The ONLY issue I had with this book, is that it wasn't longer. I wanted to read more about these young girls and their interesting, magical life. I love anything that takes place in an Appalachian setting, and it seems more books are trying this nowdays. Such a great book and look forward to more by this author.

3.5 stars

I rate this one slightly above average because though I’m not sure I loved it, it will certainly stick with me. I did not dislike it either. It was just different from my usual brand of reading, and it left me having to kind of decipher things for myself. This is not a bad thing, just not really what my mind could handle this time around.

The writing is well done and the story is good.

Thank you to Tin House Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review Alisa Alering's 'Smothermoss.'

This is a wondrous and dark fable set in the Appalachian mountains in western Pennsylvania in the early 1980s.

Two young sisters - polar opposites - live in the shadow of a mountain literally and figuratively. This being set at the height of the Cold War they live in the shadow of a potential nuclear holocaust, something Angie, the Russian-obsessed, younger sister would almost welcome. They live in the shadow of the aftermath of a brutal double murder of a pair of female backpackers on the nearby Appalachian Trail. The murderer is still out there and their lives are affected in different ways - Angie plots his capture and Sheila tries to curtail her. The mountain - a living character in the novel - conspires with them in their efforts. They live in the shadow of their various 'otherness.'

It's a novel of otherness. There's a paranormal otherness that runs throughout the novel - the mountain, Angie's hand-drawn cards, Sheila's friend. There's a sexual otherness - Sheila 'doesn't like boys.' There's socio-economic otherness - this a poor family and as such the girls are targeted by others in school and out. There's a cultural otherness - although they're living in the rational late 20th century where nuclear annihilation is always near and would take seconds, their lives are born out of an earlier more elemental time and of a much different pace of potential destruction.

It's a generously written book in that there are lots of opportunities from start to finish for the reader to come up with their own interpretation of events and to fill in the 'gaps' though I wouldn't say there's anything missing - just room to come to your own conclusion.

The wondrous and paranormal elements of the book and the tone, to some extent, put me strongly in mind of Max Porter's astonishing 'Lanny.'

I loved it (including the cover), congratulations to Alisa Alerling and Tin House Books on this achievement.

Below is my review posted to Goodreads. Thank you for allowing me the pleasure of reading this novel!

First my thanks to Tin House Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity for an ARC copy of this novel 🫶

Let me start out by saying that this book was a little bit different than my usual choice of reading material. It’s paranormal, it’s gothic…. There’s something going on and you can’t quite put your finger on it but you know it’s strange.

However the moment I saw that this story took place in Appalachia I knew I needed to read it. There is no paranormal quite like Appalachian Paranormal and if you don’t know what I mean (you haven’t grown up here and learned the old wives tales that always have a hint of truth) then read this novel.

Was I sure where this story was going? Not always. Did I have questions that weren’t answered? Sure did. The story and descriptions flow forward and you’re not always sure what is going to happen next or what exactly is going on. I did leave having questions and I think sometimes stories are better left that way. This novel leaves you with questions and lets you attempt to draw your own conclusions about things.

Nothing is for certain and if you need a story with concrete details and resolutions then this isn’t for you. I had to sit in silence after I finished reading to try and process everything I’d just absorbed. The ending, in my opinion, is open to interpretation and I enjoyed coming up with various theories as to what had happened or was going to happen in the future for the characters.

This is a one of a kind novel that blends the everyday with the paranormal and makes you question what you think is real and what you think is just in your head. Because something is in your head, does that make it not real?

I thought this was a good book. It was a little "out there" for me to absolutely love it though. I did get kind of confused with some parts, and I had to go back and reread portions.