Saturday, March 20, 2021

Rural Voices by Nora Shalaway Carpenter - HIGH


Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-town America by Nora Shalaway Carpenter, 300 pages. CENTERING ME, SHORT STORIES. Candlewick Press, 2020. $14.

Language: R (64 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

In 16 stories, these 15 authors invite readers to see small-town America in new ways. If we are going to overcome these little-acknowledged prejudices, we first need to recognize the problem. Experience these different lives through novel, memoir, poem, and graphic novel formats.

I love the perspective changes these stories have invited into my life, even though I didn’t love all the stories. Each author takes readers through a unique journey in the life of small towns all over America, and I was surprised to see more than just the South -- I didn’t even realize that image of small-towns being mostly southern was part of my thoughts. The mature content rating is for innuendo, mention of masturbation and pornography, groping, and drug use.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

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