Our February Front Porch Book Club Selection is "Rural Voices"
Pull up a seat as we dive in to one book each month with the Country Living Front Porch Book Club, capping each month with a chat with the authors themselves. Our February selection is a short story collection edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter called "Rural Voices"!
In Rural Voices, our February Front Porch Book Club selection and very first young adult pick, we glimpse moments in the lives of teenagers from Utah to New York, Alaska to Georgia. Their backgrounds and experiences are as varied as their locations, but each one explores an aspect of country living that deserves attention and casts a spotlight on stereotypes and stigmas in illuminating and necessary ways.
In Whiskey and Champagne, S.A. Cosby, author of the acclaimed 2020 release Blacktop Wasteland, works a novel's worth of tension, class commentary, and family dynamics into a sliver of taut pages when a young boy witnesses his hardworking father be accused of stealing in the family's front yard in rural Virginia.
In The Unhealthy Breakfast Club by Monica Roe, a young girl confronts the stereotypes of the wealthy city kids with whom she attends school in a too-short story with a voice so good it'll leave you wishing for a full-length novel.
And in What Home Is, Ashley Hope Pérez shatters your heart and mends it back together in a story in verse about the complicated tapestry of faith, family, fear, and freedom.
And this is to name only a few! Each of the stories in Rural Voices highlights the complexities of the people and experiences that exist in rural America. From faith, family, yearning to leave and yearning for acceptance, these are characters on the brink of adulthood, simultaneously fighting against and in love with the places they call home. They’re characters yearning to be heard and seen not in spite of where they live but because of who they are, rural locales and all. These are stories about how where we live shapes us—and how we in turn shape it.
The collection features personal essays, short stories, poetry, and graphic stories, making it a perfect read for a lazy afternoon or a tired night in with a few minutes to spare. And it’s no small task to accomplish what these authors have done in such a limited amount of space: Every tale will leave you wanting just a few more moments with these endearing characters.
Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR and featuring a range of authors just as diverse as their locations and characters, this is a collection that will introduce you to new, exciting literary voices that you may not have heard of previously but will definitely want to read more from in the future. Rural Voices is a must-read for all of us who call the country home and those who don't but want a glimpse at the beautiful diversity of country life all the same.
Featuring works by:
David Bowles, Joseph Bruchac, Veeda Bybee, Nora Shalaway Carpenter, Shae Carys, S. A. Cosby, Rob Costello, Randy DuBurke, David Macinnis Gill, Nasugraq Rainey Hopson, Estelle Laure, Yamile Saied Méndez, Ashley Hope Pérez, Tirzah Price, Monica Roe
COUNTRY LIVING FRONT PORCH BOOK CLUB FOR FEBRUARY 2021
Selection: Rural Voices, edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter (available via local bookstores, Amazon, or Bookshop)
Start reading with us February 1.
Tune in to the Country Living's Instagram Stories as Nora chats with us live about Rural Voices on February 26 at 12 noon EST.
You Might Also Like
