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Adelaide Piper
"With humor and a nice southern accent?a fine follow-up to her highly praised first novel, Grace at Love Tide." -Booklist, starred review
The year is 1989 and dark currents lurk beneath the smooth surface of the elite Virginia campus where Adelaide Piper has come to study. Her poetic sensibility and idealism only irritate the socialites and cynics who notice her at all.
After a heartbreaking loss of innocence, Adelaide must navigate between her genteel Southern upbringing and the gritty realities of a new generation.
Ultimately Adelaide must return to the very ground she once cursed, finding a deeper appreciation for her Southern heritage, however broken and imperfect.
Featured in Southern Living's Books of the South
The year is 1989 and dark currents lurk beneath the smooth surface of the elite Virginia campus where Adelaide Piper has come to study. Her poetic sensibility and idealism only irritate the socialites and cynics who notice her at all.
After a heartbreaking loss of innocence, Adelaide must navigate between her genteel Southern upbringing and the gritty realities of a new generation.
Ultimately Adelaide must return to the very ground she once cursed, finding a deeper appreciation for her Southern heritage, however broken and imperfect.
Featured in Southern Living's Books of the South
430 pages, Library Binding
First published July 11, 2006
13 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Beth Webb Hart
10 books87 followersBeth Webb Hart holds a B.A. in English Literature from Hollins College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Her first novel, Grace at Low Tide, was one of three finalists for the 2006 Christy Awards in the general/contemporary fiction category. She lectures on a variety of topics and has taught creative writing on the college and high school level. She serves as a writer-in-residence at Ashley Hall in Charleston, SC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 8, 2011
"Adelaide Piper" by Beth Webb Hart is the coming of age story of a young woman. We see her intense wish to leave her small southern town and follow her to college where her idealism is shattered by the "Lord of the Flies" atmosphere--not at all what she expected it to be.
Even her acceptance of Christianity doesn't take root very deeply as various tragedies of life begin to overwhelm.
This is a book that, in spite of its inclusion in the "inspiration" genre, does not candy coat the reality of living away from the only home you've ever known for the first time. The take-away message that "there's no place like home" comes across as realistic rather than saccharine.
Even her acceptance of Christianity doesn't take root very deeply as various tragedies of life begin to overwhelm.
This is a book that, in spite of its inclusion in the "inspiration" genre, does not candy coat the reality of living away from the only home you've ever known for the first time. The take-away message that "there's no place like home" comes across as realistic rather than saccharine.
January 17, 2019
Just reread this favorite of mine this past week. Hart is one extremely talented author. This coming -of-age novel is slightly deeper than most the ones I've read. It's Christian fiction but it's not a super in-your-face approach to sharing the gospel. It's much more subtle and realistic than most Christian fiction I have read. It deals with some tough subjects head on. I can't recommend it enough!!!
July 17, 2022
I was interested to read this book because I just love local settings. Also, I don't know the author, but I am very acquainted with her family through my church. It was a solid pleasurable book without big emotional swings, but I was never bored. Relatable.... since I am a southern girl in SC from a dysfunctional family with some paralleled college experiences.
