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Literature, Language, Dialect
Antonini, Jim. 2020. Bullets for Silverware. Morgantown, WV: Pump Fake Press. A young pharmacist takes a job in a small rural town and is quickly introduced to a world of drugs, sex, guns, and deceit. Unexpectedly, he falls in love with the local 'good-time girl' and finds himself trying to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of the pharmacist he was hired to replace.
Beatty, Pete. 2020. Cuyahoga : A Novel First Scribner hardcover ed. New York, NY: Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. "Big Son is a spirit of the times--the times being 1837. Behind his broad shoulders, shiny hair, and church-organ laugh, Big Son practically made Ohio City all by himself. The feats of this proto-superhero have earned him wonder and whiskey toasts but very little in the way of fortune. And without money, Big cannot become an honest husband to his beloved Cloe (who may or may not want to be his wife, honestly). In pursuit of a steady wage, our hero hits the (dirt) streets of Ohio City and Cleveland, the twin towns racing to become the first great metropolis of the West. Their rivalry reaches a boil over the building of a bridge across the Cuyahoga River--and Big stumbles right into the kettle. The resulting misadventures involve elderly terrorists, infrastructure collapse, steamboat races, wild pigs, and multiple ruined weddings. Narrating this tale is Medium Son--known as Meed--apprentice coffin maker, almanac author, orphan, and the younger brother of Big. Meed finds himself swept up in the action, and he is forced to choose between brotherly love and his own ambitions."-- Provided by publisher.
Berkheimer, Drema Hall. Running on Red Dog Road and Other Perils of an Appalachian Childhood. 208 pages. Zondervan (April 12, 2016). Gypsies, faith-healers, moonshiners, and snake handlers weave through this memoir of the author’s childhood in 1940s Appalachia. After her father is killed in the coal mines and her mother goes off to work as a “Rosie the Riveter,” Drema is left in the care of her devout Pentecostal grandparents. The author writes in a novelistic style of her coming of age while attending tent revivals with Grandpa, meeting poetry-writing hobos, and visiting traveling carnivals. Through it all, she serves as witness to a multi-generational family of saints and sinners whose lives defy the stereotypes.
Blevins, Adrian and Karen Salyer McElmurray. Walk Till the Dogs Get Mean: Meditations on the Forbidden from Contemporary Appalachia. 288 pages. Ohio University Press (September 15, 2015. This collection of essays contains pieces from established and emerging contemporary Appalachian writers whose contributions are brought together under the theme of silencing in Appalachian culture. The contributors, all with roots in Appalachia, write about a wide range of experiences with faith, class, work, and family. Their individual experiences involve families left behind, educations earned through struggle, selves transformed, identities chosen, and risks taken.
Castillo, Linda. 2020. Outsider First ed. A Kate Burkholder Novel, [12]. New York: Minotaur Books."Chief of Police Kate Burkholder's past comes back to haunt her when she receives a call from Amish widower Adam Lengacher. While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, he discovered a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. Kate arrives at his farm and is shocked to discover the driver is a woman she hasn't seen in ten years: fellow cop Gina Colorosa. Ten years ago, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy, graduating together as rookies with the Columbus Division of Police. But the reunion takes an ominous turn when Kate learns Gina is wanted for killing an undercover officer. Gina claims she's innocent, that she was framed by corrupt officers who want her gone because she was about to turn them in for wrongdoing. Kate calls upon state agent John Tomasetti for help and with a blizzard bearing down, they delve into the incident. But no one wants to talk about what happened the night Gina allegedly gunned down a fellow cop. Even Tomasetti is stonewalled, his superior telling him in no uncertain terms to back off. With whisperings of corruption and the threat of rogue cops seeking revenge, Kate and Gina hunker down at Adam Lengacher's farm. As Kate gets closer to the truth, a killer lies in wait. When violence strikes, Kate must confront a reality that changes everything she thought she knew not only about friendship, but the institution to which she's devoted her life"--Provided by publisher.
Chambers, Cassie. Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains. Ballantine Books (January 7, 2020). 304 pgs. A memoir of Chambers’ relationship with her home in Owsley County, Kentucky. Despite growing up in one of the poorest counties in the state, Chambers was supported by the “hill women” around her, who found creative ways to subsist in their hollers in the hills. Chambers went on to graduate from Harvard with a law degree, but, feeling alienated from the Ivy League environment, she returned home to help her fellow rural Kentucky women by providing free legal services. Chambers tells her story as well as those of the women she encountered in the course of her work, discussing the challenges and stereotypes faced by the rural community, as well as its resilience and strength.
