From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Ellen Librarian
Nov 22, 2015 rated it it was ok
This was almost a great book. I loved the author's ideas about truth and history and how they are not always the same thing. I also loved the premise of a spoiled senator's daughter banished to a small town in West Virginia, as seen largely through the eyes of Willa, the 12 year-old daughter of the host family.

But the characters just didn't work for me. Layla, the spoiled daughter, suddenly morphed into a naive ingenue, Willa's mysterious father never seemed believable to me and her relationship
...more
Nancy H
Oct 27, 2015 rated it really liked it
This is a very good story that pulls the reader into the lives of residents in a small West Virginia town in the Great Depression. The protagonist is a delightful young girl named Willa, who alternately with her aunt and a female boarder, tells the story of what is happening to their family and their town. There is quite a bit of intrigue involving her father and a long-held secret that eventually is exposed as the story progresses. It is a very good glimpse of what how children view their world ...more
Lisa of Hopewell
Aug 10, 2015 rated it really liked it
When a wealthy Senator’s daughter is forced to take the “Pauper’s Pledge” and work for the W.P.A. Writer’s Project in Macedonia, West Virginia, you might expect predictable rubes and hillbillies to populate the story. But, you’d be wrong–way wrong. Just as she brought wartime in the Isle of Guernsey to life, so Annie Barrows now brings small town West Virginia to life. And how!

Layla Beck, daughter of a Delaware senator, has never worked a day in her life. She was “finished” not “educated” and he
...more
Janet
Oct 16, 2015 rated it liked it
Light-hearted and enjoyable leisure read. I really like the way Barrows gives depth to her female characters.
Tammy AZ
Mar 04, 2015 rated it really liked it
Jayme Pendergraft
Apr 29, 2015 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2016
Jocelyn
May 08, 2015 marked it as to-read
Shelves: haul2016
Sarah
May 10, 2015 rated it liked it
Anika
May 20, 2015 marked it as to-read
Suzanne
May 31, 2015 marked it as to-read
Stacey
Jun 04, 2015 rated it liked it
Stephanie
Jun 07, 2015 marked it as to-read
Laura
Jun 09, 2015 marked it as to-read
Rachel
Jun 14, 2015 marked it as to-read
Mariana
Jul 11, 2015 marked it as to-read
Janna
Jul 16, 2015 rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2015goal
Kaley
Jul 31, 2015 marked it as to-read
Tiffany
Aug 21, 2015 marked it as to-read
Elena
Sep 19, 2015 rated it really liked it
Bookchick
Oct 24, 2015 rated it liked it
Beverly
Apr 27, 2016 marked it as to-read
Jenna
Dec 30, 2017 marked it as to-read
Shelves: library
Betty
Dec 02, 2019 marked it as to-read
Colleen Chi-Girl
Apr 05, 2021 marked it as to-read
Sara
Apr 30, 2021 marked it as to-read
Sarah
Jan 20, 2022 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: nrpg-unused