The sheriff's deputy at the front door brings hard news to Ree Dolly. Her father has skipped bail on charges that he ran a crystal meth lab, and the Dollys will lose their house if he doesn't show up for his next court date. Ree's father has disappeared before. The Dolly clan has worked the shadowy side of the law for generations, and arrests (and attempts to avoid them) are part of life in Rathlin Valley. With two young brothers depending on her and a mother who's entered a kind of second childhood, sixteen-year-old Ree knows she has to bring her father back, dead or alive. She has grown up in the harsh poverty of the Ozarks and learns quickly that asking questions of the rough Dolly clan can be a fatal mistake. But along the way to a shocking revelation, Ree discovers unforeseen depths in herself and in a family network that protects its own at any cost.
"Never. Never ask for what ought to be offered."I only found this because of the movie starring Jennifer Lawrence. I heard the movie was based on a book so of course I looked it up. I'm so glad I did. The story was so easy to lose myself in and Ree is a character I loved rooting for.
Winter's Bone is full of grit, amazing, unexpected grit. I took a trip into a society in the Ozarks completely different from my everyday. I feel like Daniel Woodrell held nothing back, although perhaps he did (I would never know having never visited or researched the Ozarks.) The words and style hit me though, at first I couldn't believe it, then I started to feel it. Ree, without a father, a sick mom, and two small siblings to care for. The sense of family loyalty was so apparent in this world where everyone is connected by blood, sometimes an infinitesimal amount. Loyalty that is directly related to the amount of blood shared.
Ree is another of the strong female character I love to discover. Some may say stubborn, but I prefer strong.
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