Clapsaddle, Annette Saunooke. 2020. Even As We Breathe : A Novel. Lexington, Kentucky: Fireside Industries Books, and imprint of the University Press of Kentucky. "Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, North Carolina, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When a summer job at Asheville's luxurious Grove Park Inn and Resort brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him, he sees it as an opportunity. With World War II raging in Europe, the inn is the temporary home of Axis diplomats and their families, who are being held as prisoners of war. Soon, Cowney's refuge becomes a cage when the daughter of one of the residents goes missing and he finds himself accused of abduction and murder. Even As We Breathe invokes the elements of bone, blood, and flesh as Cowney navigates difficult social, cultural, and ethnic divides. After leaving the seclusion of the Cherokee reservation, he is able to explore a future free from the consequences of his family's choices and to construct a new worldview, for a time. However, prejudice and persecution in the white world of the resort eventually compel Cowney to free himself from larger forces that hold him back as he struggles to unearth evidence of his innocence and clear his name"-- Provided by publisher.
Cody, Michael. 2017. Gabriel's songbook (First). Asheville, NC: Pisgah Press. A story about a singer-songwriter searching for fame and belonging.
Conway, Martha. 2017. The Underground River: A Novel. New York, NY: Touchstone. 340pp. Follows seamstress May Bedloe as she finds work on a flatboat ran by abolitionists that runs between the northern and southern states.
Coffey, Billy. 2018. Steal Away Home. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 379 pp. Novel follows protagonist Owen Cross as he grapples with dreams of major league baseball and his small-town love.
Cooper, Leigh Anne. 2017. Possum Crossing: A Tale of a Place in West Virginia. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. 129 pp. Novel about the residents of the town of Possum, WV, and how they have weathered through the good times and bad.
Coster, Naima. 2021. What's Mine and Yours : A Novel First ed. Read with Jenna. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group. "When a county initiative in the Piedmont of North Carolina forces the students at a mostly black public school on the east side to move across town to a nearly all-white high school on the west, the community rises in outrage. For two students, quiet and aloof Gee and headstrong Noelle, these divisions will extend far beyond their schooling. As their paths collide and overlap over the course of thirty years, their two seemingly disconnected families begin to form deeply knotted, messy ties that shape the trajectory of their lives.” - provided by publisher.
Daniel, I. Randolph. 2021. Time, Typology, and Point Traditions in North Carolina Archaeology: Formative Cultures Reconsidered. Archaeology of the American South: New Directions and Perspectives. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. "A reconsideration of the projectile point typology originally set out in the landmark publication The Formative Cultures of the Carolina Piedmont by Joffre Coe in 1964"-- Provided by publisher.
Deonn, Tracy. 2020. Legendborn First ed. [Legendborn], [1]. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. "To discover the truth behind her mother's mysterious death, a teen girl infiltrates a magical secret society claiming to be the descendants of King Arthur and his knights"-- Provided by publisher.
Donaldson, Jesse. 2017. On Homesickness : A Plea. First ed. Morgantown: Vandalia Press/West Virginia University Press. 252 pp. Part memoir, part meditation on nostalgia, part catalog of Kentucky history and myth. Organized according to Kentucky geography, with one passage for each of the commonwealth’s 120 counties, On Homesickness examines whether we can ever return to the places we’ve called home.
Dressick, Damian. 2020. 40 Patchtown : A Novel. Appalachian Writing Series. Huron, Ohio: Bottom Dog Press. No description found.
Eisenberg, Emma Copley. The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia. Hachette Books; Illustrated edition (January 21, 2020). 336 pgs. In the summer of 1980, two young women were murdered in an isolated area of Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The two had been hitchhiking to the Rainbow Gathering festival, which would lend the case its name: The “Rainbow Murders.” Still unsolved, the case casts a shadow on the local community, which suffered from suspicion within the community and prejudice outside its borders. Eisenberg uses the Rainbow Murders case as a starting point to tell the tale of an Appalachian community bound by the false stories that were told about it. Weaving experiences from her own years spent living in Pocahontas County into the narrative, she follows the threads of this crime through the complex history of Appalachia, revealing how this mysterious murder has loomed over those affected for generations, shaping their fears, fates, and desires.
