Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell

My name is Dovey Coe and I reckon it don't matter if you like me or not. I'm here to lay the record straight, to let you know them folks saying I done a terrible thing are liars. I aim to prove it, too. I hated Parnell Caraway as much as the next person, but I didn't kill him.


When eleven-year-old Dovey Coe is found holding a knife and standing over the body of Parnell Caraway, the very man she has adamantly claimed to hate for years, she is charged with his murder. But Dovey is innocent of those charges. When she was knocked out, Parnell was standing over her, not the other way around. She has hated Parnell for as long as she can remember, but that doesn't mean she killed him.

Now Dovey is being defended by a lawyer who has never worked a case before and having to deal with the distaste of the entire community where she was raised. She knows she didn't do it, but who is going to believe her? And if she didn't kill Parnell, who did?

I read Dovey Coe for the first time in late elementary school and immediately loved it. Going back to it now, I see why it was such a favorite. Dovey is a strong character who is known for not being afraid to speak her mind. She's protective of her brother, who is deaf and therefore treated cautiously by the rest of the community, and she isn't afraid to bloody her knuckles to defend him.

One of the things I really appreciate about this book upon rereading it was the dialect in which the entire narrative is written. Dovey's accent bleeds through the pages as if she were speaking it aloud to reader. This minor touch goes the extra mile in pulling one into the story and immersing them in it.

This was definitely worth it and I would wholeheartedly suggest it to preteens and young teenagers especially--particularly those girls who need a strong role model their age that they can look up to.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

"How'd you get in here?" I asked Huck, who'd gone over and laid next to Tom, little whimpers coming out of his mouth. I looked about the room, wondering how long I'd been knocked out.
That's when I seen Parnell.
He was lying on the floor as stiff as Tom, one of them metal canisters a few feet away from his head. I crawled over to him and passed my hand over his mouth. There weren't a breath left in him.
"Oh, Lord," I said out loud. "Oh, my Lord."

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didn't do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldn't done that one if I'd a knowed it would make him feel that way. 


Set before the civil war, when some states condoned slavery and others didn't, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been deemed a highly controversial book since it was first published; mainly due to Twain's use of the word "nigger" throughout the text -- a highly derogatory and offensive word often used then (and, sadly, sometimes now) to refer to blacks or African-Americans. 


But Twain doesn't use the word frivolously and, if one reads the book and looks to the themes portrayed throughout, we see how he discourages the condescending nature used at such a time in our nation's history.


As well as being known for it's controversial nature, this book is also known for being quite a literary achievement. In fact, Ernest Hemingway once referred to it in saying that, "All modern literature stems from this one book." While I'm not sure if this is entirely true, I found myself enjoying this tale immensely, as well as enjoying the writing style Mr. Twain employs throughout.


Narrated by Huck Finn, a boy originally introduced in another book by Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), the story written the way a young boy who had only completed so much schooling would have written it. Huck writes things the way he sees them and his work is filled with spelling errors that belie his limited access to a dictionary. Each dialect is written exactly how it sounds and gives the reader an excellent view of the action, as if the reader was standing beside him as each part of the story went down.


Huck himself is the son of a drunkard who rarely comes into town and, when he does, only manages to manipulate and hurt his son. He's a no-good father who would rather see to his own gain than the well-being of his child. As a result, he ends up "kidnapping" Huck and keeping him locked up in their home. Though he feeds and cares for him at times, he can also be volatile and dangerous. When Huck's had enough he breaks out, fakes his murder, and runs away.


It's then that Huck meets up with Jim, a slave that the boy knows well. Jim had caught wind that he was going to be sold down South, away from his wife and children, and ran off before he would let anyone take him. He planned to escape to freedom, get a job, and buy back his family. Huck, eager for company, joins him and together they make their way to freedom. But the journey won't be an easy one. They're bound for plenty of trouble and, in Huck's case, there's a lot of growing up to do.


Overall, this was a lovely book that I really enjoyed reading. I don't think it deserves to be banned and those that have objections to it should look beyond face value. Often, authors have good reason to include controversial material and those reasons should be thoroughly considered before people dismiss the work altogether. When we make informed decisions, we can learn things we never could have without stepping out of our comfort zones.


Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


"Pooty soon I'll be a-shout'n' for joy, en I'll say, it's all on accounts o' Huck; I's a free man, en I couldn't ever ben free ef it hadn' ben for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won't ever forgit you, Huck; you's de bes' fren' Jim's ever had; en you's de ONLY fren' ole Jim's got now."