I grew up in the Ozarks. I lived in a small town, as opposed to the particular sort of rural extended-family hereditary community portrayed in Winter’s Bone, and I had grown and gone before the meth epidemic (which plays an important part in this story) rolled over the region, but I've seen enough of rural Ozark culture to say Daniel Woodrell's vision rings true. The author draws you right in to this harsh, visceral world with his mastery of description and his authentic characterization.

16-year-old Ree Dolly is a fighter, a survivor; she's tough as old boot leather, intuitive, and loyal. She may be rough around the edges, but she's terrifically competent, courageous, and wise beyond her years. Ree's father has jumped bail, and her family - two young siblings and a mother whose mind is permanently hazed by psychiatric medications - stands to lose their meager home and acreage to the bail-bondsman if he doesn't show for his court date. So Ree determines to hunt him down and to protect her family at all costs. Trouble is, Ree's kin are notoriously tight-lipped and clannish and none too eager to help, and Ree has a long row to hoe if she is to make things right. It's a simple story at the core, but life in rural Ozark country can be surprisingly complicated. Braving both the elements and her own fears, Ree untangles the web of tradition confining her to find the truth.

This book could have been ultimately bleak, and I went into it expecting a real downer. But Ree's spirit rises up from the page and lifts her story to another level. She becomes an archetypal heroine in a modern quest story. Daniel Woodrell has written a whopper of a book with a young Titaness of a protagonist, a brisk and believable read, and I heartily recommend it.