Billy May Platte is a half Irish, half Cherokee Appalachian woman who learned the hard way that 1940s West Virginia was no place to be different. As Billy May explains, “We was sheltered in them hills. We didn’t know much of nothin’ about life outside of them mountains. I did not know the word lesbian; to us, gay meant havin’ fun and queer meant somethin’ strange.”
In 1945, when Billy May was fourteen years old and orphaned, three local boys witnessed an incident in which Billy May’s sexuality was called into question. Determined to teach her a lesson she would never forget, they orchestrated a brutal attack that changed the dynamics of the tiny coal mining village of Cedar Hollow, West Virginia forever.
Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Gold Medal Winner in 2013 as well as a finalist for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington’s Synergy Program in 2013, Appalachian Justice is a work of southern fiction that delves into social issues such as poverty, domestic violence, misogyny, and sexual orientation. Ultimately, however, Appalachian Justice delivers a message of hope.
Clayton, Melinda. Appalachian Justice. Thomas-Jacob.(Cedar Hollow, Bk.1). 2013. 274p. ebk. ISBN NA.
Tackling such issues as misogyny, sexuality, and domestic abuse, Clayton deftly presents the social climate of the sheltered mining town of Cedar Hollow, WV. At the helm is Billy May Platte, reflecting on her troubled life as she lies dying in a hospice. Having learned long ago about the difficulties of being different, Billy May tries to come to terms with the violent beating she suffered at 14 owing to her romantic interest in another girl. The cast of characters who surround our protagonist are disturbingly authentic, representing the victims of intolerance and their brutish oppressors. VERDICT Billy May’s colloquial narration will draw readers in and make them feel like they are sitting vigil at her bedside as she discusses the injustices of her past. The tale she weaves brings Cedar Hollow and its mountain to life in brilliant and horrifying color.
Rarely has a character stuck in my head the way Billy May Platte of Appalachian Justice has. Melinda Clayton does such a rich job with the character you can hear her speaking plain as day by the end of her first chapter and her voices resonates long after she leaves the pages of the book behind.
Other characters in the book are just as deeply drawn out, especially the antagonist who will make your skin crawl, almost literally. Appalachian Justice is a tale of the cost of prejudice, the value of love and the price of courage. It is the story of everyday characters who happen to be settled in the Appalachian mountains during a period of time from the forties through modern day, though the vast majority of the story covers two critical times, one, a single day in the life of Billy May Platte that would change her forever, the other a few critical weeks, in the lives of four families that will once again change the face of the small mountain town and the lives of those living in it.
Appalachian Justice is visceral, reaching out to grab your emotions and senses from the first pages until the last. The tension is well-developed growing exponentially until it finally reaches the breaking point. It is a wonderful debut album for Melinda Clayton and deserves to be read by every family trying to teach tolerance and the cost of prejudice.
The story, set in the past unfortunately still happens today in community after community, most of which aren't able to find a little Appalachian Justice. Open the pages, but be prepared, while Appalachian Justice works to break down barriers and to bring about understanding of a few key issues it is raw and at times violent though both factors are critical to the story and are not done simply for shock value. It is a critical story for our time and for the ages to come, by reading it we may evolve enough as a people to never need Appalachian Justice.
Appalachian Justice was a Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Gold Medal Winner in 2013 in the category of Popular Literature (Fiction), as well as a finalist for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington’s Synergy Program, also in 2013.
