Must read 🏆

A YA historical fiction book that’s refreshingly clean and wholesome, this is easily one of the best reads of the year!

Some books you can skim. Others you taste slowly. Savor each word and every drop. Cheryl King’s Under the Pawpaw Trees is a “savor slowly” kind of book. A teen historical fiction book that’s refreshingly clean and wholesome, Under the Pawpaw Trees is a masterful feat of storytelling that will resonate long after the final page is turned.

Set mostly in Tennessee and Virginia during the Great Depression era, Under the Pawpaw Trees* is the much-anticipated sequel to King’s award-wining debut novel, Sitting on Top of the World.

I absolutely loved King’s first book, Sitting on Top of the Word. (If you missed that, you missed a good one. I’d grab a copy now if I were you.) I was eager to read the sequel, Under the Pawpaw Trees. And while sequels are sometimes disappointing, Under the Pawpaw Trees isn’t one of them. It delivers. In spades. In fact, there’s so much to love about Under the Pawpaw Trees, it’s hard to know where to start! But I’ll try. Like this:

The plucky protagonist is June Baker. She’s newly sixteen. She’s tough and strong. A rebel. June speaks her mind and will “rip the head off” anyone who wrongs her or one of her kin. She’s also soft, kind, and quiet. She’s a little Scout Finch. A little Kya the Marsh Girl. A bit Francie Nolan. All heart. At the end of the day, notes her long-time best friend Jimmy Mack, June is “label-less. Undefinable.” And “perfect.”

That pretty much describes this novel. It’s powerful. Compelling. And “label-less.”

When the story opens, June is bent on revenge. She’s planning to kill railroad bull Paul Burnett. She thinks Paul is responsible for the death of her older brother, Joseph “Josy,” and that Paul beat Josy to death when Josy was riding the rails looking for work. Following Josy’s death, June’s father commits suicide. Shortly thereafter, June’s mother also dies.

June has lost everything. She blames Paul for every tragedy. And she’s out for revenge.

What unfolds next is a remarkable, tightly written tale about courage, compassion, family, friendship, loyalty, love, and forgiveness. It’s both heartbreaking and hopeful. Also much more, including will June ever get her sparkle back? And a choice between two great loves and questions of “belonging.” As in: Where does June belong? In a new life with a new family, or with the love of her life in the only home she’s ever known, under the pawpaw trees? Also several “I-did-not-see-that-coming” plot twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning pages until the very end.

This historical fiction novel is a little Where the Crawdads Sing. A bit To Kill a Mockingbird. A touch of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. And still all heart.

The writing is outstanding. Stunning. King has a way of making scenes, settings, and characters practically stand up and walk. And jump off the page. Right into your heart. For example, June’s excitement at getting electricity and a phone at her rural farm is palpable. Without giving too much away about the scenes set in and around Christmas, let’s just say they could wring tears from a turnip. The Fourth of July picnic scene will have you batting away pesky bees. Hearing the ring of horse shoes. Tasting watermelon in the heat of a July afternoon. The descriptions of June’s adventures riding the rails and staying in hobo camps are superb. You can almost smell the campfire smoke.

And that’s what King does in this gently faith-flavored coming-of-age tale about unbearable loss and grief, hope and resilience. Finely crafted and expertly written, this novel conveys the idea that even amid unbearable amounts of loss and grief, opportunity knocks. And hope whispers. It’s simply mesmerizing.

Indeed, Under the Pawpaw Trees is richly textured and beautifully written. The main characters of June and her dear friend Jimmy Mack practically stand up and walk. So do the characters of Pate, Charlie, Paul, Mama, Mama Helen, Mrs. Randolph, and even Molly the mule. They’re believable and multi-faceted, with big personalities and credible backgrounds. They feel like people you might run into on any street corner.

Under the Pawpaw Trees is the second book in Cheryl King’s historical fiction duology. It’s designated as a young adult book. But older readers will enjoy it, too. In fact, I didn’t want it to end! You won’t, either. It’s “good to the last drop.” And then some.

*For those unfamiliar, a “pawpaw tree” is the largest edible fruit tree native to North America, specifically in the Southeast United States. I had to look it up.

-- Kristine L.

Lifelong bibliophile. Library Board Member. Select book reviews featured on my blog, Goodreads, and Amazon. I'm a frank but fair reviewer, averaging 400+ books/year in a Wide Variety of genres on multiple platforms, including Net Galley and Book Sirens. Over 800 published reviews.