September 18, 2013
Adelaide Piper by Beth Webb Hart
Genre: Realistic Fiction
In my opinion, Adelaide Piper is an astounding piece of southern realistic fiction. Beth Webb Hart masters so many crafts of writing; from the small important details, when she describes the setting and characters, to the poetic voice of her sensible and optimistic character Adelaide. I think Hart uses the craft of setting well because she includes vivid details when describing the Williamstown, Virginia southern culture surrounding the story. Fletcher states, "The setting can help you shape the plot" and Hart consistently depicts Adelaide's surroundings throughout the novel (pg. 64). Here is a passage I could use for a Setting minilesson:
"The fine linens had been pressed, the shrimp had been peeled, and the house was decorated with beautiful homemade flower arrangements-pale pink roses, Queen Anne's lace, and greenery from the garden- in a variety of silver urns. Mae Mae and Papa Great's house was next to ours, divided only by thirty yards and a wall of pittosporum shrubs. There was a well worn footpath between the two properties, with an opening between the branches big enough for Daddy's shoulders to plow through. The two homes were at the end of the historic district, overlooking the salt marsh and a barrow creek that poured into the Williamstown Harbor, where shrimp boats and barges of steel and paper made their way out to sea." p.20
I absolutely love her descriptions of the family property! She does the same thing with her characters and it completely brings them to life. I have noticed I like a tragic climax in the novels I read, and this one is pretty heartbreaking. Once again the details place you in Adelaide's shoes as she terrifyingly and violently loses her innocence. Adelaide's journey afterwards is so uplifting and shows how forgiveness can play a crucial role into your own wellbeing. I would recommend this book to any of my friends who would enjoy an inspiring, southern novel.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
In my opinion, Adelaide Piper is an astounding piece of southern realistic fiction. Beth Webb Hart masters so many crafts of writing; from the small important details, when she describes the setting and characters, to the poetic voice of her sensible and optimistic character Adelaide. I think Hart uses the craft of setting well because she includes vivid details when describing the Williamstown, Virginia southern culture surrounding the story. Fletcher states, "The setting can help you shape the plot" and Hart consistently depicts Adelaide's surroundings throughout the novel (pg. 64). Here is a passage I could use for a Setting minilesson:
"The fine linens had been pressed, the shrimp had been peeled, and the house was decorated with beautiful homemade flower arrangements-pale pink roses, Queen Anne's lace, and greenery from the garden- in a variety of silver urns. Mae Mae and Papa Great's house was next to ours, divided only by thirty yards and a wall of pittosporum shrubs. There was a well worn footpath between the two properties, with an opening between the branches big enough for Daddy's shoulders to plow through. The two homes were at the end of the historic district, overlooking the salt marsh and a barrow creek that poured into the Williamstown Harbor, where shrimp boats and barges of steel and paper made their way out to sea." p.20
I absolutely love her descriptions of the family property! She does the same thing with her characters and it completely brings them to life. I have noticed I like a tragic climax in the novels I read, and this one is pretty heartbreaking. Once again the details place you in Adelaide's shoes as she terrifyingly and violently loses her innocence. Adelaide's journey afterwards is so uplifting and shows how forgiveness can play a crucial role into your own wellbeing. I would recommend this book to any of my friends who would enjoy an inspiring, southern novel.
June 19, 2008
I loved Grace at Low Tide, but this book needed a better editor. The premise was promising, but it needed to end much sooner than it did. The drudgery of those last pages made it a chore to finish.
December 11, 2017
Adelaide Piper by author Beth Webb Hart is a coming of age story about a young lady, Adelaide, who is much like any other girl her age. She graduates high school very successfully and prepares herself for adulthood as she joins a college away from her small hometown. She discovers that college life is not exactly what she expected. She goes through many obstacles, one including rape and another including eating disorder. Adelaide knows that everybody in her family loves her and cares about her. She also knows that there are many other young women out there who are dealing with the same struggles that she is currently dealing with, or has dealt with. She then dedicates her heart to helping other young women with their troubles with rape and self-worth. She makes this case heard as much as she can. Adelaide not only is trying her best to help others. She is helping herself. She discovers who she truly is and what her passion is. As she changes her point of view on young women and their struggles, she finds religion. At first she questions everything she believes and listens to someone who has a much stronger belief system to see if she can relate or discover what she really wants to believe. Her growing faith helps her stay strong with the cause she is fighting for. Adelaide struggles to put aside her own problems and fight for the cause. She goes through many obstacles but ends up becoming a stronger, independent woman.
I think that this book could have been written better. The first 100 pages or so are very slow, and somewhat boring. There are some useful details about her childhood in the beginning chapters, but overall it does not engage the reader in my opinion. I had to force myself to keep reading and finally reach the exciting parts. There are no major events in the beginning of the book, and as I kept waiting for the main climax to happen it seemed as it kept getting further and further away. Also, I do not think that Beth Webb Hart, the author, made Adelaide likeable enough to be the main character. If she was portrayed as a negative character it would be better for the audience to dislike her, but Adelaide was the main character and the good person in the book and I don’t think she was likeable. There are a few times in the book where Adelaide seems too cocky. It is good for her to have self confidence, but after a point it turns to cockiness or arrogance. One of the strengths that this book had was its changing aspects. Throughout the book Adelaide doesn’t seem too interested in religion whatsoever, but towards the middle she finds an interest in Christianity and becomes more involved with the religion and that helps her stay strong. Overall, I think that Beth Webb Hart really could have either just erased the first few chapters or put the little vital information into a short chapter to make the readers more engaged. I do think that the book has a good message. Adelaide went off to college with high integrity and optimism, and ended up where she never thought she would be. The message of the book is There’s no place like home. I think that the lesson of the book was way too predictable. It started out as a girl in a small town who wanted to get away, and closer to the conclusion of the book she ended up realizing that she needed to be home all along. I would rate this book a three out of ten.
