Monday, January 19, 2009

Book Review- The Little Giant of Aberdeen County


The Little Giant of Aberdeen County” by Tiffany Baker focuses on the life of Truly Plaice who lives in the town of Aberdeen. When Truly’s mother was pregnant with her they knew that the baby was going to be on the rather large side. Bets were made as to just how large this boy was going to be. Unfortunately, Truly’s mother died during childbirth. While Truly was gigantic just as predicted, she was a girl, and not a boy, much to the town’s surprise.

As a young child there were no clothes to fit Truly so her father used one of his old shirts. Truly and her older sister, Serena Jane, could not have been more different. Serena Jane was dainty, blonde, and just seen as the ideal little girl. Once their father died, the sisters were placed into different homes, which further perpetuated the stereotypes that they had been cast as.

I enjoyed reading about Truly’s life in Aberdeen County and found the book to be very well written, especially considering that it is the author’s first novel. The only thing that was missing for me was an adequate description of just how huge she was. For instance, there were all of the bets as to how big she would be when born, but the actual weight was never revealed. Also, when she was sent to the doctor as a child, the same thing, the doctor said she was large, but once again, there was no number given. Towards the end there is a weight mentioned, but I found myself wanting to know at various stages throughout the book as well.

As I was reading the book I kept thinking that this book reminds of the type of book that would be named as an Oprah’s Book Club selection. All of the characters in the book are very well developed and most of all, they are interesting. You will find yourself really wanting to read more to find out further details about them. Truly’s life is anything but easy and definitely made for a good read. I really enjoyed “The Little Giant of Aberdeen County” and look forward to reading more novels from Tiffany Baker in the future.

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