English, Talley. 2018. Horse First ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. A novel about a girl on the cusp of her teenage years, who is growing up faster than she ever hoped she would. When Teagan's father abruptly abandons his family and his farm, Teagan finds herself wading through the wreckage of what was once an idyllic life, searching for something--or someone--to hold on to.
2017. Fairmont Magazine. Vol 1, Issue 1. Fairmont, WV: Times West Virginian. Magazine accompaniment to newspaper Times West Virginian.
Fleming, Leigh. 2017. Whatever You Say. Martinsburg, West Virginia: Envisage Press, LLC. 248 pp. Romance novel detailing Kate McNamara’s return to West Virginia to assist her grandmother, where she meets Brody Fisk and they soon strike up a relationship.
Fowler, Therese. 2021. A Good Neighborhood. London: Headline Review.
Gifford, James M., Edwina Pendarvis. Appalachian Murders & Mysteries: True Stories from West Virginia, Kentucky, and Southern Ohio. Over 400 pages. Ashland, Kentucky: Jesse Stuart Foundation. This book contains 23 stories by 17 authors compiled and edited by James M. Gifford and Edwina D. Pendarvis. As a part of Applachian history, these stories create a literary "mourning quilt;" commemorating the innocent and recognizing the guilty, piecing together significant remnants of 200 years of life in eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio, and West Virginia.
Gilbert, Victoria. 2018. Shelved Under Murder First ed. A Blue Ridge Library Mystery, 2. New York: Crooked Lane. After a murder takes place, a library director must use her art history skills to uncover the truth.
Gilbert, Victoria. 2019. Past Due for Murder : A Blue Ridge Library Mystery First ed. Blue Ridge Library Mysteries, [3]. New York: Crooked Lane Books. A university student goes missing during a bonfire and is discovered days later with no memory and a body nearby.
Gipe, Robert. 2021. Pop: An Illustrated Novel. Athens: Ohio University Press. "Robert Gipe brings his Canard County trilogy to a close as his narrator, Dawn, her teen daughter Nicolette, and Dawn's Uncle Hubert get caught up in adventures that reflect an Appalachia that's as much about activism as xenophobia, and is full of caring, creative, and complicated people"-- Provided by publisher.
Glover, Nicole. 2021. The Conductors. [Murder & Magic], [1]. Boston: Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. "Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, were Conductors on the Underground Railroad, ferrying dozens of slaves to freedom with daring, cunning, and magic that draws its power from the constellations. With the war over, those skills find new purpose as they solve mysteries and murders that white authorities would otherwise ignore. In the heart of Philadelphia's Seventh Ward, everyone knows that when there's a strange death or magical curses causing trouble, Hetty and Benjy are the only ones that can solve the case. But when an old friend is murdered, their investigation stirs up a wasp nest of intrigue, lies, and long-buried secrets - and a mystery unlike anything they handled before. With a clever, cold-blooded killer on the prowl testing their magic and placing their lives at risk, Hetty and Benjy will discover how little they really know about their neighbors...and themselves."--Publisher.
Godwin, Gail. 2017. Grief Cottage: A Novel. New York, NY: Bloomsbury USA. 324 pp. After his mother’s death, eleven-year-old Marcus is sent to live with his great aunt on a mysterious South Carolina island. In his solitude on the island, Marcus begins visiting a strange cottage that once was home to a family before they died in a hurricane. As his aunt struggles to come to terms with her own demons, Marcus begins forming a connection with a ghost boy that haunts the cottage.
Goldbach, Eliese Colette. 2020. Rust : A Memoir of Steel and Grit First ed. New York: Flatiron Books. "A debut memoir of grit and tenacity, as one young woman returns to the conservative hometown she always longed to escape to earn a living in the steel mill that casts a shadow over Cleveland. Steel is the only thing that shines in the belly of the mill... To ArcelorMittal Steel Eliese is known as #6691: Utility Worker, but this was never her dream. Fresh out of college, eager to leave behind her conservative hometown and come to terms with her Christian roots, Eliese found herself applying for a job at the local steel mill. The mill is everything she was trying to escape, but it's also her only shot at financial security in an economically devastated and forgotten part of America. In Rust, Eliese brings the reader inside the belly of the mill and the middle American upbringing that brought her there in the first place. She takes a long and intimate look at her Rust Belt childhood and struggles to reconcile her desire to leave without turning her back on the people she's come to love. The people she sees as the unsung backbone of our nation. Faced with the financial promise of a steelworker's paycheck, and the very real danger of working in an environment where a steel coil could crush you at any moment or a vat of molten iron could explode because of a single drop of water, Eliese finds unexpected warmth and camaraderie among the gruff men she labors beside each day. Appealing to readers of Hillbilly Elegy and Educated, Rust is a story of the humanity Eliese discovers in the most unlikely and hellish of places, and the hope that therefore begins to grow"-- Provided by publisher.
