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Saturday, December 12, 2009

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County - Giveaway


The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker
(Giveaway!!!)


Book Description:
When Truly Plaice's mother was pregnant, the town of Aberdeen joined together in betting how recordbreakingly huge the baby boy would ultimately be. The girl who proved to be Truly paid the price of her enormity; her father blamed her for her mother's death in childbirth, and was totally ill equipped to raise either this giant child or her polar opposite sister Serena Jane, the epitome of femine perfection. When he, too, relinquished his increasingly tenuous grip on life, Truly and Serena Jane are separated--Serena Jane to live a life of privilege as the future May Queen and Truly to live on the outskirts of town on the farm of the town sadsack, the subject of constant abuse and humiliation at the hands of her peers.

Serena Jane's beauty proves to be her greatest blessing and her biggest curse, for it makes her the obsession of classmate Bob Bob Morgan, the youngest in a line of Robert Morgans who have been doctors in Aberdeen for generations. Though they have long been the pillars of the community, the earliest Robert Morgan married the town witch, Tabitha Dyerson, and the location of her fabled shadow book--containing mysterious secrets for healing and darker powers--has been the subject of town gossip ever since. Bob Bob Morgan, one of Truly's biggest tormentors, does the unthinkable to claim the prize of Serena Jane, and changes the destiny of all Aberdeen from there on.

When Serena Jane flees town and a loveless marriage to Bob Bob, it is Truly who must become the woman of a house that she did not choose and mother to her eight-year-old nephew Bobbie. Truly's brother-in-law is relentless and brutal; he criticizes her physique and the limitations of her health as a result, and degrades her more than any one human could bear. It is only when Truly finds her calling--the ability to heal illness with herbs and naturopathic techniques--hidden within the folds of Robert Morgan's family quilt, that she begins to regain control over her life and herself. Unearthed family secrets, however, will lead to the kind of betrayal that eventually break the Morgan family apart forever, but Truly's reckoning with her own demons allows for both an uprooting of Aberdeen County, and the possibility of love in unexpected places.

I read and reviewed this wonderful book last year with Dar from Peeking at the Pages. I really loved this book it was one of my favorites of last year. Dar and I had a four part Discussion last November. To see my four posts on the book, go to the side bar (archives) and go to November 2008. You will see links to the four chats I had with Dar.

There is so much to discuss in the book, I recommend it fully for a GREAT book club selection. If your book club is looking for a good book, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County gets my vote! Don't forget to utilize the Reading Group Guide (see below).

Thanks to Valerie at Hachette Book Group I have three copies to offer! US and Canada only. Will not ship to P.O. boxes. The books come from the publisher. This contest will run through January 2nd.
  • For an entry into a random drawing, please leave a comment here with your email.
  • For an additional entry, Follow my blog. If you already do, let me know in your comment.
  • For five entries, Blog, Tweet, Facebook about this giveaway. Let me know in your comment.

Join the Facebook Discussion.
Check out the Author Website.

Reading Group Guide
(warning sometimes the Guide Questions contain book spoilers)

1. Truly is the “little giant” of this book, yet her size seems to make her less, rather than more, visible to the town around her. Can you explain this phenomenon? What do you think the author is trying to say about her outsider status?

2. Serena Jane and Truly are as physically different as sisters can be, yet Truly sees that this difference is crucial, explaining “the reason the two of us were as opposite as sewage and spring water, I thought, was that pretty can’t exist without ugly.” (pp. 97-98) How would you describe Truly and Serena’s connection? How is it different from Truly’s relationship with Amelia Dyerson? Which seems the more genuine sisterhood to you?

3. As the successor to a long line of old-fashioned, small-town doctors, Robert Morgan is traditional, strict, and often cruel. I the end, however, the legacy terminates with him and he becomes Aberdeen’s last Dr. Morgan. How do he and Bobbie stray from the family paradigm? What Morgan characteristics stayed with each of them? Is the town “more modern” without a Dr. Morgan, and with Bobbie and Salvatore’s restaurant instead? Is the replacement of nurturing through nourishment rather than doctoring a symbolic replacement?

4. Death haunts Truly and all of Aberdeen, sometimes in unexpected ways. As a gardener, Marcus’s aim is to “make things live,” but, as Truly realizes, “wasn’t it also true that gardeners were always wrestling with death, whether in the form of drought, or blight, or hungry insects? In a garden, Marcus always said, death was the first, last and only fact of life.” What other parallels do you see in the ways Marcus and Truly court life and death?

5. Truly’s size marks her as an outcast, but throughout the novel, other characters have trouble “fitting in” in a more figurative way. Examine how this manifests in Bobbie, Marcus, Amelia, even Serena Jane. What larger point do you this the author might be trying to make about the importance of conforming?

