Kim’s Google Blog Book Review of Whistling Past the Graveyard

“I received the book Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall as an advanced reader e-book through Net Galley. From the beginning I found myself captivated by 9 year old Starla’s character. She is feisty, rough-and-tumble, goes to bat for the underdog and yet she is seemingly unaware of her own sense of value or place in the world. Her father works on an oil rig, her mother is in Nashville, and she lives with her paternal grandmother who lacks warmth and love; she is afraid Starla will grow up “trashy” like her mother. When Starla’s “red-rages” get her into trouble she decides to run away to live with her mother in Nashville, 600 miles away from her hometown. Almost from the start, Starla runs into trouble, but in her quest she discovers herself and her place in the world, along with true love and friendship.

This well written story is dark yet entirely captivating.

I was reminded of The Secret Life of Bees; the setting is similar – a young girl traveling with a black female friend in the midst of the American south during the early 1960’s and the Civil Rights movement. Similar to Lily in The Secret Life of Bees, Starla is seeking her mother, and is running from a grandmother reminiscent of the character of T-Ray in Bees.

This well written story is dark yet entirely captivating. As a heroine, Starla, in her young life, has to learn to endure situations and experience tragedies no parent would wish for their children. I would recommend this book to those who loved The Secret Life of Bees; it will not disappoint.”