Gunter-Seymour, Kari. Women Speak: Spoken Word Selections from Throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. 44 pages. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 15, 2017). Twenty-five Appalachian female writers, poets, storytellers, and musicians, from Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, are represented within the selections of Women Speak, a product of the Women of Appalachia Project.
Guy, Susan M. 2020. The Moonlight Mill Murders of Steubenville, Ohio. Charleston, SC: History Press US. "Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933, and Steubenville hoped that its reputation as "Little Chicago" would end with it. That hope was short-lived when, eight weeks later, the Phantom Killer made his midnight debut. Under the glow of a full moon, in the mill yards of Steubenville's Wheeling Steel Plant, the killer ambushed a rail worker, shooting him five times. The Steubenville Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and Wheeling Steel Mill Police joined forces in the New Year to find the Phantom before he took another victim. The strongest of millworkers on the midnight shift began to arm themselves, wondering who would be next. As the investigation wore on, Steubenville was once again thrust into the national spotlight as the Phantom's reign of terror continued. Local historian Susan M. Guy delves into one of the city's most infamous crimes"--Back cover.
Ha, Robin. 2020. Almost American Girl : An Illustrated Memoir First ed. New York, NY: Balzer Bray/Harper Alley, imprints of HarperCollins. "A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life--perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo. For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn't understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn't fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to--her mother. Then one day Robin's mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined."--Provided by publisher.
Harrison, Daniel M. 2020. Live at Jackson Station : Music, Community, and Tragedy in a Southern Blues Bar. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. In this fast-paced narrative, Jackson Station emerges as a cultural kaleidoscope that served as an oasis of tolerance and diversity in a time and place that often suffered from undercurrents of bigotry and violence--an uneasy coexistence of incongruent forces that have long permeated southern life and culture.
James, Eric, Le Ray, Marina, ed. 2015 [2021]. A Halloween Scare in West Virginia. Naperville: Sourcebooks Wonderland. 32 pp. Children’s picture book set in West Virginia on Halloween night.
John, Emma. Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (November 3, 2020). 336 pgs. Emma John's memoir follows her journey learning to play bluegrass music, a style with a reputation for being difficult to master. A classically trained violinist living in London, John was unhappy with her instrument when a chance trip to the American South introduced her to bluegrass music. Despite the seeming mismatch between herself and the Appalachian Mountains, John applied herself to learning bluegrass, while also learning about herself and the unfamiliar culture around her.
Joy, David. 2017. The Weight of this World. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 260 pp. Novel set in Appalachia. Follows two boys that grow up together in a dilapidated trailer and forge a brotherly bond despite their past familial traumas.
Keller, Julia. 2017. Fast Falls the Night. New York, NY: Minotaur Books. 286 pp. This mystery novel follows prosecutor Bell Elkins as she investigates a series of overdoses in the town of Acker’s Gap, West Virginia.
Kenney, Kimberly A. 2020. Murder in Stark County, Ohio. Charleston, SC: History Press. NO DESCRIPTION FOUND.
Kimball, Elizabeth. 2021. Translingual Inheritance: Language Diversity in Early National Philadelphia. Composition, Literacy, and Culture. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. Translingual Inheritance tells a new story of the early days of democracy in the United States, when English had not yet become the only dominant language.