6. What role does Aberdeen County play in the novel? Could the story or these characters exist elsewhere? Do the effects of the 60s and the Vietnam War seem to touch Aberdeen in the same way they touched the rest of the country? What is unique and what is not about Aberdeen as a setting?

7. When Amelia discovers how Priscilla Sparrow and Robert Morgan died, she asks Truly whether it was mercy or murder that killed them. What do you think? How do you feel about Truly’s actions? What in Truly’s character draws her to “collect souls” as she comes to call it?

8. When Marcus and Truly finally come together, Marcus says “We’re not exactly a match made in heaven, you and I, but I figure we’re good enough for here on earth” (p. 334) What does he mean by this? Do you agree?

9. Why doesn’t Robert Morgan “care” that his son runs away? What does it say about what he thinks of himself? How does this connect to Serena Jane’s leaving and his reaction to that event?

10. After Robert Morgan’s death, Truly gradually takes on some of his responsibilities as town doctor by using the knowledge she’s gained from Tabitha’s quilt. How is this a fitting purpose for Truly, and a fitting counterpoint to the legacy of Morgan doctors?

11. What about this story is larger than life or possesses elements of a tall tale or folklore? How are these details woven into the story? How is the book similar to or different from other works in this tradition?

94 comments:

Brittany said...

Sounds great, please enter me!

I'm also a follower.

sharon54220 said...

Happy holidays!!!

I have been wanting to read this book for quite awhile.

Thanks for the chance!!

I'm a follower & subscriber.

sharon54220@gmail.com

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks said...

How fun that you and Dar read/discussed this together. I haven't yet read it, and would love the chance. I'm a follower/subscriber. Thanks!
Dawn @sheIsTooFondOfBooks DOT com

mariag said...

Sounds interesting!!
Please enter me to win.


I follow

fmlj94@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

This book sounds wonderful and I am sure if you and Dar both enjoyed it. it's worth reading! Thank you :o)

I am a follower as well as a subscriber!

Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com

fredamans said...

Thank you for the entries.

freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca

fredamans said...

I am a follower.

freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca

fredamans said...

tweet; http://twitter.com/fredalicious/status/6611287970

freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca

A Bookshelf Monstrosity said...

I'd love to be entered in this giveaway! Thanks.

fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

A Bookshelf Monstrosity said...

I'm a follower.

fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

A Bookshelf Monstrosity said...

tweeted:
http://twitter.com/bookmonstrosity/status/6612493633

fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

Please enter me in this giveaway.
amandarwest@gmail.com

Unknown said...

I tweeted. http://twitter.com/amandawk/status/6612962302

Unknown said...

I follow via google reader.
amandarwest@gmail.com

justpeachy36 said...

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

Count me in on the giveaway!

I am a follower.

traveler said...

Thanks for this great giveaway. It sounds intriguing and unique. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

RAnn said...

Sounds great, I'd love to win.
ruthjoec at aoldotcom

RAnn said...

I'm a follower ruthjoec at aoldotcom

FlyFreeMyBooks said...

Please enter me.

I am also a follower.

I posted your giveaway on my blog here:
http://giveawayroundup.blogspot.com/2009/12/some-great-giveaways.html

ludeluh at yahoo dot com

Linna said...

Please enter me. :D

linna.hsu at gmail dot com

RAnn said...

I blogged

Simply Stacie said...

Please count me in.

simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

Simply Stacie said...

follower

simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

Ti said...

I would love to win a copy! I am also a follower!

bookishchatter@gmail.com

Marilu said...

I have read quite a few great reviews for this book. I would love to win a copy! Please enter me. thanks
lovemykidsandbooks AT gmail DOT com

Marilu said...

I am a follower via google. thanks
lovemykidsandbooks AT gmail DOT com

Naga Chokkanathan said...

Pls Enter Me :) Thanks!

Sue said...

I've been wanting to read this! Thanks for the giveaway.

s.mickelson at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

Don't enter me, I already read it. It's one of my favs of 2009, too!

DCMetroreader said...

Please enter me. Thanks so much!

kimspam66(at)yahoo(dot)com

DCMetroreader said...

Follower

DCMetroreader said...

Posted under current giveaways on my blog.

metroreader.blogspot.com

rubynreba said...

Please enter me. Thanks!

I am a follower.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

Shelby said...

oh please enter me :)

1) I posted a link about this on my blog this morning.

2) I shall follow you.

3) I'm leaving a comment here (if I win, you should email me and then I'll give you my email.. it's private, so I can't publish it here).

