THE MOONSHINER’S DAUGHTER by Donna Everhart
I love Donna Everhart’s writing. Her books always leave me with many feelings. This one left me in tears. From the start to the end it’s a good story. Lots of history and family involved. Also the young girl in the book has an eating disorder. No one seems to notice this though.
After losing her mother Jessie Sasser swore she would have nothing to do with the moon shining business. She blamed it and her daddy for her mother’s death. She hated anything and everything to do with moon shining. He daddy was determined that she would help though and tried to make her understand that it was what kept them in a home and with food to eat. She didn’t want anything, not even the food, that came from moonshining though. To her it was pure evil.
Lots of things happen in this book that will keep you turning the pages. From family members turning on each other in ways that cost them plenty to kids being bullied in school. It was a very well written story and obviously well researched. I’m never disappointed in a book by this author and this one is possible my favorite one yet. It certainly made me cry in many places and laugh in a few too.
Most of the characters are so likable and so well developed. There are some you won’t like at all for obvious reasons. I absolutely loved Mrs Brewer. She was like the most helpful person to the Sasser children when they needed it most. The ending left me in big tears but it somehow seemed just right. This book held a bit of a mystery for a while but you will find answers too. I did at least.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #Kensington and #DonnaEverhart for this ARC. This is my own review.
I give it a huge 5 stars and a very high recommendation.

The Moonshiner's Daughter by Donna Everhart will, take you back to the days when revenuers were chasing moonshiners along the winding roads of the the Appalachian mountains. Jessie Sasser was four years old when she saw her mother's brutal death beside a moonshine still. She grew up to exhibit self-destructive behavior and hated the making of moonshine. That put her at odds with her family who had made moonshine for generations. Their enemy was the Murray family who left a path of destruction behind them. When Jessie's daddy was put in jail for making 'shine, Jessie had to reevaluate her assumptions and her behavior.
Underlying the moonshine story is Jessie's eating disorder and how it controlled her thoughts and behavior. The story took place before much was known about eating disorders. The author shows the thoughts and feelings of Jessie as she dealt with her family and her disorder.

Amazingly atmospheric novel with an incredible character in Jessie. This starts hard, with the death of Jessie's mother in a horrible way. Fast forward to 1961, when Jessie is 16 years old and struggling with her father, his moon shining, and herself. She's got an eating disorder that will only get worse, one friend who she will lose and a hatred of her family's legacy. Set in North Carolina, this has wonderful sense of place, even when dreadful things, such as a car being run off the road, happen. Jessie's life is difficult and she makes some ill considered choices (or are they?). Only one person- certainly not in her family (especially not her hateful aunt and uncle) sees her for what she is and can become- Mrs Brewster, the school nurse, who steps in and acts as a (more or less) responsible adult when Jessie and then her younger brother Merritt need one. I'd love to know what was in the tea she gave Jessie. This has so many ups and downs (mostly a lot of downs) and it's hard to review without spoilers. My only quibble is with the epilogue, part of which came out of the blue and without explanation (no spoilers!). It's well written, engaging, and kept me turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend not only as a coming of age story but also a sensitive Southern novel about moon shine and family.

Coming of age + southern fiction = a new Donna Everhart book! I have read Donna Everhart's previous book and was thrilled to read The Moonshiner's Daughter. Jessie Sasser is the daughter of a moonshiner and witnessed her mother's death at the age of four. She is now 16 and dealing with a serious eating disorder, unpopularity and the fact that she wants more out of life than running 'shine. Donna Everhart is an auto-read author for me! The Moonshiner's Daughter would be a great book club pick!

This could very well be the best book of the year! I could not put it down. The writing is so beautifully expressive. You are there experiencing and seeing it all...you are at the stills, multiple fires, fights, moonshine runs, tears and happiness. A different type read and so factual you learn about another way of life. Can't say how much I loved this book!

It's 1960 and Jesse Sasser is a 16 year old teenager who doesn't fit in. Jesse's family has been running a moonshine business in the Brushy Mountains in North Carolina for years. When Jesse was 4, she witnessed an accident where her Mom was burnt alive after one of the moonshine stills exploded. And that's one of the reasons why Jesse doesn't approve of her family's illegal activities and is thinking of reporting her father and brother to the Revenue.

I've read Donna Everhart's novel 'The Forgiving Kind' earlier this year and absolutely loved it. Everhart is an exceptional writer and in her latest novel she depicts an authentic picture of the life in North Caroline in the 60s at the time when the Wilkes County was known as the Moonshine Capital of the World. I had no idea how popular bootleg liquor was at the time and enjoyed discovering this bit of US history.

