I'll be honest - I wanted to hate this book. I'm originally from Eastern KY and I lived in Lexington for 10 years. Most media portrayals of those places simply do not do either one justice. That said, this book accomplishes the task of portraying both places in an equitable manner. The characters are seemingly real girls with real feelings and problems and this novel does not sink simply to the depths of the "City Mouse, Country Mouse" stereotype that I was expecting. However, I do believe that everyone could have learned all the same lessons from this book if Mamaw in the mountains had been "fancy" enough to have indoor plumbing. That was just not necessary. Both main characters seem like real 7th grade girls and react to situations in believable ways. I think that this would be a great mother-daughter book club or literature circle pick.