Thanks!

nfmgirl said...

I've wanted this one for awhile now. Please count me in. Thank you!

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

nfmgirl said...

Tweet:
http://twitter.com/nfmgirl/status/6772519138

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

nfmgirl said...

Blogged:

http://cerebralgirl.blogspot.com/2009/12/book-giveaways-in-blogworld-12-12-09.html

nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

ikkinlala said...

This looks like an interesting book - I'd love a chance to read it.

ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca

Sarah E said...

Please enter me in this giveaway!

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah Emmerson

Sarah E said...

I follow your blog.

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah Emmerson

Sarah E said...

I tweeted:

https://twitter.com/saemmerson/status/6789404293

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah Emmerson

Tracey said...

This sounds like a book I would enjoy reading.
traymona[at]aol.com

bison61 said...

sounds good-please sign me up

tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

PLEASE enter me. I am a follower:

bibliophilebythesea AT gmail DOT com

thanks

Jaime said...

would love to win a copy
copperllama at yahoo dot com

Jaime said...

follower
copperllama at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

I just found your amazing site—it may be my first time here but it definitely won't be the last! Happy holidays to you and all my fellow book-lovers!

Sheila
skkorman@bellsouth.net

rbooth43 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rbooth43 said...

Please enter me in your giveaway.
rbooth43ATyahooDotcom

Margie said...

I've had my eye on this book for quite some time. Thanks for the chance.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com

Nicole said...

sounds like a good read.
nicole at momsavesmoney dot net

Nicole said...

follow via google reader

Christy said...

I would love a copy and am a new follower!
Thanks!!

Sandra said...

I'd love a chance to win this book please. And I am now a follower. Good thing I checked, I thought I already was. Thank you.

janetfaye said...

I would like to enter.

Thanks!

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

I follow - janetfaye

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

1. Tweet:
http://twitter.com/Janetfaye/status/7067154284

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

2. Tweet:
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janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

3. Tweet:
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janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

4. Tweet:
http://twitter.com/Janetfaye/status/7067154284

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

janetfaye said...

5. Tweet:
http://twitter.com/Janetfaye/status/7067154284

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

christine said...

I so want to read this book. Thank you for the giveaway.
I follow with google reader and I tweeted (@booktumbling)

Thank you!

christinezeg(at)gmail(dot)com

tynlyd said...

Enter me please. I've been waiting to read this! tynlyd4ever1(at)yahoo(dot)com
I follow you.

DarcyO said...

Please enter me. This sounds great.

dlodden at frontiernet dot net

DarcyO said...

I follow.

dlodden at frontiernet dot net

DarcyO said...

tweeted;
http://twitter.com/darcy1956/status/7104229725

dlodden at frontiernet dot net

spynaert said...

please enter me!
spynaert@gmail.com

Renee G said...

This sounds outstanding.
rsgrandinetti@yahoo(dot)com

Terri Dell said...

I'd love to read this. It sounds great

Anita Yancey said...

Sounds very interesting. I'd love a chance to read it. Please enter me. Thanks!

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

lag123 said...

I have heard a lot of good things about this book. I would love to read it. Please enter me.

lag110@mchsi.com

lag123 said...

I am a new follower of your blog.

lag110@mchsi.com

lag123 said...

I tweeted: http://twitter.com/lag32583/status/7193418736

lag110@mchsi.com

Reading said...

Please count me in. Thanks for the chance.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Anonymous said...

please add my name to your drawing...thanks.

karenk
kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

degood said...

Oh I have been wanting to read this book!

kerrie@mayansfamily.com

degood said...

I am a blog follower

kerrie@mayansfamily.com

FrankSandy said...

Please enter me. walkerd@primus.ca

FrankSandy said...

I follow you. walkerd@primus.ca

Julie said...

Please enter me also-thanks :)

aunteegem@yahoo.com

Julie said...

follow your blog as jelaws5

aunteegem@yahoo.com

dsandyboy said...

Count me in.

dsandyboy@gmail.com

dsandyboy said...

I follow you.

dsandyboy@gmail.com

Karin said...

Last minute entry-- Count me in! Thanks!

karin56381 (at) gmail.com

Liz Mays said...

I've been wanting to read this one! I was here to enter a different giveaway and saw this on your sidebar and had to enter it too!
doot65[at]comcast{dot}net

Liz Mays said...

I'm a follower!
doot65[at]comcast{dot}net

Nancye said...

This looks like an interesting book. Thanks for the chance.

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

Follower

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

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#5

Denny, Alaska said...

Sounds like a good read! Thank you for hosting this giveaway.

denny(dot)gill(at)gmail(dot)com