What I struggled with was the character of Jesse and the lack of her character development. Jesse suffers from an eating disorder, but it is not clear when this started and what the main trigger for her bulimia is. Her body size is never discussed, only that she is always weraing ill-fitting clothes. Having no friends, she is also an outcast at school but again, it is not explained why that is. Overall, an interesting HF book which the fans of Donna Everhart will love, no doubt.   

Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advance copy of The Moonshiner’s Daughter.

Jessie Sasser’s family has been making the finest moonshine around for generations. As she struggles with this legacy, she’s growing up without the benefit of her mama who was taken by that legacy. Powerless to stop the family business, she tries to distance herself from it. The Moonshiner’s Daughter tests where the bar of honesty is for each character, and it’s set where each can accept what they do as justified.

Jessie is trapped vehemently hating the family business, which serves as enough incentive to avoid it, but not enough to escape it. Written with a painfully heartbreaking ring of truth, The Moonshiner’s Daughter is full of lessons about history, tradition, and loyalty.

“The Moonshiner’s Daughter” by Donna Everhart was a fabulous novel! When I started this book, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it and then about 10% into it,I couldn’t put it down. It grabbed me and sucked me right into that rollercoaster of a story. Oh my goodness you just have to go along for the ride.

I wanted to hug Jessie Sasser. She was a girl who thought she knew what she stood for and fought for her convictions with all of her might. I was right there rooting for her through the whole story. I loved the school nurse Mrs. Brewer. It felt like she was the only one that took an interest in Jessie a majority of the time.

Have you ever put a book down because you thought you knew how it was going to end and you didn’t want to see it end that way? I did with this book. About an hour later, I couldn’t stand it any longer and I had to know how it all wound up. I don’t want to give away the ending but, it was a perfect ending to the story.

This book was so different than what I expected and I highly recommend it!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Jessie Sasser is the main character in this well written historical fiction novel.
Taking place in the mountains of North Carolina, Jessie and her family have long made their living in the "moonshine" business.
Jessie absolutely despises this. Why?
Her mama died when Jessie was four and all that she can recall is that her death was caused by this awful illegal line of work at the stills.
When she asks her dad, he refuses to talk about her mother or give her any answers about her death.
The "need to know" causes severe psychological troubles for this teenager and a slow self destruction of oneself as well as anger and hurt in her family.
The descriptions in this book are amazing! I felt as though I was walking in the woods to the stills, smelling the moonshine and living back in the 1960's. The suspense at times had me racing through the pages
I could feel Jessie's pain and lack of power as she tried to gain control of her life in her own way.

The Moonshiner's Daughter is a well written, southern fiction, set in the mountains of Wilkes County, North Carolina, in the late 50's and 60's. Jesse Sasser comes from generations of moonshiners, in an area where moonshining is competitive among families. She blames her mother's death on moonshining and is disgusted by the family's business.  As a child she is required to help in the process of making and hauling the family's product and she finds herself in danger multiple times. When she does what she feels she needs to do in order to get out of the business, she finds not only herself, but also her immediate and extended family in danger. She then does what she must in order to keep her family together and safe. 
As the descendant of N.C. moonshiners, I am familiar with the situations that the author, Donna Everhart, describes and enjoyed reading those parts.  Danger from combustible fluid, hiding a still from other "shiners" and revenuers, and hauling in specially outfitted cars are situations that add to the excitement. Family loyalty and pride are conflicts that Jesse finds herself faced with throughout the book. How she chooses to handle them may surprise you.

This author is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I feel she is in Diane chamberlain league.
This is a excellent pull at your heart strings book

Even though Jessie Sasser’s family has been making moonshine in Wilkes County, North Carolina for generations, she doesn’t want any part of her family’s legacy. In fact, she wants to put a stop to it. Jessie resents her father for forcing her to be involved with his moonshine business. She is also angry with him because he will not speak about her mother who died when she was a little girl. All of Jessie’s pent up rage and inner turmoil lead to a dangerous eating disorder that destroys her health and mental wellbeing. Jessie decides to destroy her family’s illegal operation and blame it on another moonshining family, but her plan only makes things worse by reigniting an old feud and putting her family’s safety at risk.

THE MOONSHINER’S DAUGHTER is a captivating historical coming-of-age novel. The novel is set in Wilkes County, North Carolina during the 1960s. At the time, Wilkes County was known for its extremely high output of illegal moonshine. Donna Everhart thoroughly researched the time and the era, and she brings the time period and location to life in her description.

