Appalachian Song

HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW






Book: Appalachian Song



Author: Michelle Shocklee



Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, 2023



ISBN-13: 978-1496472434 Hardcover



ISBN-10: 1496472438 Hardcover



ISBN-13:  978-1496472441 Paperback



ISBN-10:  1496472446 Paperback



Website(s): http://www.michelleshocklee.com (author), http://www.tyndale.com (publisher)



Language level:  2



(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)



Recommended reading level: Ages 16 and up



Rating: *****



(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)



Category: Historical fiction, romance



Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker



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     Shocklee, Michelle.  Appalachian Song  (Published in 2023 by Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, IL  60188).  It is 1943, and Bertie Jenkins, unmarried and childless, has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee.  One warm June day, she finds in the woods near her farm a fourteen year old girl who has been shot, expects a baby, and is very afraid,.  Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture the teenager, whom they name Songbird, back to health.  The bond between the midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision to give the baby up for adoption that will tear this little family apart.



     Fast forward thirty years to 1973.  Walker Wylie is a famous country singer.  The day after his father’s funeral, he is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The thirty year old man enlists the help of midwife Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents.  The only clue he has in hand is a note from the midwife who delivered him—Bertie Jenkins.   Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down the only person who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.  Was Walker the baby that Songbird gave up for adoption?  If so, can he find her?  And what part does Reese play in the process?



     At first, switching back and forth between 1943 and 1973 and having different narrators was a bit confusing, but it didn’t take long to sort it all out.  This book is not for young children.  It begins with an act of fornication, but it is an essential element of the plot.  It is neither described in detail nor glamorized, and Songbird realizes that what she did was wrong.  There is no bad language.  I did see one instance of the common euphemism “gosh” but no cursing or swearing.  The story does emphasize the providence of God and promote adoption.  Songbird could have aborted her baby.  In fact her father and stepmother tried to get her to do just that, but the girl instead chose life for her child.  Two thumbs up for this one!