Winter's Bone

Fast read, engaging story. Great example of writing with regional dialect; it seems absolutely authentic. From a writer's point of view I was struck at the lesson this book provides for plot–the story is very simple, but the author keeps raising the stakes for the characters. No wonder it made a good movie.

So I am assuming almost everyone has seen the film, with Jennifer Lawrence - I have, and it would be rare for me to have seen a film many, many others have not! The book is pretty similar to the film, with some subtle differences, but the tone is pretty consistent.

Grit-Lit. Without doubt. In a contemporary setting in the Ozarks in Missouri, harsh realities about life in a poor rural family, a meth-cooking father, recently bailed out of prison who put the family home up as bond and has disappeared, a mother who has lost her mind, and two young brothers to care for. Ree, our central character navigates a maze of an extended family of rednecks, all familiar to the law and the bail-bondsman, and bad news all of then, man or woman, needing to find her father, or her fathers body, in order to prevent eviction.

If graphic violence is an issue, let this book pass you by. If generational neglect, drug use, sexual violence and unnecessary hardship are things you don't want to read about, let this book pass you by. But if you enjoy strong female characters, stubborn determination and base level survival, written in a vernacular that is understandable, yet strange all the same, then this is worth seeking out.

A short but powerful read. 5 stars.