Ledford, Katherine, and Tess Lloyd, eds. 2020. Writing Appalachia : An Anthology. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. "Lingering questions and stereotypes continue to surround Appalachia; even the exact location and size of the region are still debated. It is not surprising, then, that the very concept of Appalachian culture is also contentious. Some see the individuals who reside there as noble northern-European descendants whose lifestyle is reminiscent of the colonial era. There are others who view the region as a land of backward mountain people who are uneducated and hostile. One of the best methods to understand the area is through literature. Although conflict is still readily apparent, stories, memoirs, and poetry from Appalachian authors illuminate the lifestyles, history, and contradictions that define Appalachia. In Writing Appalachia, editors Katherine Ledford and Theresa Lloyd have compiled a comprehensive collection of fictional and non-fictional pieces that represent the region and discuss topics such as Native American residents, slavery and the Civil War, settlement schools, Appalachian folklore and modernism in the region. Featuring writers who were born in the region, adopted the region, or wrote about a significant experience in the region, the anthology includes pieces by Barbara Kingsolver, Silas House, Frank X Walker, James Still, and Tom Wolfe among others. The people living in this region epitomize the deep connection between humans and nature as is illustrated in the sections on southern mountaineers and folklore. However, the relationship between people and the land is being threatened by the increase in mining and mountaintop removal in the region, making the importance of local farming and environmental activism especially salient. Through the featured pieces, a picture of Appalachia emerges that shows that the many conflicts within the region subsist because they are all true- Appalachia is defined by its contradictions. This is the first comprehensive anthology of Appalachian literature to include racial minorities, women, and the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual (Transgendered community. In addition, Ledford and Lloyd analyze the more modern works that reveal the vast changes the region has undergone"-- Provided by publisher.
Littell, Margo Orlando. 2020. The Distance from Four Points : A Novel First ed. New Orleans: University of New Orleans Press. Soon after her husband's tragic death, Robin Besher makes a startling discovery: He had recklessly blown through their entire savings on decrepit rentals in Four Points, the Appalachian town Robin grew up in. Forced to return after decades, Robin and her daughter, Haley, set out to renovate the properties as quickly as possible--before anyone exposes Robin's secret past as a teenage prostitute. Disaster strikes when Haley befriends a troubled teen mother, hurling Robin back into a past she'd worked so hard to escape. Robin must reshape her idea of home or risk repeating her greatest mistakes.
Long, Laura, Van Gundy, Doug. 2017. Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods: Fiction and Poetry from West Virginia. Morgantown, WV: Vandalia Press. 319 pp. Poetry anthology with over 60 writers describing life and place in West Virginia or Appalachia.
Manley, Katherine T. Don't Tell ‘em You're Cold: A Memoir of Poverty and Resilience. Independently published (September 16, 2019). Approximately 170 pgs. A personal memoir set in the hills and coal camps of southern West Virginia. The author recounts the challenges she and her family faced, growing up in abject poverty, parental abandonment and disability. Manley would take care of her family and go on to become a teacher, passing on the lessons she learned to her students.
Mann, Jeff and Watts, Julia. LGBTQ Fiction and Poetry from Appalachia. 288 pages. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press (April 1, 2019). This collection, the first of its kind, gathers fiction and poetry from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer authors from Appalachia.
Marantz, Mary. 2020. Dirt : Growing Strong Roots in What Makes the Broken Beautiful. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."Highly sought-after writer and speaker shares her heartbreakingly beautiful narrative to inspire you to believe that the messy, muddy parts of life are just the first mile on the road to redemption"-- Provided by publisher.
McClain, Bren, and Mary Alice Monroe. 2017. One Good Mama Bone : A Novel. Story River Books. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. 268 pp. When her husband drinks himself to death, Sarah, a dirt-poor homemaker with no family to rely on and the note on the farm long past due, must find a way for her and young Emerson Bridge to survive. But the more daunting obstacle is Sarah's fear that her mother's words, seared in her memory since she first heard them at the age of six, were a prophesy: "You ain't got you one good mama bone in you, girl."
McCrumb, Sharyn. 2017. The Unquiet Grave. New York, NY: Atria Books. 358 pp. Historical fiction novel based on the Greenbrier Ghost, one of the strangest murder trials in American history. Follows the two stories of Dr. James Boozer and his defense for a young man accused for murdering his wife, and the backstory of Zona Heaster before her fateful death.
McDaniel, Lynda. 2018. The Roads to Damascus : A Mystery Novel. Appalachian Mountain Mysteries Series, [2] . Calif.: Lynda McDaniel Books. 285 pp. Novel follows Abit as he travels the twists and turns of the Virginia mountains seeking payback from the desperate trio. His dangerous, life-changing journey brings him face-to-face with menacing characters who conspire to stop him and fellow victims who yearn for justice too.
