <isbn>1428100040</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781428100046</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">3</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[On Agate Hill]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187893597m/1763398.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1187893597s/1763398.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1763398.On_Agate_Hill</link>
  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>593</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is by her own definition &quot;a spitfire and a burden. I do not care. My family is a dead family, and this is not my home, for I am a refugee girl.&quot;<br/> <br/> Raised in the ruins of a once prosperous plantation on Agate Hill in North Carolina, she's a refugee who has no interest in self-pity. To document her headstrong life, she collects its artifacts—her lifelong diaries, letters, poems, songs, newspaper clippings, court records, marbles, rocks, dolls, bones (some human, some not).<br/> <br/> When a mysterious benefactor appears out of her father's past to rescue her, teenaged Molly Petree never looks back. Taking what she is offered, she saves herself and then risks everything to hold true to her nature and to true love. She casts aside two prosperous, well-born suitors to marry a dashing—and philandering—mountaineer only to be accused of his murder. The end of Molly Petree's story is as unpredictable and as passionate as her own wide-open heart.<br/> <br/> Spanning half a century, Lee Smith's portrait of a fiery Southern woman recalls the South from Reconstruction to the Roaring Twenties—and, in the process, gives us Molly Petree, living and breathing, gripping the reader's arm as the story unfolds.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2006</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="heard" />
        <shelf name="historical-fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jul 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 15 04:38:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jul 17 18:55:40 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I am reading this because Lee Smith was so highly recommended by friends, and I am not impressed. It  is a lengthy and dull account of events that could have been much more succinct. The historic characters were listless and the Tuscany Miller character felt like a late addition to frame the story. ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63563009">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63563009]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63563009]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="currently-reading" />
          <shelf name="historical-fiction" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="southern-fiction" />
          <shelf name="southern-authors" />
          <shelf name="book-club" />
          <shelf name="did-not-finish" />
          <shelf name="southern-lit" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=199636</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>