The Bean Trees (Greer Family, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Sep 13, 2007 Debbie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Marietta Greer struggles to finish school in a small town where teen pregnancy and dropout rates are sky-high. A few years after graduation, she decides to drive west in her old VW bug. After the car runs out of gas in Taylorville, Marietta changes her name to Taylor. It is ironic that after vowing not to become a mother at a young age, she becomes the guardian to an abused Native American baby who is dumped into her car. I love this girly story. It is beautifully written, funny, and full of pro ...more

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Jun 26, 2019 Debbie rated it liked it

I'd probably give it 3.5 stars, if I could.

Taylor is a relatable character, and her narration is clear and friendly-rambling, if you know what I mean. On her journey from Kentucky to Arizona (a journey Kingsolver took herself, I'm sure), she thinks about a lot of parts of her life, picks up a toddler, meets some interesting people who teach her important survival skills, and ultimately settles in a like-family situation. There were a lot of little "words to the wise," peppered throughout the boo ...more

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Nov 14, 2007 Joanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read, coming-of-age

I enjoy Barbara Kingsolver's writing. Even in this debut novel, her voice is strong and her female characters and relationships have life to them that make them compelling to read. That said, this book was average. The book was full of Issues -- immigration, child abuse, rural poverty, motherhood. But there were so many Issues that none of them was really addressed in any depth and the downtrodden characters were all almost too perfect. The two noble immigrants, the fierce lead character, the ti ...more

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Nov 21, 2007 Lisa rated it really liked it

This book centers around the life of two separate women who are from Kentucky and end up meeting while living in Arizona. The Kentucky mountain dialect they speak, and all the familiar sayings that they use are familiar since they use some of the same in the mountains of Virginia where my husband is from. "Lord willing and the creek don't rise" is one such quote.
The book questions what it means to belong somewhere. Whether it is Taylor, and her search for where she belongs or the Guadamalan coup ...more

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