"If the Creek Don't Rise" by Leah Weiss

Thank you Net Galley for this advance copy in return for an honest review.

Leah Weiss has hit it out of the ballpark with her debut novel "If the Creek Don't Rise". After viewing the cover, I had to know the story behind the waify girl sitting and looking so forlorn by the derelict truck.

"If the Creek Don't Rise" is a myriad of stories: love, anger, jealousy, murder and redemption. It begins with Sadie picking herself up off of the floor of a trailer after being savagely beaten by her husband of only a few days. The book is the story of her deliverance. Many characters are introduced and play a pivotal part in how she got to this point in her life and how she can carry on. The many facets of how these Appalachian mountain folk get by day to day is woven throughout the story; but it is also inspiring and very interesting.

The story is written in first person and chapters switch to different characters. With some books, this makes the story very hard to follow, but Ms. Weiss makes the transformation seamlessly while telling the back story of that character. The dialect may make the book a bit hard to read for some, but as I am from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains it did not for me. The vernacular only adds to the authenticity of the story.

She writes a great, unexpected ending that is truly satisfying. My only complaint is that I want to know more about some of the characters! This would make a great and compelling series. Readers need to know what happens to Preacher Eli, Kate Shaw, Prudence, Birdie and her crows, Tattler Swan, Jerome Biddle and even Sadie later in life. Perhaps some characters will get their own book.

Be sure to read the conversation with the author. She discusses the inception of the book. She entered a writing contest that had an opening prompt of <i>I struggle to my feet</i> and the book blossomed from there.