I think that this book could have been written better. The first 100 pages or so are very slow, and somewhat boring. There are some useful details about her childhood in the beginning chapters, but overall it does not engage the reader in my opinion. I had to force myself to keep reading and finally reach the exciting parts. There are no major events in the beginning of the book, and as I kept waiting for the main climax to happen it seemed as it kept getting further and further away. Also, I do not think that Beth Webb Hart, the author, made Adelaide likeable enough to be the main character. If she was portrayed as a negative character it would be better for the audience to dislike her, but Adelaide was the main character and the good person in the book and I don’t think she was likeable. There are a few times in the book where Adelaide seems too cocky. It is good for her to have self confidence, but after a point it turns to cockiness or arrogance. One of the strengths that this book had was its changing aspects. Throughout the book Adelaide doesn’t seem too interested in religion whatsoever, but towards the middle she finds an interest in Christianity and becomes more involved with the religion and that helps her stay strong. Overall, I think that Beth Webb Hart really could have either just erased the first few chapters or put the little vital information into a short chapter to make the readers more engaged. I do think that the book has a good message. Adelaide went off to college with high integrity and optimism, and ended up where she never thought she would be. The message of the book is There’s no place like home. I think that the lesson of the book was way too predictable. It started out as a girl in a small town who wanted to get away, and closer to the conclusion of the book she ended up realizing that she needed to be home all along. I would rate this book a three out of ten.
June 2, 2017
I have read this book in it's entirety and actually went back to it to reread several passages that I found impactful. This a true southern book. You hear the accents, feel the heat, recognize the many and varied relationships and relationship issues that are a part of the story. The book also delves into the more dark areas of behavior ( race, rape,family disfunction, areas that southerners like to keep under cover) in a real and meaningful way. Although it dragged a little bit in a couple of spots overall it was a wonderful book.
November 8, 2020
This was a book I’ve had on my bookshelf for a long time, but I never read it. I enjoyed it more than I expected. There was no thrilling drama or suspenseful events that left me eager to keep reading. It was was just about a young lady finding herself through many realistic trials, and how those trials caused her to ask hard questions and find truth, peace, and hope in a world of heartbreak and pain. I kind of wish the ending was more “happily ever after,” but overall I liked this book.
October 31, 2020
This book was a big surprise. It is not a quick, easy read but rather though-provoking and touches on many hard subjects. The story shows that life is hard and doesn't always turn out the way we envisioned. The spiritual aspect was strong but very well done.
September 13, 2017
This is a beautiful coming-of-age story. Beth Webb Hart is very talented!
July 20, 2018
1.4 -- This book mostly bored me. I wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't been able to listen to it at double speed while doing chores.
June 2, 2015
Beth Hart is listed as a contemporary Christian fiction author. She writes a book with the typical drama and conflict as any other Southern Fiction book. She has the characters involved in the troubles of life, but they seek God's guidance in helping to solve the conflicts. She is not off-putting with the Christianity and actually the characters resonate with a Christians' questioning why bad things happen to good people, etc. It is a good story about a young woman from Williamstown (Georgetown,S.C.) who goes away to college and is EXPOSED to real life. The fraternity life, drinking, professors who seem detached and uncaring, rape, unplanned pregnancy and abortion. She covers it all. It is a good read, worth the effort. Her writing style reminds me of Dorothea Benton Frank and others in the same genre.
February 8, 2010
There was a lot going on in this book... in fact, too much in my opinion. At first, I was on board and rooting for the main character, Adelaide Piper. I wanted this unpopular, academic girl to get out of small-town South Carolina and find herself during college in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. And, though she is a victim of a crime on campus that changes her life, I just couldn't get past the novel's sudden focus on being born again. That, coupled with her relationship with her second cousin that was veering towards a marriage proposal, plus a brief courtship with a guy that could only be described as a "weenie" and that ended with a broken marriage proposal - made me just long for the end of the story to arrive.
January 3, 2008
I really liked this book. In fact I liked it so much that I emailed the author to let her know and she was kind enough to respond with a gracious thanks.
