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The Book of Polly: A Novel Audiobook
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“Delightful. . . funny and poignant.” --People With a kick like the best hot sauce, this is the laugh-out-loud story of a girl determined to keep up with her aging, crazy-as-a-fox mother "If you ever pined for a mother who would take a hunting falcon as her wingman to a parent-teacher conference, Polly is the gal for you. Delicious." --Mark Childress, author of Crazy in Alabama Willow Havens is ten years old and obsessed with the fear that her mother will die. Her mother, Polly, is a cantankerous, take-no-prisoners Southern woman who lives to chase varmints, drink margaritas, and antagonize the neighbors—and she sticks out like a sore thumb among the young modern mothers of their small conventional Texas town. She was in her late fifties when Willow was born, so Willow knows she’s here by accident, a late-life afterthought. Willow’s father died before she was born, her much older brother and sister are long grown and gone and failing elsewhere. It’s just her and bigger-than-life Polly. Willow is desperately hungry for clues to the family life that preceded her, and especially Polly’s life pre-Willow. Why did she leave her hometown of Bethel, Louisiana, fifty years ago and vow never to return? Who is Garland Jones, her long-ago suitor who possibly killed a man? And will Polly be able to outrun the Bear, the illness that finally puts her on a collision course with her past? The Book of Polly has a great blend of humor and sadness, pathos and hilarity. This is a bittersweet novel about the grip of love in a truly quirky family and you’ll come to know one of the most unforgettable mother-daughter duos you’ve ever met.
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“Narrator Jenna Lamia is just terrific as the outspoken Willow. She completely immerses herself in the child’s perception and descriptions of Polly’s life. When Polly takes over, Lamia is utterly convincing, showing her to be irreverent, outspoken, and cantankerous, with a take-no-prisoners attitude and a fondness for margaritas…Hepinstall’s writing is crisp and never sentimental, and Lamia’s character portraits are honest and engaging. Wonderful listening. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
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“Lamia captures Willow’s naivete and determination to protect her mother, who is as salty, tart, and sweet as her favorite margarita.”
— RUSA Juried Committee -
“Delightful…funny and poignant.”
— People -
“Hepinstall’s Southern coming-of-age novel…is a warm and fresh tale, made so by characters as varied as the evil Montessori-schooled twins next door, Willow’s steadfast friend Dalton, and a Bible-thumping faith healer.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Replete with sparkling vitality and endearing warmth, this novel is for those who enjoy a spirited helping of Southern sass in their stories.
— Library Journal -
“Classic elements of Southern comedy—evil twins, people dropping dead, a faith healer, a river-rafting trip—surround a lovable pair of central characters.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“If you ever pined for a mother who would take a hunting falcon as her wingman to a parent-teacher conference, Polly is the gal for you. Delicious.”
— Mark Childress, author of Crazy in Alabama
Awards
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month for March 2017
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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An RUSA Notable Book for Outstanding Audiobook Narration
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About Kathy Hepinstall
Kathy Hepinstall grew up in Spring, Texas, near the Louisiana border. She is the author of The House of Gentle Men, The Absence of Nectar, and Blue Asylum, among others.
About Jenna Lamia
Jenna Lamia is an actress and award-winning audiobook narrator. She has won the prestigious Audie Award, as well as more than a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards. Her narration of The Book of Polly was named a 2018 Outstanding Audiobook Narration by RUSA. She narrated Mary E. Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox, which won a YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults award, and Carol Lynch Williams’ The Chosen One, for which she received the 2010 Audie Award for Best Female Solo Narration. She has appeared on and off-Broadway, and her acting credits include appearances on Oz, Law & Order: SVU, and NYPD Blue. She has attended Amherst College, New York University, and the Sorbonne in Paris.