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If the Creek Don't Rise: A Novel (Paperback)

If the Creek Don't Rise: A Novel By Leah Weiss Cover Image
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August 2017 Indie Next List


“This debut novel set in a small North Carolina Appalachian village is full of strong Southern voices. Among them is Sadie Blue, a child bride who realizes in a matter of days that she has made a mistake in marrying the ne'er-do-well Roy Lupkin, and Kate Shaw, who answers Minister Eli Perkins' ad for a teacher for the children of Baines Creek. As Kate begins to make a difference in the lives of her students, she realizes they are returning the compliment. Kate offers to teach Sadie Blue to read, helping her to make another life for herself. Each of the characters will touch your heart, and you will cheer for their victories!”
— Elizabeth Merritt, Titcomb's Bookshop, East Sandwich, MA

Top Ten


“Leah Weiss' ability to create characters is top notch. Get ready to delve into the rough mountain life of Sadie Blue, a young newlywed with an abusive, moonshining husband, which is not an unfamiliar situation in her family line. Readers will watch Sadie, surrounded by a community of strong and caring Appalachian neighbors, find the strength to believe in herself and save her own life.”
— Lauri Weisbecker (W), Island Bookstore, Corolla, NC

Description


"An immersive and deeply emotional reading experience—especially satisfying for readers who love richly drawn characters and a strong sense of place" —NPR

He's gonna be sorry he ever messed with me and Loretta Lynn.

Sadie Blue has been a wife for fifteen days. That's long enough to know she should have never hitched herself to Roy Tupkin, even with the baby.

Sadie is desperate to make her own mark on the world, but in remote Appalachia, a ticket out of town is hard to come by and hope often gets stomped out. When a stranger sweeps into Baines Creek and knocks things off kilter, Sadie finds herself with an unexpected lifeline...if she can just figure out how to use it.

Fans of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek will love this intimate insight into a fiercely proud, tenacious community and relish the voices of the forgotten folks of Baines Creek.

With a colorful cast of characters and a flair for the Southern Gothic, If the Creek Don't Rise is a debut novel bursting with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.

"Like all great southern writers, Leah Weiss's magic turns the local into the universal." —Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author, on All The Little Hopes

About the Author


LEAH WEISS is a Southern writer born in North Carolina and raised in the foothills of Virginia. Her debut novel If the Creek Don’t Rise was released in August of 2017. Her short stories have been published in The Simple Life magazine, Every Day Fiction and Deep South Magazine. You can contact her on her website leahweiss.com.

Praise For…


"Every page of Leah Weiss’ debut, If the Creek Don’t Rise, has a pulse as fierce and unyielding as its Appalachian setting. Told through an ensemble of narrators, men and women of all ages bound by the inescapable power of place and belonging, it is a lush exploration of the darkest rooms in the human heart, and the brightest fires of the human spirit. Weiss’ remarkable gift for language left me breathless, and her characters, distinctive and unapologetically-human, will haunt me for some time." — Erika Marks, author of The Last Treasure

"[A] striking debut." — BUSTLE

"Writing with a deep knowledge of the enduring myths of Appalachia, Weiss vividly portrays real people and sorrows. A strong, formidable novel for readers of William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy." — Library Journal

"A fascinating, gripping portrait of the interconnected and often unseen ways people help each other... an immersive and deeply emotional reading experience — especially satisfying for readers who love richly drawn characters and a strong sense of place." — NPR

"Weiss's inspiring debut novel is steeped in atmosphere, ingenuity and heart...an engaging page-turner." — Shelf Awareness

"In this tender but powerful debut, Weiss paints both the bright and the dark in the lives of her fictional Appalachian community’s denizens." — Publishers Weekly

"Part gothic, part romance, part heartbreaking Loretta Lynn ballad—Weiss’ tale is a beguiling, compelling read." — Kirkus Reviews

"This one nearly broke my heart. With deeply human characters I will not easily forget, Weiss captures the fierce pull of desperation and the formidable power of hope. An impressive debut from a talent to watch…. " — Kathleen Grissom, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Kitchen House and Glory Over Everything

"...tender but powerful debut...highlighting Weiss’s considerable characterization skills." — Publishers Weekly

"Weiss' tale is a beguiling, compelling read." — Kirkus Reviews

"...masterful use of language....Weiss’ novel is a great suggestion for fans of the Big Stone Gap books, by Adriana Trigiani, and Mitford series, by Jan Karon." — Booklist

"Like Daniel Woodrell’s ‘hillbilly noir’ novel Winter’s Bone - adapted into a tremendous backwoods thriller starring a then unknown Jennifer Lawrence - Leah Weiss’s Appalachia-set fiction debut unfolds like a dark, gripping alt-country ballad. " — Yahoo!

"…fascinating, gripping… an immersive and deeply emotional reading experience — especially satisfying for readers who love richly drawn characters and a strong sense of place" — NPR
Product Details
ISBN: 9781492647454
ISBN-10: 1492647454
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: August 22nd, 2017
Pages: 320
Language: English