I have no idea how this book got onto my shelf, nor how it survived any of the book purges. I actually may have bought it at the used book sale in Poughkeepsie awhile back. It was an Oprah's book pick in 1997 - that tells you how old it is - anyway, it was a skinny little book and after all these years, I read it in just a couple hours, sitting on the beach.

The story of a little girl in the south, poor as dirt and abused by almost everybody. She's smart though and manages to get herself into a good situation.

I don't think it will be a book that stays with me forever, but I have been thinking about it. I just saw that there was a sequel published in 2006. Maybe I'll look for it at the library. This book was also made into a TV movie with Glyniss O'Connor (of course!) Google tells you all these important details.

The best thing? I got ONE book off the shelf and out of my house. I gave it to somebody else when I finished it. YAY!