Velva Jean Learns to Drive - Hardcover

Niven, Jennifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1602856052 ISBN 13: 9781602856059

Publisher: Center Point Pub, 2009

Synopsis

One Sunday when she is ten years old, Velva Jean Hart is saved. But being saved is not anything like she expected; her loving mother dies and her father leaves her for one of his "adventures."

But before she dies, Velva Jean's mother urges her to "live out there in the great wide world," and Velva Jean intends to do just that. She dreams of becoming a big-time singer in Nashville until she falls in love with Harley Bright, a handsome juvenile delinquent turned revival preacher. As their tumultuous love story unfolds, Velva Jean must choose between keeping her hard-won home and pursuing her dream of singing in the Grand Ole Opry.

About this title

Review:

Author of the New York Times bestsellers All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe

Indie Pick for the Indie Next List--"Great Reads from Booksellers You Trust"

"A touching read, funny and wise, like a crazy blend of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, a less morose Flannery O'Connor, and maybe a shot of Hank Williams . . . Niven makes some memorable moon-spun magic in her rich fiction debut."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"In this story Jennifer Niven creates a world long gone, a mountain past where people suffer failure, loss, and betrayal, as well as the strength and joy of connection and deep love. Velva Jean Learns to Drive takes us far into this soaring, emotional country, the place where our best music comes from."--Robert Morgan, bestselling author of The Road from Gap Creek and Gap Creek

"A fluid storyteller."--Wall Street Journal

"Velva Jean learns to . . . not only drive, but to soar. This beautifully written coming-of-age story captivated me, and I recommend it to anyone who has ever longed to 'live out there.'"--Ann B. Ross, author of the bestselling Miss Julia novels

"Spirited."--Parade

"If [Niven] continues to create female characters as strong, as fallible and as appealing as Velva Jean, she has a grand career ahead of her."--Wilmington Star News

"Velva Jean makes a charming, bright-eyed narrator (bringing to mind that other delightful young rural protagonist: Scout of To Kill a Mockingbird)."--The Christian Science Monitor

"The novel takes hold of your imagination and refuses to let go--even long after you've read the last page."--Costco (Pennie's Book Pick of the Month)

About the Author:

JENNIFER NIVEN has written four novels for adults--Velva Jean Learns to Drive, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, Becoming Clementine, and American Blonde--and three non-fiction books--Ada Blackjack, The Aqua-Net Diaries, and The Ice Master, which was named a top non-fiction book by Entertainment Weekly. She has also written two books for young adults: Holding Up the Universe and the New York Times bestseller All the Bright Places; the movie, starring Elle Fanning, will be released in 2017.

Although she grew up in Indiana, she now lives with her fiancé and literary cats in Los Angeles, which remains her favorite place to wander.

For more information, visit JenniferNiven.com, GermMagazine.com, or find her on Facebook.

About this edition

• Publisher: Center Point Pub
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1602856052
• ISBN 13: 9781602856059
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 608