With a Hammer for My Heart [Paperback]

George E. Lyon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 1999

You never know what will fall from the sky...

In this remarkable novel, George Ella Lyon creates characters rich and vibrant as the Kentucky landscape they call home, touching that secret place in all of us where we wait for love's transforming power...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Deep in Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains live a handful of down-to-earth, loving, zealous, confused folks. All of them are in search of a shade of truth (though some seek deeper shades than others) and the right to live their lives according to particular rhythms. Lawanda, a teenager who is afraid she'll get stuck in the Appalachian hills, wants to go to college. Come hell or high water, she'll go--even if she has to sell magazines to get there. As George Ella Lyon gloriously reveals, that's where things start to go haywire in this small Kentucky town. On her magazine route, Lawanda meets a crazy old man named Garland. Who could have foretold that the two would become such good friends? More important, is it proper? Lyon allows these fine Kentucky folks to ring in with their opinions, and a few of them reveal their hearts and secrets to us, too. Along the way, readers will discover what shades of truth are necessary to help the crazy to become sane, the young to become strong, the zealous to be believed. Older teens and adults will appreciate the subtle awakenings revealed in With a Hammer for My Heart. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA. Lawanda Ingle, 15, is determined to go to college and get out of Pine Mountain, but there's no money, so she decides to earn her own way. While trying to sell magazine subscriptions, she meets Garland, an alcoholic veteran who lives in two old school buses crammed with books. They become friends in spite of her family's disapproval, but when Garland's bus is broken into and his journal is recovered by the sheriff, its rambling entries include incriminating descriptions of the innocent Lawanda. Garland is arrested for public drunkenness, but is held for corrupting a minor, and when Lawanda's father finds out, his rage sends him to Garland's buses with a can of kerosene. The girl follows and becomes the unintended victim of the fire. The story is told in the voices of the major characters, including Lawanda, her father, Garland's daughter, and Lawanda's grandmother Mamaw, who had a vision of Jesus as a woman and formed the Little Splinter Creek Church of the Mother Jesus. Mamaw has powerful healing hands but is helpless against Lawanda's burns. The dialogue in this wonderful story is moving, often funny, and always true to life. YAs will find in Lawanda a revealing picture of a young woman struggling to become her own person in the midst of a loving family whose members think they know what's best for her.?Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (March 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380732173
• ISBN-13: 978-0380732173
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,580,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, April 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: With A Hammer for My Heart (Hardcover)

It all begins with fifteen year old Lawanda Ingles' aspirations to be the first in her family to go to college. Because money is scarce in the Kentucky mining town of Cardin, she decides to earn her tuition fees by selling magazines. Her sales quest takes her to the two broken down buses occupied by Amos Garland, a World War II veteran with demons in his closet and alcohol in his veins. The unlikely twosome grow close, until Garland realizes that the guileless young woman is beginning to soften the rock hard stone he calls a heart, and sends the bewildered girl away. He pens his alcolholic fears, in which his feelings for Lawanda become mixed up with his guilt over his own children, his wife, and a young soldier named Canaan. When the sheriff inadvertently gets his hands on the journal, he assumes that the ramblings imply an illicit relationship between the disagreeable old drunk and the affectionate teen which brings the story to its horrifying climax. I would recommend this engaging tale to older adolescents, as the vivid language and subject matter is quite intense. Ms. Lyons draws a revealing and touching portrait of the life and ambitions of a free-spirited teen who is unwilling to accept that life must progress as it always has, and that people cannot change.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The whole package!, March 27, 2007

By 

John A. Sanders - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With a Hammer for My Heart: A Novel (Kentucky Voices) (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sometimes I read books just for the plot, sometimes for the characters, and occasionally for the writing itself. I enjoyed all three aspects of this book.

Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Novel for Everyone!!!!, July 1, 2001

By 

Carri L. Shook "Shookie" (Jimtown) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With a Hammer for My Heart (Paperback)

With a Hammer for my Heart was one of the greatest novels I've ever read.It was passionate,poetic & just a really lovely book.I gave it five stars because it was so greatly & beautifully written. George Ella Lyon is a literary genius. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel & hated to see it end.I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone looking for a really great read.The plot is fantastic & I just loved the story.