Light Comes to Shadow Mountain

May 15, 2023
A young girl in a remote Appalachian community confronts resistance and dreams of the possibilities of electricity. It's 1937, and few rural Americans have access to electricity--in stark contrast to those in urban areas. So when 11-year-old Cora reads that it could be coming to her southeastern Kentucky home, an area settled by Scotch Irish immigrants, she sees nothing but the wonderful opportunities that this would mean: light to study by in the evenings, better schooling, and machines to help with chores. If enough people join the rural electric cooperative, electricity will come to Shadow Mountain. Not everyone shares Cora's enthusiasm, though, especially her herbalist mother, who fears the erecting of electric poles will disrupt the flora and fauna and that this new technology will change the way of life she values. Cora, a determined and creative problem solver, works to raise money for her one-room schoolhouse to join the cooperative and to change the minds of those most resistant, and after a moment of considerable bravery during which electricity plays a role in a lifesaving event, her mother comes around. The book takes a sensitive approach that tempers the promise of progress with an appreciation of the traditions and ways of living that will be altered. Historical details about the Frontier Nursing Service and the Pack Horse Library Project add layers to the well-developed setting. Shines a nuanced light on rarely explored historical events. (map, author's note, notes and resources) (Historical fiction. 9-12)

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May 15, 2023
Grades 5-8 Cora's life on Shadow Mountain might change if electricity comes to town, and for the young girl who dreams of being a journalist, she's willing to do whatever it takes to convince the neighbors (and her mother) to sign up. Inspired by real events impacting rural Kentucky in the late 1930s and full of historical references, this upper-middle-grade novel is full of heart, a young girl's drive and entrepreneurial spirit, and an exciting third act centered around the early arrival of a new sibling. Full of a nuanced depiction of the Appalachian region, spirited girls who dream of greatness, and neighbors always ready to lend a hand, this novel also folds in Cora's grief over the loss of her sister, her mother's likely depression, and a cousin arriving from the big city. While the language true to the 1937 setting does not always feel natural, the heart of this book will appeal to readers of such classic novels as Carol Ryrie Brink's Caddie Woodlawn.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.