This is a great coming of age story with a lot of Southern charm. Being from the South, I found all the little references familiar and I could really relate to the character of Adelaide, this little Southern Belle fighting to get out of the South and start living a "real" life somewhere far, far away. If you like Southern fiction with a little bit of "feel good" mixed in then give this book a try. I have shared it with adults and teens and everyone I have shared it with has enjoyed it as well.
This is a great coming of age story with a lot of Southern charm. Being from the South, I found all the little references familiar and I could really relate to the character of Adelaide, this little Southern Belle fighting to get out of the South and start living a "real" life somewhere far, far away. If you like Southern fiction with a little bit of "feel good" mixed in then give this book a try. I have shared it with adults and teens and everyone I have shared it with has enjoyed it as well.
March 13, 2014
The book started a bit slow and I was a bit put off by the main characters high opinion of herself, but as the book went on, it became more complex and interesting. It used to be that great literature took on spiritual aspects of a character's life, but modern fiction tends to ignore that aspect. I was surprised by how well the author handled very controversial subjects with such realism and honesty. I would have liked a different ending, but all in all it was a great story and I will recommend it to others. I plan to read the author's other books too.
March 24, 2008
This book had a little bit of everything: going off to college, marriage, abortion, rape, conversion, divorce, an eating disorder, an engagement, and a debutante ball. They didn't all happen to the main character, but each touched her life in some way. It was not what I was expecting when I picked up the book, and it doesn't have a typical "happy ending", but it ends with you thinking it's Adelaide's life is just beginning.
June 19, 2013
Southern fiction's drawl can sometimes gloss over the rough edges of life, but Beth Webb Hart's writing plunges straight to the grit and bone of life. With her slow, gentle voice, she guides the reader into the not-pretty--daddy with one arm, friend who aborts, hazing and death at college, assault, and reeling into faith. Hart's polite, vivid prose present a tale rich in texture, scent, and sound of the South. A book of substance--worth reading and luxuriating in.
October 5, 2010
I liked this book, but wish that the beginning was edited out. At first, nothing happens to Adelaide. It isn't until she gets to college that the story really begins. I would have given it more stars if it didn't include the boring beginning. That said, the plot gets better and is worth the read.
October 15, 2014
There are some annoying inconsistencies in the writing (f.r.o.g. vs F.R.O.G - changing back and forth), as well as some redundant wording. The story was significantly more focused on religion than I anticipated. Overall, though I read through to the end because I wanted to see how it ended, I would say it was just okay.
April 10, 2015
Set in SC Lowcountry & the foothills of Virginia on a campus, I didn't get as clear a picture as I would have preferred of the Lowcountry. Anne Rivers Siddons & Dot Frank have spoiled me, I suppose. A coming-of-age novel about a girl who chooses Jesus after a rape on campus, when no one else will help her. At times, heartbreaking.
September 13, 2016
Another wonderful book from the pen of Beth Webb Hart. The struggles the characters endure are, at times, heart wrenching. The coming of age in the lives of people from all walks of life affected each person in a different way. Adelaide is an amazing young lady and the people in her life are each unique. You will cry and cheer ... cringe and laugh... as you share in their journey.
August 9, 2007
This book was interesting from the very beginning. A good book that deals with awakening spirituality, christianity & the violence of date rape & its lingering, life-long ramifications. I was interested from page 1 - in depth subject matter but an easy well flowing read.
March 1, 2009
This book took me by surprise....more complex than I thought for a random pick up book from the library. Good coming of age story based in SC and VA but as the plot unfolded, dealt with more and more complex issues. I will definitely read other books by this author.
May 24, 2012
Not what I expected when I started it, but held my attention all the way through. Left me wondering where life would take Adelaide next. Strong Christian message , but doesn't preach. Enjoyed it.
August 26, 2007
So, this book was a little contrived, on the religious side, but all in all it was a nice, quick air plane read.
December 2, 2008
I couldn't decide between 3 and 4 stars.... so I give it 3.5 stars. Fun to read if you are from SC or live in SC.
December 24, 2008
Growing up sory set in the South.
March 22, 2009
I had a hard time getting into this book, but after I forced myself to continue I really enjoyed it. An interesting coming of age story - unfortunately one that is true for many young women.
January 12, 2011
I have learned that we must appreciate what we have, seek for the luxury of life but never turn our backs into what we came from.
July 7, 2012
This book was very slow and it took me weeks to get through a few chapters. I gave up and didn't finish.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews