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Weeping Willow #2
Buttermilk Hill
Finding a way to cope through poetry The days seem carefree for Piper Berry in her hometown of Buttermilk Hill, North Carolina -- days filled with fishing with her daddy and ten-year-old aunt/best friend Lindy and listening to her grandmother's stories. But then Mama, Tiny Lambert (whom readers may remember from Weeping Willow ), announces she wants more out of life than being a housewife, and Daddy thinks this is unreasonable. He moves out and that ugly word d-i-v-o-r-c-e becomes a reality. Soon Mama's time becomes consumed with waiting tables and taking college classes. Daddy remarries, adopts two sons, and has a new baby daughter. Piper can't help but feel as if she doesn't belong anywhere anymore, and her only comfort is found in spending time with Lindy and their friend Bucky, whose life is full of his own share of family trouble. Piper's growing interest in and talent for poetry help her find a voice to say the things that are hardest and make an important decision about following her own dreams.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2004
7 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Ruth White
80 books113 followersI was born in the Appalachian hills of Virginia, which is the setting for Belle Prater's Boy and The Search for Belle Prater. I lived there until I graduated from high school and went away to college. Though I left the hills, they never left me. My memories of those years are quite vivid. I have always referred to that time as both traumatic and wonderful. I get most of my ideas for my stories from those memories of my childhood home, the small coal-mining town of Grundy, Virginia.
I started writing at a very young age. I remember trying to write stories before I was even able to put long sentences together. It was just something I felt compelled to do, probably because I loved stories so much. We had no television because my family was very poor; my mother was raising my three sisters and me with very little money. So we read aloud and enjoyed each other’s company.
Eventually I became a teacher and then a school librarian. Working in the public schools among adolescents fueled my desire to write, and I suppose the age group I worked with helped me determine that I wanted to write for them instead of for adults or smaller children. I wrote my first book, The City Rose, based on an experience that happened when I taught seventh and eighth grade in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. The schools had recently been integrated, and I had two black girls in one of my classes. I noticed that whenever we went to the library, they didn’t check out any books. Finally, they told me that it was because they couldn’t find any books about black children. So I decided to write one.
For Belle Prater's Boy, my inspiration came from Grundy, like it has so many times. When I was small I used to ride through the nicest residential area there and look at the pretty houses and manicured lawns. I thought these were wealthy people who had ideal lives. Only in later years did I realize that the people living in those houses were quite average, living the way most Americans live. They had their own particular problems, which I could not even imagine. So I decided to set a novel there. First, I created Gypsy, the city mouse, who lived in one of those pretty houses, and Woodrow, the country mouse, who was from the sticks. Then I asked them to tell me their story.
I didn’t plan to write a sequel to Belle Prater's Boy. I thought Woodrow's theory about what happened to his mother would be enough for the reader, but it obviously was not. I had many letters from readers wanting to know what happened to Belle, and asking me to write a sequel. Actually, I did the first draft of the sequel in the late nineties. After many revisions, I created The Search for Belle Prater.
When I'm not writing, I like to walk in the park with my golden retriever, listen to books on tape, and watch movies. Away from home, I like to visit schools and talk to young people about books and writing. My daughter usually travels with me, and we have a great time together.
I started writing at a very young age. I remember trying to write stories before I was even able to put long sentences together. It was just something I felt compelled to do, probably because I loved stories so much. We had no television because my family was very poor; my mother was raising my three sisters and me with very little money. So we read aloud and enjoyed each other’s company.
Eventually I became a teacher and then a school librarian. Working in the public schools among adolescents fueled my desire to write, and I suppose the age group I worked with helped me determine that I wanted to write for them instead of for adults or smaller children. I wrote my first book, The City Rose, based on an experience that happened when I taught seventh and eighth grade in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. The schools had recently been integrated, and I had two black girls in one of my classes. I noticed that whenever we went to the library, they didn’t check out any books. Finally, they told me that it was because they couldn’t find any books about black children. So I decided to write one.
For Belle Prater's Boy, my inspiration came from Grundy, like it has so many times. When I was small I used to ride through the nicest residential area there and look at the pretty houses and manicured lawns. I thought these were wealthy people who had ideal lives. Only in later years did I realize that the people living in those houses were quite average, living the way most Americans live. They had their own particular problems, which I could not even imagine. So I decided to set a novel there. First, I created Gypsy, the city mouse, who lived in one of those pretty houses, and Woodrow, the country mouse, who was from the sticks. Then I asked them to tell me their story.
I didn’t plan to write a sequel to Belle Prater's Boy. I thought Woodrow's theory about what happened to his mother would be enough for the reader, but it obviously was not. I had many letters from readers wanting to know what happened to Belle, and asking me to write a sequel. Actually, I did the first draft of the sequel in the late nineties. After many revisions, I created The Search for Belle Prater.
When I'm not writing, I like to walk in the park with my golden retriever, listen to books on tape, and watch movies. Away from home, I like to visit schools and talk to young people about books and writing. My daughter usually travels with me, and we have a great time together.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
November 8, 2010
Piper is surrounded by her family in Buttermilk Hill—which got its name from the flowers that cover the hillside—and enjoys having everyone close. But trouble comes to a head when her father decides he can’t take her mother’s dreaming anymore, and walks out. Suddenly Piper’s world changes, and she isn’t sure how to deal with her parents acting like children. Fortunately, her aunt, who is the same age she is, sticks with her and encourages her to explore her poetry more—even to try doing a reading at the public library. Piper also makes a new friend—Bucky, and her mother gets her a dog.
This is a rather heartwarming tale, despite the heavy subject of divorce. Piper is a strong girl throughout the book, and though her struggles are real, she manages to maintain a positive attitude, which is refreshing. Piper’s poetry is sprinkled throughout the book, giving readers an inside to her true emotions. Piper is the most developed character, but we learn a lot about Bucky and his mysterious past as well. The changes Piper goes through seem quick, but an appropriate amount of time does pass, and everything mostly works out at the end, which is also refreshing. A good coming of age story without too much angst.
This is a rather heartwarming tale, despite the heavy subject of divorce. Piper is a strong girl throughout the book, and though her struggles are real, she manages to maintain a positive attitude, which is refreshing. Piper’s poetry is sprinkled throughout the book, giving readers an inside to her true emotions. Piper is the most developed character, but we learn a lot about Bucky and his mysterious past as well. The changes Piper goes through seem quick, but an appropriate amount of time does pass, and everything mostly works out at the end, which is also refreshing. A good coming of age story without too much angst.
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November 23, 2010This girl piper lives in a traler park with her mom and dad. Her mom and dad werent getting along, so they got divorced. Piper is very upset about this,so has her life goes on... her poetry helps her to "stay together", or to be the better person. Piper has an aunt named lindy whitch is the same age as her. After the divorce piper's dad dnver has a girlfriend named melba that has to twin boys Louis and Larry. Then pipers mom tiny gets a boyfriend named Guy Webb that she goes to college with.
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June 12, 2016Buttermilk hill was a great book but started out a little sad. It was sad because in the beginning Piper's parents were going through a divorce and were always arguing during the night. This was tough for Piper so she started to enjoy making poems for her personal self that she sometimes shared with her aunt Lindy, but soon went to a meeting with a group of adults at the town library and started sharing her poems. That is what got her through the divorce of her parents, her aunt and her poems.
February 16, 2009
This is a great book, I loved it!
This book is about:
A girl named Piper lives in buttermilk hill. She has her cousin Lindy that she hanges out with they are the same age 11. Lindy is Pipers fathers mothers daughter. They are in church one day and a old man dies on Piper. Eventually Piper's mother and father get a divorce. All goes to crazyness from there untill the very end. (9 & Up)
This book is about:
A girl named Piper lives in buttermilk hill. She has her cousin Lindy that she hanges out with they are the same age 11. Lindy is Pipers fathers mothers daughter. They are in church one day and a old man dies on Piper. Eventually Piper's mother and father get a divorce. All goes to crazyness from there untill the very end. (9 & Up)
May 2, 2022
I remembered reading this as a teenager and really enjoying the poetry.
Re-reading it as an adult, I found it to be a downer, though not without hope at the end, and I didn't care for the poetry. I can't say any of Ruth White's books I've re-read have been uplifting or cheery but I enjoyed them as a teen.
Re-reading it as an adult, I found it to be a downer, though not without hope at the end, and I didn't care for the poetry. I can't say any of Ruth White's books I've re-read have been uplifting or cheery but I enjoyed them as a teen.
January 5, 2009
Bella and I read this together and we loved it!!!! I can't wait to read more of Ruth White.
August 12, 2009
Believable characters and great "voice". Coming of age story about a young girl dealing with her parents' divorce and their new relationships.
January 26, 2024
this is one of the only books that I remember truly relating to as a child. there were many books I loved, but none which represented the rural Southern rhythms of my life so well: endless summer days spent outside, the complicated web of relatives, cryptids, the irrelevance of the still-persistent economic strata, Mama and Daddy, scandals stranger than fiction, a reverence for the past, a hope for the future.
I’m so glad I squirreled this away somewhere and got to find and reread it. I appreciated the coming of age narrative in a way that I didn’t before. it’s both rife with pain and absolutely heartwarming (just like how life turns out to be). so all in all yes I did cry over a children’s novel. I’m so excited to discover Ruth White’s other books, and that this one has a prequel!
I’m so glad I squirreled this away somewhere and got to find and reread it. I appreciated the coming of age narrative in a way that I didn’t before. it’s both rife with pain and absolutely heartwarming (just like how life turns out to be). so all in all yes I did cry over a children’s novel. I’m so excited to discover Ruth White’s other books, and that this one has a prequel!
February 14, 2022
I am so glad I picked this book up at the library. I always check their shelves of books for sale. Paperbacks and children's/YA are only a quarter each I and needed a fourth book so I could spend my dollar and not worry about any change. I recognized the author's name and took a chance.
This was such a sweet book dealing with growing up and divorce. Loved the 1970s feel of it and the funny stories. There's even a bit of a mystery. And some lovely poetry. I have to say that Piper was even more forgiving and mature with her parents than they deserved. I loved how she worked through her problems surrounded by loving people, who may not have been perfect, but they certainly were realistic.
This was such a sweet book dealing with growing up and divorce. Loved the 1970s feel of it and the funny stories. There's even a bit of a mystery. And some lovely poetry. I have to say that Piper was even more forgiving and mature with her parents than they deserved. I loved how she worked through her problems surrounded by loving people, who may not have been perfect, but they certainly were realistic.
February 3, 2020
Buttermilk Hill by Ruth White is a fine novel. This novel seems to do everything it does well, even as it introduces older, more complicated themes. However I feel that this is the extent of what it does well. The characters I feel are lackluster, not holding much to them. This paired with the engaging ideas the story suggest only seems to fall flat. With no real connection with the characters the readers don't feel the injustice we should feel with our protagonist.
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September 20, 2019Buttermilk Hill is about a girl named Piper who's parents are going through a divorce. She copes through this situation. I learned that you can make it through everything and everything will turn out fine in the end. I enjoyed this book. I recommend this book to someone who's parents are going through a divorce.
August 14, 2018
Having my parents get divorce I could relate so much on a personal level with Piper. It is a very emotional book so buckle your seat belt. Highly recommend.
June 2, 2019
This book has helped me understand a few things about my parents divorce and put words on how I felt.
November 5, 2020
It was a good book overall. At some parts it was hard to follow and wasn't very intriguing.
January 20, 2024
I REALLY enjoyed reading this book--and now I want to go find other books by this author. Four stars.
June 15, 2020
I have mixed feelings about this book. It is well written and I really liked Piper. But her parents are two of the most inconsiderate and selfish people I have ever had the misfortune of getting to know. The book spans three years and for the majority of it, I feel like it's just a list of all of the crappy things her parents have done to her. I don't know how critics consider this a heartwarming book.
Although the ending was sweet, Piper's reconciliation with her mom was almost nonexistent. They went from being near-enemies to understanding each other completely with no real journey to get there. And Piper's poems were not consistent. They went from being excellent to not that good and back again. And most of the book feels like a summary of what's going on in Piper's life.
Bucky's story I would say is my favorite part of the book, but it kind of appeared out of nowhere about halfway through.
There was nothing really wrong morally with the book, but I just found myself continually frustrated and angry as I read; at Piper's parents, mostly, but also at the idea that someone can't be happy in a small town or in their hometown; that they have to go Elsewhere to find happiness. I don't believe that that is a good lesson to teach kids, but it's one so often taught.
Although the ending was sweet, Piper's reconciliation with her mom was almost nonexistent. They went from being near-enemies to understanding each other completely with no real journey to get there. And Piper's poems were not consistent. They went from being excellent to not that good and back again. And most of the book feels like a summary of what's going on in Piper's life.
Bucky's story I would say is my favorite part of the book, but it kind of appeared out of nowhere about halfway through.
There was nothing really wrong morally with the book, but I just found myself continually frustrated and angry as I read; at Piper's parents, mostly, but also at the idea that someone can't be happy in a small town or in their hometown; that they have to go Elsewhere to find happiness. I don't believe that that is a good lesson to teach kids, but it's one so often taught.
January 21, 2021
i was bored so i read this
March 6, 2016
The days seem carefree for Piper Berry in her hometown of Buttermilk Hill, North Carolina -- days filled with fishing with her daddy and ten-year-old aunt/best friend Lindy and listening to her grandmother's stories. But then Mama, Tiny Lambert (whom readers may remember from Weeping Willow), announces she wants more out of life than being a housewife, and Daddy thinks this is unreasonable. He moves out and that ugly word d-i-v-o-r-c-e becomes a reality. Soon Mama's time becomes consumed with waiting tables and taking college classes. Daddy remarries, adopts two sons, and has a new baby daughter. Piper can't help but feel as if she doesn't belong anywhere anymore, and her only comfort is found in spending time with Lindy and their friend Bucky, whose life is full of his own share of family trouble. Piper's growing interest in and talent for poetry help her find a voice to say the things that are hardest and make an important decision about following her own dreams.
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November 27, 2013Buttermilk Hill by Ruth White
Category: Fiction Choice – Realistic Fiction
This is a story about a 10 year old girl, Piper, whose parents are divorcing and the trials she faces because of their decisions. Unfortunately, we could replace Piper’s name with millions of other children that share the same experience. Piper’s parents use her as a pawn in their game of “getting even” or “getting revenge”. Her parents do not make her a priority and Piper feels lonely and confused. Her feeling lead her to begin to write poems to help her express herself.
The author, Ruth White, does a good job in conveying Piper’s feelings and suspicions.
This would be a good book for any child over 10 that has experienced or is currently experiencing the divorce of his/her parents.
Category: Fiction Choice – Realistic Fiction
This is a story about a 10 year old girl, Piper, whose parents are divorcing and the trials she faces because of their decisions. Unfortunately, we could replace Piper’s name with millions of other children that share the same experience. Piper’s parents use her as a pawn in their game of “getting even” or “getting revenge”. Her parents do not make her a priority and Piper feels lonely and confused. Her feeling lead her to begin to write poems to help her express herself.
The author, Ruth White, does a good job in conveying Piper’s feelings and suspicions.
This would be a good book for any child over 10 that has experienced or is currently experiencing the divorce of his/her parents.
March 11, 2008
OMIGOSH!!! this is the absolute greatest story ever... well not that good but something about it gives you an amazing idea of the setting and characters. It kind of reminded me of the book THE GREAT SOCKATHON. Thegirls from that book reminded me of the friendship between Lindy and Piper.. PEOPL!!!! READ THIS BOOK!!!! for some reason it will make you really happy and it just.... you kn9ow.... GRRRR>.. i can't find the words but it just is so totally...???????>.
READ THIS BOOK!!
eirn
READ THIS BOOK!!
eirn
April 4, 2008
I love Ruth White's reminiscent voice and her loving depiction of small town Southern life. She has a talent for drawing the reader into quiet characters of great strength. I really grew to love Piper Berry in this book and admired her ability to accept the changes thrust upon her by her parent's divorce. A touching and thoughtful book.
March 8, 2010
This is a really good book. It has always been my fav. book of all time. I love this book so much because basically everything that happens to Piper has gone threw i have gone threw this book helped me alot also with some things that has happend to me. Its just a really great book and it would be a good book for anyone to read.
July 4, 2010
Tessa has been wanting me to read this forever. I finally started it last night and was up until almost midnight finishing it. What a sweet, special book about a girl finding her way in the world. Filled with poetry, this book really spoke to Tess and I can see why :)
August 5, 2010
A 10 year old girl tries to deal with her parents divorce. She turns to writing poetry for comfort. Her friends stumble across a 15 year old mystery, and a shocking discovery. This was a good book, but some what slow in parts.
February 2, 2014
I read this book with a different cover, and even though they say not to judge a book by its cover if the book would have had this cover I would not have even considered it. I make this comment about the cover because I want whoever is reading this to consider this book.
September 29, 2015
I absolutely love this book! I would recommend this book to people who like reading about realistic fiction! This is the kind of book that makes you mad at the end of it because you want there to be a part two.
June 9, 2016
Buttermilk Hill is a good book due to its relativity to modern day family issues such as divorce, but the story lacks depth that pulls a reader in and makes a book hard to put down. If you are looking for a laid back pleasure read I suggest this book.
July 22, 2008
sad book but very good
August 9, 2008
I read this book so long ago i forgot what it was about! All i remember is that i was attatched to it the whole time I was reading it.
October 18, 2008
this book is amazing! it's very sad but enertaining!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews