Belle Prater's Boy Paperback – 22 May 2012

Aside from its intriguing plot, what I loved about this book was that Ruth White gave a true picture of life in southwest Virginia in the 1950's. I grew up there in the 1940's and 50's, not so far from Coal Station (Grundy). It was wonderful to see my native speech, the southwest Virginia vernacular, so accurately presented by a native of the area.

This book was a wonderful read. I am an elementary school counselor & decided to read this book because my sixth-graders are reading it in class. Their teacher knew that some of the students might have questions dealing with death and suicide. It is the first book I have read by Ruth White but it will not be the last! It is very well written and she deals with the subjects of death and suicide in a very sensitive way. I like the theme throughout the book of not judging people by what you see on the outside but by getting to know what's on the inside.

This book was recommended to me by a fifth grade teacher who uses it in her classroom in Lithia, FL. As an adult reader, I was surprisingly pulled in by this story of 1954 rural Virginia and the way life was at that time. The story is built around the mystery of the disappearance one night of a family member (Belle Prater) including the build up to that event and the results afterwards. This book offers many thought provoking questions for young and old alike. In fact, I liked it Belle Prater's Boy enough to read the follow on book about what happens to this family. This is an easy read good book for adults. It is a very good book for young adults.

My older teens and I listened to the audio version of this book a few years ago. It's one of those stories that you continue to think about after it's over. We loved it, and I wanted a copy for our home library.

Sort of a sad story about a boy who has no idea where his mother is, living with relatives who rarely talk about her. It's a mystery it seems where she is and what happened to her. The way the story is told it's like she just walked off and vanished which doesn't seem possible. Easy to see why it won a Newbery award. Quick, easy read.