McDaniel, Tiffany. 2020. Betty First ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. "A stunning, lyrical coming-of-age novel set in the rolling foothills of the Appalachians in which a young girl, with only the compass of her father's imagination, must navigate racism, sexism, and the dark secrets that will haunt her for the rest of her life. "A girl comes of age against the knife." So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in Arkansas in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty, racism, abuse, and violence--both from outside the family, and also, devastatingly, from within. After years on the road, searching in vain for a better life, the Carpenters return to their hometown of Breathed, Ohio, in northern Appalachia. There, they move into a sprawling wreck of a farmhouse that local legend says is cursed. The townsfolk decide the Carpenters are cursed, too: "My mother gave birth to eight of us," Betty tells us in her frank, wry voice. "More than one would die for no good reason in the prizewinning years of their youth. Some blamed God for taking too few. Others accused the Devil of leaving too many." But Betty is resilient. Her father's inventive stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination and even in the face of tragedy and death, her creativity is irrepressible. Against overwhelming odds, she may be the first member of her family to break the cycle of abuse and trauma--and escape"-- Provided by publisher.
Mettille, Shayla Damron. “The Use of Contrastive Analysis in Code-switching from Appalachian English Dialect to Standard English Dialect”. Ed.D. diss. 221 pages. University of Kentucky, 2015. This study examined the use of an intervention, Contrastive Analysis (CA) with fourth-graders’ writing in a Central Appalachian elementary school. The purpose was to improve the use of Standard English in students’ writing in Appalachia by decreasing the number of vernacular features typically used in writing. The researcher collected data through Consent and Assent Forms, interviews with the fourth-grade teacher, classroom observations and an accompanying CA observation evaluation rubric, pre- and post-writing prompts, selected writings and Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS), as well as communication data. Data analysis was conducted for both the prompts, writing pieces, and the WSPS scores. The primary results of the study indicated that the students’ use of vernacular features did in fact decrease after the implementation of CA. The research results indicate that lessons from CA may be “customized” and used successfully with students who are speakers of Appalachian English.
Monroe, Mary Alice. 2017. Beach House for Rent. New York, NY: Gallery Books. 408 pp. After Cara Rutledge rents her beach cottage to Heather Fordham for the summer, tragedy strikes and she wishes to return home. But Heather, who has retreated to the cottage as a refuge, does not want to leave the beach. The two women are forced to live together and navigate the next chapter of their lives.
Ng, Celeste. 2017. Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel. New York, NY: Penguin Press. 338 pp. In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned—from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren—an enigmatic artist and single mother—who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.
Noble, Donald R, ed. 2020. Alabama Noir. Akashic Noir Series. Brooklyn, New York: Akashic Books.
Norman, Scott. 2017. The Wild Men of Wildcat : A Terrifying Account of Nine Days of Hell in the Central West Virginia Mountains. Charleston, South Carolina: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 221 pp. Thriller novel detailing a journey through the backwoods of central West Virginia, including Bigfoot-esque creatures and river expeditions.
Phillips, Gin. 2021. Family Law : A Novel. New York: Viking. "When an ambitious female lawyer becomes the victim of harassment, she must decide what's more important: her family's safety or the rights she's fighting for? Set in Alabama in the early '80s, Family Law follows a young lawyer, Lucia, who is making a name for herself at a time when a woman in a courtroom is still a rarity. She's been the recipient of threats and vandalism for her work extracting women from painful and sometimes dangerous marriages, but her own happy marriage has always felt sheltered from the work she does. When her mother's pending divorce brings teenaged Rachel into Lucia's orbit, Rachel finds herself smitten--not just with Lucia, but with the change Lucia represents. Rachel is out-spoken and curious, and she chafes at the rules her mother lays down as the bounds of acceptable feminine behavior. In Lucia, Rachel sees the potential for a new path into womanhood. But their unconventional friendship takes them both to a crossroads. When a moment of violence--a threat made good--puts Rachel in danger, Lucia has to decide how much her work means to her and what she's willing to sacrifice to keep moving forward. Written in alternating voices from Lucia and Rachel's perspectives, Family Law is a fresh take on what the advancement of women's rights looks like on the ground to the ordinary women and girls who imagine a world redefined. Addressing mother daughter relationships and what roles we can play in the lives of women who aren't our family, the novel examines how we shape each other and how we make a difference. The funny, strong, and yet tender-hearted female leads of Family Law illuminate a new kind of Southern women's fiction--atmospheric, rich, and with quietly surprising twists and nuances all its own"-- Provided by publisher.
Ryan, Charlie, and Mitch Evans. 2020. Murder on Staunton Road. Place of publication not identified: Charlie Ryan.
