It's the 1970s in Appalachia, specifically Baines Creek, and Sadie Blue is coming into young adulthood the hard way. At seventeen she is pregnant and married to a no good drunk. Through the local healer, Birdie, and the new teacher will Sadie be able to learn how to save herself?

I thoroughly enjoyed this new voice in fiction. Leah Weiss writes with a beauty of a culture that is misunderstood but one that we all could learn from if we opened our hearts and eyes. She writes with a first person voice from several characters point of view. The main character being Sadie Blue who you cheer on as she struggles. Weiss uses the Appalachian vernacular that without would not make the story as moving and powerful.

A part of me would like to see a sequel letting us know how Sadie Blue's fate plays out but at the same time I like the idea of the author leaving it up to my imagination.

I would recommend this book to any fan of fiction. If you like to read Silas House then you will like debut author, Leah Weiss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review in my own words.

If the creek don’t rise
“I’m tired, Daddy. Wore out. Roy Tupkin don’t just beat me, he beats me down. Let me rest a spell. I don’t know if I can lift my head just yet.”
IF THE CREEK DON’T RISE by LEAH WEISS is well written novel that pulls at your heart strings and keeps your attention from the very beginning.
Baines Creek is a town where town gossip is number one entertainment. until the day Kate Shaw, the out of town teacher that decides to start fresh in Baines creek. Kate made few friends upon arrival but also made an enemy(spiteful prudence perkins) . Kate immediately becomes engaged in the well beings of all residents of Baine creek esp Sadie blue.
Sadie Blue , 17 years old , pregnant and married for 15 days to Roy tupkin. A good for nothing drunk who beats on Sadie any chance he gets.
Sadie Blue is a huge fan of Loretta Lynn and thru her music she finds strength to carry on even though she can not read . she loves to look at anything that features Loretta lynn.
Throughout the book we get several persepctibes of the storyline leading up to a dramatic ending.
This book is highly recommended. Leigh Weiss is an author to watch out for . She is an author that I would glady read more from.

I got this book from Netgally for my honest feedback.

This book was powerful and packed a proverbial punch. Told in strings with multiple narrators sharing their perspectives made this novel well rounded and full. Baines Creek, North Carolina is a backwards town (is it even a town?) in Appalachia. We meet Sadie Blue- a frail, beautiful waith of a gal pregnant and getting slapped around by her deadbeat husband. Kate Shaw comes to town to attempt to teach the children of this town- brought in by Preacher Perkins. She shines on light on how poor this town and its inhabitants are and I came to love her the most.

Each chapter is narrated by a different character and I wasn't sure if that was going to continue throughout the novel, but we did get to hear again from some of the main characters. The characters are well developed and I think we can all identify some of these in our own towns. The writing is fluid and creates a language all of its own. This book has so many layers, I believe I will need to think some more on the hole this one created in my heart. The only reason I'm not giving a full 5 is for the ending. I felt like it just ended and I wanted SO MUCH MORE.

One the the best books I've read set in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina - and I've read a bunch of them. The title of the book caught my eye first - I can hear my Mom saying "If the Lord's willin' and the creek don't rise". The language of the mountains was well researched and it comes through the characters dialect sounding authentic. Loved the character Sadie Blue and was rooting for her throughout the book. I also really liked the character Birdie - with the crow on her head. However, most of the characters in this book are unforgettable. Roy was about as mean as they come. I liked the way that some of the characters were portrayed with strength, pride, and generosity. And, true to life, there are characters who know nothing but abuse and neglect and some who are just mean. The writing was so good that it's hard to believe this is a debut novel. Definitely 5 stars!

