This loose retelling of David Copperfield explores life in Lee County,Virginia through the eyes of a young boy nicknamed Demon. From his addict mother to the cruel injustices of the foster care system and drug addiction, the book will break your heart. But it's also so beautifully written and the voice feels so authentic, that you don't even care. I loved her book, Poisonwood Bible, but haven't always liked her others. I dragged my feet on reading this one, but it was incredible and worth the painful subject matter. The audiobook is particularly well done.

“Aunts standing close in the kitchen like cigarettes in the pack, uncles splayed on furniture like butts in the ashtray."

“The wonder is that you could start life with nothing, end with nothing, and lose so much in between.”

“As a kid, you just accept different worlds with different rules.” ( )

This is dark story of part of America that time has passed by, has been taken advantaged of and arguably setup to ensure they can never crawl out from it. Child abuse - check; Alcoholism - check; Racism - check; Abusive foster parents - check; Uncaring Civil Service support - check; Drug abuse - check; Opioid abuse - hell this is the birth cradle of it - Big Check; The only bright spot in their lives is High School football and even that just leaves fallen heroes and futureless stars littered on the side of the road. Add in the star football coach who can't get himself out of bed in the offseason sleeping it off and in season sending hurt players to a doctor to kickoff their opioid lives so they can play past their pains. All that darkness and still this was an excellent book. Kingsolver is a gifted writer who can tell a story, describe a scene and builds the perfect characters for this story. Though the book is that dark, it is so rich and well written you can't help but really like this book. ( )

A story of poverty and the department of Social Services in the South Appalachian mountains. Takes place in the late 1900's and makes you wonder who is actually doing their job. The story follows a red headed boy as he grows up through the trauma of being poor and being pushed around from one foster parent to another. It is the story of foster parents and those who take advantage of these children, it is a story of the opioid crisis. As usual, well written and fast paced. You root for the red head in the end. ( )

I had a love-hate relationship with this book. Hated it, put it aside. Started again a week or two later. Loved it. At first. But in the end, I wondered what the point of reinterpreting the Dickens classic was, though of course it's fun observing all the correspondences with David Copperfield. Kingsolver's passion for social justice shines through, but in the end Demon's spectacular falls from grace become slightly wearying. Just as his final redemption seemed to be hurried through, and not entirely convincing, considering how deeply damaged he was by his falls. I was relieved to finish the bok. ( )

Demon Copperhead tackles a lot of heavy subjects - neglected children, abusive relationships, the foster care system, pressure on high school athletes to perform, drug addiction and the culpability of pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers, American cultural divides and I'm probably missing a couple things. And it's Barbara Kingsolver, so needless to say it's all handled with incredible insight and finesse. Demon Copperhead isn't my favorite Kingsolver book (and I haven't read them all yet) but it's definitely well-worth the read. ( )