I don’t usually judge a book–for good or bad–by its cover. I’m more interested in the story summary. But let me tell you, the cover of Meg Moseley’s Gone South grabbed me before I had a chance to read an excerpt. The girl on the cover looks like she’s playing dress up, and in a way, her story is one of self-discovery.
On a whim, Tish McComb visits her family’s ancestral home in Noble, Alabama, after moving her mother to Florida. The house is for sale and Tish makes an impulsive decision to buy the place and move from Michigan with no job prospects or friends. Named after the woman whose husband built the house in the Civil War era, Tish expects to reconnect with her past in the town tied to her heritage. But she soon discovers that the name “McComb” won’t win her any friends. She adds to her ostracization by befriending Melanie Hamilton, a young girl with a troubled past whose family won’t let her back into their lives or their home. Together Tish and Mel, along with the help of local antiques dealer George Zorbas, work to prove themselves to the community and do right in the present, even if they can’t change the past.
I was almost 100 pages into this book before I realized I’d read that much. It’s charming like the South itself, and the kind of story that keeps you turning the pages to find out how it’s all going to work out. Tish, Mel and George are all likeable characters with realistic problems and reactions to life’s problems.
This was the first book of Moseley’s I’ve read and it won’t be the last.
Click here to read chapter one.
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In exchange for my review, I received a free copy of Gone South from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group through the Blogging for Books program.
Living Echoes 