Wednesday, Jul 29, 2009

Book Review: Velva Jean Learns To Drive by Jennifer Niven

Author:          Jennifer Niven

Publisher:       Plume/Penguin

ISBN #:          978-0-452-28945-1

Type:             Fiction:American History

Pages:           416 Hardback

Published:      July 28, 2009

Website:         http://jenniferniven.com/

Purchase:      $10.20 (HERE) 

The Story

In 1933, Velva Jean was a 10 year old girl searching for entry into heaven by being saved in her belief in Jesus Christ.  After she is baptized, her life as she knows it begins to crumble around her.  Her father leaves the family home and very shortly thereafter her mother dies.  She and her brother, Johnny Clay, are soon taken into the Appalachian Mountain home of their older sister, Sweet Fern.  Although their father eventually returns, he never takes custody of them and their parenting remains the responsibility of Sweet Fern and her husband. 

Velva Jean Hart’s passion is music and she is a beautiful young singer.  She dreams of one day singing at the Grand Ole’ Opry.  Johnny Clay supports her in this dream and spends his days being Velva Jean’s best friend and companion.  Their adventurous ways take them on mountain trails where they meet a cast of different characters.  A mysterious man, known as “Wood Carver,” becomes Velva Jean’s unlikely friend.  He was an outcast to this small society and believed to have murdered a man.  However, Wood Carver is a man with a generous and wise spirit who encourages Velva Jean to follow her heart when she visits him. 

At the young age of 15, Velva Jean and Johnny Clay visit a traveling church revival in which Velva Jean recognizes the young preacher to be a boy of the mountains and her youth.  His handsome appearance and engaging words entrap Velva Jean in a young love.  His attraction to Velva Jean was mutual and within a year she marries the irresistible young preacher, Harley Bright.  Their honeymoon is cut short when they receive the telegram that Harley’s mother has passed away.  The newlyweds move into Harley’s family home with his moonshine distilling father, Levi.

As major roads are being built into the mountains, tragedy strikes the family.  Between the ages of 15 & 18, Velva Jean is a on road of self-discovery, love, and finding the true voice within her… will it drive her all the way to The Grand Ole’ Opry?    

The Review

This American family’s story exposes to its readers what life in the Appalachian Mountains was like in the 1930′s before major roadways were built through them and thereby connecting them to the outside world.  Our heroine, Velva Jean, exudes the purity of heart and the human desire to make one’s dreams come true.  This novel is beautifully descriptive in both the setting and its characters.  As such, the reader of this heartfelt novel desires to observe Velva Jean’s happiness materialize.

This book was, for me, more than a plain family saga.  It had plenty of unexpected twists and turns in the plot line that enriched the overall story.  I enjoyed reading of the days of mining, bootlegging, and riding trains to visit nearby communities.  What was difficult for me to relate to, yet completely comprehensible to me, was the thought of dying in the same small town that you were born in… where all of your community members know you, your family, and its legacy.  At this time and in places such as these, the expectation of a young woman would be to marry within the locality, have babies, and be satisfied with that life.  Women didn’t have the same rights as the men and their place was in the home, with the children, and minding her husband.  Cognitively, I am educated to know this as the truth within our history.  However, placing that life into my imagination sends my thoughts into sadness.  Women were so undervalued and under-utilized for their talents and minds.  With my sassy mouth and sharp thinking, I certainly wouldn’t have been experiencing a successful marriage in obedience to my husband had I lived in that time!  On the flip side, maybe I wouldn’t have known or thought to be any different. 

Like Velva Jean, if a shiny yellow truck sat behind my house unused, I would learn to drive despite what the neighbors, or my husband, might think.  As my spirit mirrors hers, I would never let go of my dreams and eventually find my way to achieve them… as long as it takes and no matter how difficult it may seem.

The Rating

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale,” I am giving Velva Jean Learns To Drive a rating of 8.5 out of 10.  The story was brimming with the whispers of the mountains and the private wishes of the heart. There were a few things that I had wished for Velva Jean that she never got to experience, but I believe that Niven did this character great justice in the ending she wrote for her.

My heartfelt thanks to the publisher for presenting me with the opportunity review this enchanting book. 

8 Comments