Review by Booklist Review
Eleven-year-old Dixie Dupree is the narrator of this harrowing coming-of-age novel set in Alabama in 1969. Daddy, despite being a drinker, is Dixie's bulwark against emotionally volatile Mama. When Daddy dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Mama's older brother, Ray, comes down from New Hampshire to help out. Dixie and brother AJ are intrigued by Uncle Ray's big, fancy car and aura of glamor, but there's something about him that makes Dixie nervous, and it isn't long before Uncle Ray reveals himself to be a sexual predator. Because Dixie has a habit of making things up, AJ refuses to believe her when she tells him what's going on. And Uncle Ray threatens that if she doesn't keep his actions (which are graphically described) a secret, he'll withdraw his financial support. Things come to a head during a visit to Ray and Mama's parents in New Hampshire. Everhart doesn't entirely succeed in maintaining a consistent preteen voice, and she piles on too many family secrets. But readers will be drawn to Dixie, who is full of spunk and grit.--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
