Up From the Blue

Up From the Blue was a definite page-turner. I finished it before we went away for a short two-night vacation to West Virginia. We went to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park and rode a steam train up to the top of  Bald Knob Mountain. In the photo I'm on the right, standing with my three youngest hooligans; the oldest two couldn't join us as they had to work. (Oh the joys of growing up.) It was the first time I had ever visited WV, and I discovered it is a very beautiful state.

Anyway, back to Up From the Blue. Tillie goes into labor early while her husband is on a business trip. They have just moved to DC, so everything is packed up in boxes. Nothing is ready. She calls her estranged father for help to get to the emergency room, and this triggers a journey back into her childhood to try to make sense of what happened during 1975--when her mother changed drastically.

The childhood voice of Tillie is excellent. She doesn't always understand what's going on, which gives the novel its unique narrator's voice. It's beautiful and sad. 

With all those mountainous, hairpin turns in the West Virgina wilderness, this book gave me plenty to think about.

Rating: 5 stars

Author: Susan Henderson

Published: HarperCollins, 2010

Pages: 317