The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

HRevvdon@evpl — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:13:00 GMT

I didn't know what to expect from The Little Giant of Aberdeen County (2009) by Tiffany Baker, it was recommended by a friend and I had not heard anything other than it is a first novel from Baker.

The story is about two children in a very small northeastern town. Serena Jane is the older child and is a beautiful petite child. Then there is the younger sister. When their mother is close to giving birth to the younger sister she is so big that the townspeople start taking bets on how many babies she will have. She has one very large child, and dies in childbirth. The doctor misunderstands the mother's delirious ramblings and names the child Truly. This is really Truly's story. Truly is large and keeps growing.

As children the two are separated at the death of their father - Truly to a poor and bad-luck farmer's family and Serena Jane to the preacher's home where she is pampered and coddled. Serena Jane's life is tangled with the town doctor's family and she marries his son, Robert Morgan - Bob Bob. She has a son and then runs off. Truly then becomes housekeeper and her life becomes tangled with Robert Morgan.

Truly realizes that an antique quilt holds the secrets of Robert Morgan's greatgreat-grandmother - reputed to be a witch. She learns the secrets of herbs and plants to help cure, and the secret of how they can harm or kill. At first the knowledge gives Truly something of her own to hang on to, but then she learns it can also be a burden if she does not use it correctly.

I enjoyed this book and thought it an impressive first novel. My one problem was that from time to time I forgot that it was not set in an earlier time, but in today's world. The book does not dwell on the reason for Truly's being a "little giant", just that it makes her very different. I liked that.

Books Blog : witchcraft, giant

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker