Last week, I read Into the Hollow by Lynn Vroman. I have to thank Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it. This is a really sweet story and I enjoyed it a lot.
Freedom (she goes by Free) hasn’t had the easiest life. After her mother died, her dad took her to Needles, California, where he met another lady and had another child, Little. Little’s mom had postpartum depression, and they left to go back to Appalachia, where they were originally from. When our story begins, Free is a doting sister who adores her half-brother. She works at a grocery store to try to make ends meet. Her daddy digs up ginseng to try to bring in some extra cash. It’s a hard life. They live in a small house without electricity or water, and sometimes there isn’t enough to eat.
Cole is her next door neighbor, but they’ve never spoken. His life isn’t much to brag about either. He has a father and brother in prison for dealing drugs. His sister is a teenage mom and is a former drug addict; her mother still is addicted to drugs. Cole’s sole goal in life is to graduate from high school and save enough to rent a crappy apartment someday.
Sometimes they see each other when Free drives by in her beat up Buick, but they’ve never spoken. Still, they seem to be drawn to each other (although Free would never admit that).
When Cole starts working at the grocery store with her, she tries to keep her distance. He wants to get to know her, but she doesn’t want him to find out her secrets. Then something happens, and her world is turned upside down. She turns to Cole for help. In turn, she seems to help him in a way.
I absolutely loved this story. Both Cole and Free are responsible teens just trying to survive in a world where the adults in their lives haven’t made it easy for them. You want them to make it. And you want them to be together.
The setting of Into the Hollow is fairly unique. I haven’t read a lot of books set in Appalachia. As I read the book, I can visualize the forest, and the run-down houses, and the things that make this area what it is.
Into the Hollow was a book that I didn’t want to put down. I’m not sure how much publicity it’s going to get, but it probably won’t be enough. It’s one of those books that might end up in a “hidden gems” type of Top Ten Tuesday post, because I enjoyed it so much, but I’m afraid not many people are going to hear about it. It won’t be released until November 6th, but you can pre-order it now.