Mary M. (RetiredLibrarian) reviewed on 8/27/2010 + 4 more book reviews

Twelve year old Lou and little brother, Oz, find themselves moving from fast paced NYC in 1940 after a car accident has left their writer father dead and their mother in a catatonic state. With no where else to go, they move to Virginia to live with the Great-Grandmother who raised their father, but whom they have never met. Lou (the girl) is named for her Great-Grandmother Louisa May. Life in the hills is quite different for the children where there is no electricity, no running water, no big stores & very few "comforts". But, they meet extraordinary people like Diamond, a young orphan who shows them how wishes can come true, Eugene, a young black man who lives on Louisa May's homestead and helps her with the farm and, Cotton Longfellow, a lawyer who comes to be the savior of the family when the bad guys -- the coal companies and local bootleggers try to steal the family property. All in all, through trials and tribulations, the children come through this dark period of time and learn many, many life lessons.

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