Slusher, Mike. 2017. Voices from the Mountain : A Study of the Language and People of Appalachia. Charleston, South Carolina: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Slusher’s book is a study of the people and language of Appalachia, from the history behind the dialects to how to pronounce some Appalachian phrases.
Sosa, Mia. 2020. The Worst Best Man : A Novel First ed. New York, NY: Avon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers. "You are cordially invited to witness the worst best man get what he deserves. A wedding planner left at the altar? Yeah, the irony isn't lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina's offered an opportunity that could change her life. There's just one hitch...she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials. Marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. But then he learns he'll be working with his brother's whip-smart, stunning - absolutely off-limits - ex-fiancée. And she loathes him. If they can nail their presentation without killing each other, they'll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina's ready to dish out a little payback of her own. Soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn't interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again."-- Provided by publisher.
Swing, Nancy. 2017. Child’s Play. First trade paperback ed. Pacific Grove, California: Park Place Publications. 276 pp. Tells the story of the unlikely friendship between Bethanne Swanson and thirteen-year-old Eden Jones after a tragic death at the bottom of a local lake.
Thomas, Sarah Loudin. 2017. The Sound of Rain. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House. 331 pp. After a coal mining tragedy, miner Judd Markley moves to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to find healing. But after a devastating hurricane, he is brought together with Larkin Heyward and the relationship they form changes everything.
Underwood, E. Randolph. 2017. Bones of Truth : Small Town Cold Case. Charleston, South Carolina: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 224 pp. Follow State Police Detective L.T. Davidson and his assistant, Trooper R.M. Carroll, as they sort through a variety of motives, suspects, small town secrets, and political issues to uncover the long-hidden truth.
Welsh-Huggins, Andrew, ed. 2020. Columbus Noir. Akashic Noir Series. Brooklyn, New York, USA: Akashic Books. O-H-Oh-No! Fourteen storytellers reveal a gritty side to C-Bus in this collection of crime tales.Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.With stories by: Lee Martin, Robin Yocum, Kristen Lepionka, Craig McDonald, Chris Bournea, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Tom Barlow, Mercedes King, Daniel Best, Laura Bickle, Yolonda Tonette Sanders, Julia Keller, Khalid Moalim, and Nancy Zafris.Praise for Columbus Noir“Moments of humanity shine through in many of the tales in this collection, and epic takes on pride and greed make many of the stories in this collection go beyond small miseries into the realm of Shakespearian tragedy. Urgent, beautiful, and not to be missed.” —CrimeReads, included in CrimeReads'Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2020“This superior Akashic noir anthology gathers 14 dark snapshots of Ohio's capital, a very dangerous place indeed, with heavy drug use and murder touching down everywhere, from the German Village neighborhood to the statehouse. One highlight is Craig McDonald's “Curb Appeal,” one of several invoking the homicidal search for housing. In the editor's effective “Going Places,” a security man who covers up affairs for the governor gets pulled into a murder plot.... Noir fans should be well satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly
Woods, John. 2020. Lady Chevy : A Novel First Pegasus Books hardcover ed. New York: Pegasus Crime. "In a forgotten part of Middle America, a defiant act leaves one man dead and one teenage girl faced with a stark decision that could mean losing everything. Amy Wirkner, a high school senior in Barnesville, Ohio, is a loner, nicknamed "Chevy" for her size. She's smart, funny, and absolutely determined to escape from her small town in the Ohio Valley, a place poisoned by fracking. She does well in school despite the cruelty of her classmates and has her eyes on a college scholarship, so she can one day become a veterinarian and make something of herself. But even as she tries to keep her head down and stay out of trouble, trouble seems to find her. Believing toxic water has poisoned her family, Amy one night becomes involved in an act of ecoterrorism against a local fracking company that goes terribly wrong. Her oldest friend Paul, as angry and defiant as she is, has drawn her into this dark world--and now a man is dead as a result. But Amy can't--won't--let one night's mistake stand in the way of her plans"-- Provided by publisher.
Woody, Jane Divita. Lucky Girl: Growing up Italian-American in Appalachia: A Memoir. 242 pages. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 21, 2017). A memoir of the author’s life growing up in a small West Virginia coal town. Using her own recollections, her mother’s diaries, and her father’s love letters, Woody describes her parents, family, and community, as well as how the circumstances of her childhood influenced the woman she would grow up to be.