Thanks so much to Leah Weiss and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it! 4.5 stars for this excellent debut. Leah Weiss has written an exceptionally good novel about strong women enduring the poverty of life in the North Carolina Appalachians. This is mostly the story of Sadie Blue - 17, pregnant, newly married to worthless, abusive Roy Tupkin. She is surrounded by women who have all had to find their way - her grandmother, and other friends and family. The local preacher also does his best to help everyone, including bringing in a new teacher for the children. Their stories are brought out bit by bit, as the viewpoint of each chapter shifts from one character to another. This is just a really good story, the dialogue is pitch perfect, and the details of their way is fascinating, if tragic at times. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read an ARC! Highly recommend.

*4.5 stars*

It's the 1970's, but for a Appalachian North Carolina town, not much has changed. The residents still struggle in extreme poverty, with little prospects of a healthy, thriving future. We get vignettes from many of the residents, but the story revolves around young Sadie Blue, beaten and pregnant, stuck in a new (and very unhappy) marriage. Sadie Blue can't read more than a handful of sight words, but she has her love for Loretta Lynn and encouragement from both the preacher Eli and the new teacher, brought in from Asheville. She also has Birdie, a "witch" with an extensive knowledge of herbs and plants in the areas.

I was reminded of Lee Smith's novels as I read "If The Creek Don't Rise." Like Smith, Leah Weiss infuses her characters with quiet dignity as they struggle to survive. But they also aren't one-dimensional caricatures. We get snippets of pettiness in the form of the preacher's black-hearted sister, and snapshots of pure evil from Roy.

While the novel was slow going for me at first, once I reached the section with Eli's section, I was hooked. Each chapter brought a new perspective of what it felt like to live in the mountains, to survive on ginseng roots and moonshine to get by, or to travel farther away to the dangerous coal mining towns.

I particularly liked the ending! Wow! No spoilers though.

All in all, I was very impressed by this debut novel. I think Leah Weiss' novels will definitely be ones to look out for in the future.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC*

I think I have found my favorite book for the year in this debut novel by Leah Weiss. If you enjoyed Olive Kitteridge, you will find much to love in this collection of stories about the people of the isolated hill community of Baines Creek, NC in the year 1970.

I was attracted to this book at first by its title which comes of course from the old superstition about making plans: "If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise." Sort of like touching wood. Even though I'm from the midwest and not Appalachia, I often heard that saying growing up. But it didn't sink in apparently. When my husband and I moved to Illinois, we bought a home with a creek meandering some 200 feet behind it. How quaint, we thought...how picturesque! But it's not so quaint and picturesque when heavy rains turn it into a raging river that floods your home!

In the book, there are truly remarkable characters who tell their own stories in vignettes: Sadie Blue, the pregnant teenager who marries in haste and regrets it every day thereafter; her hard and unforgiving grandmother, Gladys Hicks; her aunt Marris Jones, who does her best to look out for both her sister and niece; Eli Perkins, the minister of a small flock of parishioners; Prudence Perkins, Eli's bitter spinster sister; Kate Shaw, teacher and newcomer to the remote community; Tattler Swan, twelve-year-old boy; Birdie Rocas, eccentric old healer with a crow for a friend; Billy Barnhill, toady to a bully; and finally Roy Tupkin; the man who vents his frustrations in life by beating his pregnant wife, poor Sadie Blue.

Sadie is the center pin of this group of stories, as Olive Kitteridge was in Elizabeth Strout's book. She's certainly in a fix but is strong willed and determined to do something with her "one special life." My favorite quote from Sadie was about her abusive husband after he smashed her little radio: "He's going to be sorry he ever messed with me and Loretta Lynn." The singer inspired her because she'd had a hard life too but had managed to rise above it.

Another interesting, inspiring character is the school teacher, Kate Shaw. She had been let go from her position at an all girls' academy where she taught the classics. Apparently she also talked to them about feminist ideals, telling them her favorite Margaret Sanger quote: "No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body." When she backed her beliefs up by helping a student in trouble, the school was forced to let her go.

