The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

In honor of my bookclub tonight (and to remind myself what the book was about before the really insightful questions start), here is The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is Truly, a fascinating woman who grows to be much taller than any other woman in Aberdeen, and is taller than all of the men as well. Her mother dies during childbirth (Truly believes because she was an extremely large baby) and her father dies when she and her sister are not very old. Serena Jane, her perfect tiny sister is sent to live with the babysitter who would not watch Truly as a child, and Truly goes to live with the Dyersons, a farming family whose daughter Amelia is Truly's best friend. Truly's life is not easy, but she tries to do her best for her family (both adopted and blood), and finds her place in the world. I'm not doing it justice, but this book was great. Truly is an amazing character, interesting and vivid. Amelia and Marcus, her friends, and Robert Morgan her nemisis/ brother in law are especially well written, and I'm a sucker for a good revenge story. But who isn't, right? You fall in love with a good character, she faces some tough times, is treated badly, and then gets back at those people, while maintaining her goodness? And I didn't find it contrived? That's a hard line to tow, but Baker does it beautifully. It's a wonderful book club pick, full of interesting ideas to talk about, and fun characters to discuss. Next month is Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, which I skimmed the first chapter of while stuck behind a register the other day and looks great, so I'll let you know.