Welcome to the Bushy Mountains in North Carolina. The Sasser family has been making shine for generations, along with quite a few other folks. It's a dangerous and deadly job. But it's the only thing most of them know.

Set in 1960, this is the story of Jessie Sasser. A girl who blames moonshine for her mothers' death when she was a small child. Her memories of that day aren't clear on much except her mother was stirring the still and then her mother was dead.

Her daddy won't talk about her mother or her death so Jessie puts up a hunger strike which leads to an eating disorder. On this one thing, they are locked in a battle over. He won't answer questions, she won't eat the food bought by blood money.

Jessie is not going to stop until she finds answers. And finding those answers will have repercussions for the entire family.

This was a beautifully written and heartbreaking story. Generations of families mad at each other and willing to do anything to make and sell their product and stay out of the revenuers' way. 

A historical fiction character with an eating disorder was a first for me. I cried as Jessie wasted away, still seeing that fat girl in the mirror. I cried for the loss of her mother, for her own inner turmoil about who she was and what she wanted her life to be.

A very well done novel!

NetGalley/ December 31st, 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

This is an excellent novel, full of emotional impact and believable characters. I found many parts of it difficult to get through however because of the challenging nature of the main character. This is not a book to read lightly, but a book to dive deep with.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I truly enjoyed this book. Learning about the bootlegging activities was very interesting. But the way that Ms. Everhart dealt with eating disorders was totally unexpected and done very well. This book would be a good read for middle school, high school and adult readers alike.

Well done!

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that addresses eating disorders like this one did.Treated with sensitivity and complete with the background of why Jessie is bulimic.
Her mother dies when she was young and her father would not talk about her.He is a moonshiner and Jessie hates it.She decides to destroy his stills.
It’s not a very happy book but it is one of those rare books that stays in your mind for days.
Beautifully written coming of age story.
Thankyou Netgalley for this ARC

Donna Everhart knows how to weave such compelling stories! I absolutely loved The Moonshiner’s Daughter.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I am rating this book 5 stars! I found the female lead, Jessie Sasser so incredibly interesting as a character. Her perspective on making moonshine, her family’s business, was so dynamic and I was constantly wondering which decision she would make in regards to making shine.

I find Everhart’s writing style so descriptive and beautiful, excellent story!

I really like how this author expresses southern fiction and doesn’t dress it up but tells it like it is. A lot in this book is hard to read but it’s the way many have lived and did their best to get by and squeak out a living. My heart hurt for Jesse and how she just wanted to know about her mother. I like how the eating disorder was addressed. Most don’t realize these things happen in any part of society. I agree with others who say this would make a good book club book. So much going on to discuss. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

Generations of Sassers have made moonshine in the Brushy Mountains of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Resenting her father’s insistence that moonshining runs in her veins, Jessie makes a plan to destroy the stills, using their neighbors as scapegoats. Instead, her scheme escalates an old rivalry and reveals long-held grudges.

I liked this story and recommend it to lovers of Southern historical fiction. This would make for a great group or book club read. There is also a "Reading Group Guide" with questions included in the back.

3.25 stars

I will read anything and everything that Donna Everhart writes, her books are amazing! I love her writing and the sympathetic characters that stir up emotions and keep you cheering them on. I gave The Moonshiners Daughter five big stars over on Goodreads where I keep track of everything I read.

SYNOPSIS:

Generations of Sassers have made moonshine in the Brushy Mountains of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Their history is recorded in a leather-bound journal that belongs to Jessie Sasser’s daddy, but Jessie wants no part of it. As far as she’s concerned, moonshine caused her mother’s death a dozen years ago.

Her father refuses to speak about her mama, or about the day she died. But Jessie has a gnawing hunger for the truth–one that compels her to seek comfort in food. Yet all her self-destructive behavior seems to do is feed what her school’s gruff but compassionate nurse describes as the “monster” inside Jessie.

Resenting her father’s insistence that moonshining runs in her veins, Jessie makes a plan to destroy the stills, using their neighbors as scapegoats. Instead, her scheme escalates an old rivalry and reveals long-held grudges. As she endeavors to right wrongs old and new, Jessie’s loyalties will bring her to unexpected revelations about her family, her strengths–and a legacy that may provide her with the answers she has been longing for.

This is such a beautifully written and engaging story. My heart broke for Jessie throughout the book, she went through a series of changes that made me want to cry. Prepare to settle in for an afternoon of reading when you pick this up, you will lose all sense of time once you start.

Pre-Order here, coming out on December 31.