Now at fifty-one, Kate has made a huge change in her life by accepting a position to teach in this remote Appalachian town. "Baines Creek is barely a crossroads, a dot on a map. It's remote, embraced by natural beauty, and riddled with hardships." At the last census, there were 41 children between the ages of six and seventeen and she'll be working in a one-room schoolhouse--about as different as one can imagine from her former position. Will she even be able to understand their dialect?

Eli Perkins is from a long line of ministers, all named Eli. He loves to tell jokes with his sermons and thinks he knows his flock well. It's been hard keeping teachers in the remote community so this time he's sought out someone older and more settled who will stay--and hopes he's found that person in Kate Shaw. Will she also be his friend?

His spinster sister Prudence is another interesting character. She has a lot of grievances that she holds close to her heart and is a bit of a spider in a web, manipulating circumstances.

Her grandmother once told her that 'Eli' means 'Defender of Men' and that her father and grandfather defend all men. "Even being four, I wondered who defended us girls. I was too shy back then to ask. Now I know--it's nobody."

Prudence sleeps under a crazy quilt made by her mother: "She holds me together with her tiny stitches." That's my favorite quote from this book; so touching!

Of course, evil resides in that small, remote community. Moonshine is made and sold--and don't you dare trespass if you value your life! A girl goes missing and no one investigates. A wife is beaten and no one steps in. But there's love, sharing and support too.

I was sorry to see this story end but the conclusion was very satisfying, showing some of that pioneering independence for which these hill people are so famous. :)

Included in the book is an interesting interview with Leah Weiss in which she shares that the book Olive Kitteridge, with its unique short story structure, did indeed influence her writing of this story.

A hearty thank you to Leah Weiss for making her debut book available for readers on NetGalley! She has incredible talent and I will look forward to reading more from her in the future. Thank you also to her publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity as well.

This was a heart breaking story and at times hard to read as contains spouse abuse, but the book was really well written and pulls you into the story. At times I found the "accent" annoying with the american twang, or drawl but I am British so had to at times reread a line or two.

I would recommend this if you want a deep heartfelt novel.

Its hard to believe this is Leah Weiss debut novel. I loved the voices of the Southern women, especially Sadie and the teacher, Kate. I would like to read more about them. I hope there maybe some more tales of Baines Creek from Ms. Weiss.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

It was an interesting book....the voices reminded me a bit of Gap Creek, by Robert Morgan. I suppose that's because they're set in similar locations. The author did a fantastic job on setting, voice, and making you feel like you're right there. There are a few narrators who switch back and forth to give both the background and the action in the story. For me, the plot itself was just an okay story; but I think credit is deserved for creating memorable characters and setting.

4 stars
This book takes place in the Appalachian mountains of N. Carolina in 1970. Life is hard for people in these mountain villages. Domestic violence is a generational thing and opens the first chapter, with Roy Tupkin beating his wife, Sadie Blue. Chapter 2 is about Sadie's grandmother, Gladys Hicks, now a widow. There are flashbacks to when her husband Walter used to beat her up. These 2 chapters upset me with the generational domestic violence. But the story improves as the characters develop. There are descriptions of mountain ways of healing and kindness.
The book is organized into chapters based on individual characters and narrated in the first person by that character.
Some other characters:
Eli Perkins--a preacher and a kind, gentle man
Prudence Perkins--Eli's sister, never married and a mean spirited woman who lives to hurt people
Kate Shaw--a new teacher from the valley and considered an outsider
Two quotes:
Gladys:"Times like these I wonder if I ever been happy. From the start there's been a film of dingy on my days."
Eli: "I first heard about a murder of crows at the seminary."
My wife frequently says "If the creek don't rise.." Her grandmother grew up in the Appalachians and I suspect my wife picked the phrase from her grandmother. So I decided to request this book from NetGalley. I liked the ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.

A debut novel that gives readers, a glimpse into the life of the townspeople in a small town in the mountains. Different sides of the same story, told from the POV of several characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and although I loved how it ended, I would have liked to have read more. I will be looking out for more from this author.

