Velva Jean Learns to Drive
Set in Appalachia in the years before World War II,
Velva Jean Learns
to Drive is a poignant story of a spirited young girl growing up in the
gold-mining and moonshining South.
One Sunday when she is ten years old, Velva Jean Hart is saved. Life
soon brings unwelcome changes: her loving mother becomes ill and dies,
and her father leaves on one of his "adventures." While Velva Jean's
bossy older sister runs the home, Velva Jean consoles herself by singing
and finding companionship with Johnny Clay, her rebellious brother; the
infamous Wood Carver, who is rumored to have killed a man; and, when she
is a beautiful teenager, Harley Bright, a handsome juvenile
delinquent-turned-revival preacher. As their tumultuous love story
unfolds, Velva Jean must choose between keeping her hard-won home and
pursuing her dream of singing in the Grand Ole Opry.
Visit Velva Jean's official Penguin page
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