Book: Sweetwater Creek

Good, then weird, but ultimately still pretty good

I really like Anne Rivers Siddons books. They aren't the best literature out there, but they've always been enjoyable. Unfortunately this one takes a turn for the dark and bizarre near the end. Interestingly, so did her last book, Islands. Either she's changing her tone to match what readers like these days or she's got something dark on the brain. For her sake I hope it's not the latter. Anyway, the protagonist in this book is a twelve year old girl who lives with her family raising hunting dogs outside of Charleston, SC. The girl has experienced a lot of loss in her young life and is stuck with her emotionally withdrawn father and brothers. She's a tomboy with a gift for training dogs. Part way into the book a Charleston debutante suffering from an unknown problem comes to stay with the family to rest and heal over the summer. I think that the story of Emily, the main character, is a good one. The story odebutantebutant friend Lulu on the other hand is less convincing. Regardless, I think it was a good book. If Siddons had chosen a deeper and more convincing source for the debutante's problems, the book could have been even better. I don't want to spoil it, so I am being vague.