Anyone seen Shelby around? Here – lemme crawl in my safe space just in case she shows up . . . .

So I fully admit I read this wrong, but that’s what happens when people go 4 and 5 Star something and make me want it without knowing anything. Go read Shelby or Zoeytron or Diane S.’s reviews to see that you do want this on your TBR and read this one only to confirm that . . . .

The main problem I had with If The Creek Don’t Rise was the fact that I attempted to read it on what turned out to be the most stressful weekend of my young 20-something year old (just go with it) life. You see, one of my oldest friends passed away this weekend and she did so just like the filthy hooker she was – with a bunch of hollering and smoke pouring from both her front and her butt on a street corner. Said friend was my beloved Volkswagon Passat. This book was read while spending eleventy-three hours waiting to get approved for the opportunity to give all of my money away every month on a new “friend” who probably won’t end up being half as loyal as she was.

Anyway, I didn’t know anything about this book except for the swoony ratings – and really, even if I had bothered looking at the synopsis I wouldn’t have been aware that this wasn’t going to end up being the story of Sadie Blue like I was banking on. While Sadie Blue and her sad and sorry life were the jumping off point, If The Creek Don’t Rise ended up being more like little vignettes by alllllllll of the residents of Baines Creek. The writing was truly captivating, but I’m not a huge fan of books that “play on repeat” with various scenes looping and being told by multiple narrators. If that kind of thing isn’t your cuppa either, you might struggle too. I rarely (if ever) say this, but this is a book that could have benefitted from quite a lot more pages. I felt like every single one of the characters had so much more to give and would have liked to have had the chance to get to know them more. That being said, I’m interested to see what Leah Weiss comes up with next. I hope to shout it’s more from Appalachia, because I think she’s got a lot more to say.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

If the Creek Don't Rise is a story about Sadie Blue.  Sadie is a young woman living in Appalachia.  Though the story is Sadie's, the structure of the novel is very unusual.  Sadie only speaks in the first person in three chapters of the book.  The remaining chapters are told from the perspective of various family, friends, and community members.  

Sadie is young and pregnant by what she thought was the man of her dreams, Roy.  However, as soon as they married he began to beat her.  Sadie can't read but still carries around a magazine because Loretta Lynn's picture is in it.  Even with a bleak appearing future, Sadie remains hopeful and eventually determines to force her circumstances to change.  

I found it interesting how well the author set the scene of Appalachia not only through her words but frequently through what was not said.  Law enforcement is not mentioned in the novel except a passing mention of revenuers and fear of getting caught running moonshine.  They are never mentioned as the person to call when in trouble, like for example when your husband beats you half to death.  The reader leaves this novel with the idea that Appalachia is closed off and insular and often rough and violent, which is a fair depiction.  Life is hard for hill people and this author did an excellent job of conveying that without beating the reader over the head about it.  Given the skill and craft using in writing this novel, it is hard to believe it is a debut novel for Weiss.  I can't wait to see her next work.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel

If The Creek Don't Rise is a stunning portrait of small-town North Carolina life and really impacted me because of it's really strong characters and gritty but honest storyline.

There's Sadie Blue who's 17 and pregnant by a man called Roy Taupkins who she thought was the man for her before he showed her his true colours by beating her just days into their marriage.

Her grandmother, quite rightly, is concerned for her and does not trust Roy at all. Gladys is a wise woman and loves her granddaughter and literally has bought her up after Sadie's mother left. Gladys's best friend is Mary Harris (known as Marris to everyone). Marris is warm and caring and does not miss an opportunity to be hospitable to those who deserve it, or to cook one of her hearty meals. She cares for Gladys and the two women have a good relationship, never missing out on a chance to gossip or share opinions or memories and experiences.

Gladys has not had an easy life herself and is very strong-willed and speaks her mind. There are some other characters in the story, and they all form the fabric of Baine's Creek, the small mountain town in North Carolina in which gossip and hospitality from some and problems from others just forms the fabric of daily life.

Leah Weiss has a style of writing that is all-encompassing and captures the way people talk in the area and their mannerisms so well she sucks the reader into the story. The first person point of view is immediately effective in getting the reader "inside the character's head," and makes the book even more personal and harrowing in parts. This writing technique always proves a hit with me for these reasons, and kept me reading.

If The Creek Don't Rise is an unforgettable debut with an amazing ending. The book will pull at your heartstrings if you are sensitive, and make you want to read more if you love reading. Yes, the book is dialogue-heavy, but that is what drives the story, and, in my mind, is only a huge advantage for this particular book. As I don't want to give too much away, the best thing you can do is read it for yourself! Having read If The Creek Don't Rise, I'm very tempted to read future releases by Leah Weiss. 4.5 stars overall, because the dialogue does get heavy at times.That said, the book does give a magnificent portrayal of people living in a small town while having to deal with some tough issues. Sadie Blue, Gladys and Marris do seem incredibly resilient, and have strong characters which together make them a great team. I found myself rooting for them, and in particular Sadie Blue, throughout the book. I was sad when it ended just because it was so well written and so vivid. Despite all the dialogue and the often- disturbing goings on in Baines Creek, the chapters being in the POV of each character but mainly Sadie Blue and Gladys, made it easy to follow. This fact was enhanced by the informal and easy-going way the story was told despite some of the subject matter.


I'm proud to have been asked to write a post for the blog tour for this title. Thanks so much to Leah Weiss. Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nestled inside the Appalachia Mountain are a group of individuals whose life might seem a bit backwards, a bit behind the times but it is a life that they have chosen and a life which they can call their own. Preacher Eli is optimist about the people that surround his small church as he puts out a call for a teacher for the children in his community. She arrives but her past is blemished. This stain that occurred on her resume, she addresses immediately and moves forward. She seems brave and bold as she speaks about her past but she needs to be, as this position is not for everyone. As this outsider makes her way into the community, she begins to get a feel for the history and the individuals who will now be her community. To hear their stories, you understand their notions and the way their lives have taken.

I really enjoyed this novel, I enjoyed the drama as it sliced through the lives of these individuals, not shattering them but causing a disturbance that echoed throughout the community. They were a tight-knit group, they knew what was acceptable and what wasn’t and they each felt connected to each other in some way. It’s funny how they sized-up each other, they each harbored their own feelings about what went on in the community but to act on them, was a different story. As the teacher makes her appearance, you can feel a ripple amongst the group as she has now become a spectacle. These ripples occur throughout the novel, some creating more emotions than others and there were times I wanted someone to act, to stand up immediately and make a difference but it’s not like that in this community. I had to let things work themselves out. I would love to read one of Birdie’s Books of Truth, for I am sure that her use of words and her stories would captive me. I will miss the lives of Sadie, Pastor Eli, Prudence, Birdie and the others, for this novel allowed me to escape and find my way up into the mountains.
I received this novel from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for sharing this terrific novel with me.

Set in a small town with the sort of characters that live in these places,and told from different points of view this was an interesting look back into the 70's.I think and hope things are different now, but I wonder if that is true.Interesting window to look through into someone's life and the times they lived in.I did enjoy this book, it was different to my usual books but I am trying to read books that take me away from my usual comfort zone, some times it is good to branch out a little, and I did enjoy this..I don't want to spoil it for others so I am not going to give the storyline away, but I think this book is well worth a read.

This book was given to me be NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

This was a good book. Lots of atmospheric tones. Some of it was, for me, a little too painful.

The beginning of the book is intriguing, and the last line priceless. Appalachian characters are finely drawn, and the writing keeps the book interesting. However, in the end, I felt like I had been left hanging wanting to know the conclusion for each of these people and the community.