Potato Branch: Sketches of Mountain Memories

Children of the Mountain was a great follow-up to Edge of Heaven. If you are interested in hearing more stories of the Carpenter Family I would recommend Eva's next book Lucy's Recipes for Mountain Living. Even though I may be a little biased because Lucy is my great-great grandmother, I strongly recommend all three of Eva Mae's books, I have read them over and over again.

In this endearing sequel to EDGE OF HEAVEN, Eva McCall continues the stories of her grandmother, Lucy Davenport Carpenter, with whom she lived for the first 19 years of her life. Lucy & Holman have built a new home on Carpenter Mountain, raised four sons & watched as all their children leave for their own lives.Now Holman has died & Lucy must become accustomed to widowhood. Then she receives notice that if the past due taxes on their beloved mountain are not paid, she is likely to lose the land. The children from Holman's first marriage, whom Lucy raised, & her own sons, struggle to find the wherewithal to come up with the small fortune that will keep the Carpenter Mountain in the family for all time.Then the enigmatic & attractive peddler Jake, reappears, grandchildren are born, government land auctions loom, & Lucy must make one last trek back to her mother's grave where she can hear her heart's desire.In CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAIN, Eva McCall gives us another charming glimpse into another time, & another place.

I have been waiting for Children of the Mountain since October 2000. The long-awaited sequel to Eva McCall's first historical novel, The Edge of Heaven, is finally available. McCall's novels weave s together fact and fiction based on her real-life grandmother, Lucy Davenport Carpenter. The Edge of Heaven began in 1895 while Children of the Mountain jumps ahead to the late 1930s. The thirteen children Lucy was married off to raise are now all grown up, in addition to the four that Lucy and her husband, Holman, had together. Holman is now in his eighties; Lucy in her sixties. Holman lays dying in the bedroom he and Lucy have shared since building their own home on Carpenter Mountain. But trouble is a-brewin'. Mary, one of Lucy's stepdaughters, is concerned about who will inherit Carpenter Mountain, the mountain her birth Ma's family gave her as a dowry. Mary is certain that unless something is done to make things right, Lucy's three surviving children will fall heir to her precious mountain. Mary stirs up trouble amongst her birth siblings and tries to persuade them to make their Pa make things right before he passes.It's not only Mary who's creating an uproar. Holman, the controlling man that he is, insists the boys make his coffin and puts it on display in the parlor. And Jake the peddler, with whom Lucy had had a heart-only affair, returns to add his two cents worth of rabblerousing to the boiling pot. He plants a envelope of gold dust on Mary's kitchen table to help raise the stakes and tries to court Lucy again even before Holman is gone.However, it may all be a mute point. After Holman's passing, the family learns that he never paid the taxes on the mountain and if the family doesn't raise $300 by spring, they'll all be homeless. If they can scrap together $20 each, they may be able to save their ancestral home. But cash is hard to come by---the children and their families live hand to mouth, even those who have moved across the country to Washington state to work in the logging industry. Can Carpenter Mountain be saved for the Carpenter family?At first I was disappointed that Children of the Mountain jumped so far head. But the more I read, the more I became captivated by McCall's storytelling. Readers are caught up with the characters' lives mainly through exposition, which I found disconcerting as a writer. However, readers get a good, clear idea of what's happened to Lucy, Holman and the kids, but I am still captivated by Lucy, the central character. I know there is more to the story and I hope that McCall is planning another novel.

After reading "Edge of Heaven", I had become so attached to Lucy, Holman and the 13 children. I missed them so much, I read it again while I was waiting for the sequel, "Children of the Mountain" to arrive. The story picks up forty years later, the children are mostly grown with children of their own. The author, Eva McCall, includes herself as a toddler, Eva Mae. This story, based on the life of her grandmother, Lucy Davenport Carpenter, puts the reader so very in touch with the hard, but good, life of mountain people. You will find yourself wishing you could become a part of this warm and loving family. In spite of the hard times, the book is one of those rare "feel good" books. One that makes the reader count his/her blessings while at the same time being just a little envious of the special memories the author holds so close to her heart. How very fortunate we are that she chose to share them with us. Buy both books, read them over and over. You will never tire of these courageous, funny, loving, and very human characters.

Eva McCall has done it again! I first "met" Lucy Carpenter in "Edge of Heaven." Now I am treated to another visit with her via "Children of the Mountain." Conflict for this story comes from many directions: family growing and moving away, dwindling finances, death of loved ones, a premature baby, a not-so-scrupulous suitor, confusing feelings, sibling rivalry. Readers will have no trouble identifying with Lucy Carpenter's trials, and this will pull them right into the tale. Lucy's ability to (eventually) cope with whatever life hands her is inspirational.Could we not make this a trilogy?