A good read. This is a sequel to The Bean Trees, but I wouldn't say it's necessary to read them in that order, only somewhat helpful. As with The Bean Trees, I very much enjoyed the main characters, but the plot only held my attention some of the time and the not-so-main characters hardly any of the time. I'm not sure why this is true of these two novels, as the other Kingsolver works I've read have bowled me over with fully-realized and engaging characters. I'm glad I read this book once, but I doubt I'll return to it over and over as I have Prodigal Summer and The Poisonwood Bible.