4 out of 4 stars
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Pig Dog Creek by Kathleen Stockmier has an intriguing title and book cover. However, if I were to judge the book by its cover, I would deem it a rather grey reading experience. What got me motivated to read this book were the many 5 stars ratings that it has accumulated on Amazon.com. After reading it, I can attest that this fantasy novel is a fantastic read.
The story is set in Cook, Tennessee, 1962. Our protagonist, Annie Louise Barton, is a 17-year-old mother of three. She has had a rough five years, after being forced to marry Robert Barton in 1957 so that her father can avoid going to prison for stealing from the Barton family. Two of her children may have been fathered by Robert’s stepdad, who has raped her many times. Annie and her children are the Barton family's slaves. She is not allowed to go anywhere. However, she sneaks off to Pig Dog Creek in the mornings to bathe and daydream about a better life. On one of these excursions to the creek, Annie has a supernatural encounter that changes the trajectory of her life completely.
This novel is composed of 31 titled chapters which span a little under 200 pages. There are virtually no grammatical errors, so I presume that it was professionally edited. Unfortunately, my pdf copy had a font size so small that I had to zoom in every time I turned the page (which was a very frequent occurrence). I was able to finish this book in a couple of hours not simply because of how short it is but because it is an amazing page-turner.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The author made all the characters come alive. I believe that everyone could relate to Annie. She is faced with tremendous oppositions but does not allow herself to become embittered by it. Her relationship with her children is simply beautiful. The Barton family is cruel but sadly there are many persons in real life that we can compare them to. Every character had a brief description that gave them depth. Also, the storyline was suspenseful, and I could not guess how the novel was going to end. Moreover, this is just book one in a series. The sequel, Pig Dog Diner, is available on Amazon.com and the author is working on the third installment of the series.
In conclusion, I rate Pig Dog Creek 4 out of 4 stars. I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys fantasy novels.
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Pig Dog Creek
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