HANG THE MOON by Jeannette Wells

5 stars

This extraordinary novel about a fiercely independent girl growing up during the 1930’s in the remote hills of Virginia, her no-good, two-timing, powerful Daddy, and how she emerges a force to be reckoned with during Prohibition mesmerizes. It has all the earmarks of an American classic, and once again like Wells’ other novels draws heavily on true family history.

Sally Kincaid is the daughter of Duke who ruled the small-town business, government, and police in the small rural Virginia mountain town where Sally grows up. Sally’s mother, a free spirit herself, had died during a violent, and not-spoken-about since, argument with Duke when Sally was just a toddler. Remarried, Duke exiles Sally from their huge home her at age 8 to live with mother’s sister as her stepmom sees Sally’s wild ways as endangering her younger frail step-brother Eddie.

Sally lives with her impoverished Aunt Fae, taking in wash to soak in lye in order to meet ends meet, until summoned back home by Duke at age 17 after her stepmom dies. Tasked with looking after Eddie, Sally’s smarts, sharp instincts, `and forthrightness take her instead deeper in Duke’s business dealings and tenant rent collections. Sally also has to contend with the contentious family politics of the extended Kincaid family, and the intrinsic violence of a long-standing feud between the Kincaids and the Bond Brothers family.

Well’s recreates the dialog and slang of the age with an ear of perfection, drawing you into a time when hillbilly twang and generational feuds ruled the area.

Sally’s fierceness, boldness, empathy and resourcefulness rushes the book along through turbulent years of bootlegging whiskey from the mountains to well-paying city folk, along with betrayals, political showdowns, and revealed deeply held family secrets too numerous to count.

In short: an irresistible heroine and another brilliant novel served up by Wells.

Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.