Friday, February 18, 2022

The Ballad of Laurel Springs

 

Author: Janet Beard

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2021

🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄🎧

Thank you @simon.audio for the #giftedbook. 

Grace is in need of an idea for her fifth-grade history project. Her aunt tells her the family legend of how her four-times great grandfather murdered his lover. Family lore also says the killing was memorialized in song- a murder ballad. The lesson Grace learns from her family history, to be careful of men and desire, and murder ballads tie generations of women together in this novel. 

The story rewinds Grace’s family history. Each chapter is told from the point of view from a different generation of women from the family’s past. Set in a holler in eastern Tennessee, each woman and her choices have an affect on the future generations. Author Janet Beard does a wonderful job of weaving all the different points of view and time periods into an engrossing and cohesive narrative. The murder ballads also run through each chapter and connect to each generation. 

The audiobook features a full cast and I really enjoyed it. Although I must admit, sometimes I had to really concentrate on keeping the family tree and the family ties straight in my head. 

This is a good choice for historical fiction lovers, readers who like multiple points of view, and domestic fiction readers. I really enjoyed this book and found the women’s stories compelling and often heartbreaking. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: do you have interesting or infamous family legends or stories? 

Family lore says one relative had his eye shot out while fighting at Gettysburg during the Civil War. My great grandfather was one of the few survivors of a coal mine collapse. My great Aunt Kit played the piano in a movie theater for the silent picture shows before “talking” movies were invented. She also taught at the last one room school house in Scranton, PA before it closed. 

#theballadoflaurelsprings #janetbeard #simonaudio #historicalfiction #murderballads #domesticfiction #familydrama #multigeneral #multiplepov #tennessee #audiobook #audiobookstagram #bookstagram #igreads #bookrecommendations #audiobookreview #familysecrets #familyhistory #bibliophile 

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