Hillbilly Girl Lizzie Jane Fights Again:
Mainly Against Amnesia
A review of
Starla Anne Lowry Adventures of Lizzie Jane -- First Love (South Wales, UK: New Life Publishing Co., 2012)
115 pp $14.00 ISBN: 978-0-9567950-2-1
Reviewed by: Forrest W. Schultz
In Starla Anne Lowry's second book, Lizzie Jane's adventures are much fewer than in the first, and are focussed mainly on her battle against amnesia. And, as the title hints, it is a coming-of-age story dealing mainly with her first (romantic) love -- Jake. The resulting emotional upheaval is intertwined with the amnesia. There are a few romps reminiscent of the first book -- escaping from a pit and capturing robbers -- but the focus of the story is the coming-of-age/romance/amnesia nexus. We also learn other things about Lizzie Jane: for example, she is an excellent cook, which she learned from her Aunt Maude. As a result, we now have a fuller picture of Lizzie Jane. Her unique style, that we came to appreciate in the first story, is now displayed in the new battles she fights and new experiences she has in this book. Like the first book, this one has pictures, the best one of which is attached, the picture of her first date.
Back in the 1950s, where the story is set, in the Alabama mountains, where Lizzie Jane lives, girls got married at a much younger age than is typical now. So much so, as is pointed out in the story, that a girl not married by the age of 16 was considered to be an old maid!! This needs to be kept in mind to appreciate the story. Back then first love was often also the final love!
Starla Anne is well qualified to write a story of Alabama mountain people because she is one herself. She is doing in her Lizzie Jane stories what Sharyn McCrumb did for the Virginia mountain people in her books. I recommend this book as I did the first one. Lizzie Jane is the kind of person I enjoy reading about and wish I could meet!
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