Customer Reviews

Way Down Deep

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Way Down Deep is a small town that is cradled between hills in the Appalachian Mountains. This special town "did not do things by the book". In 1944 on the first day of summer, a small redheaded girl is found abandoned in front of Way Down Deep's courthouse "she was in her petticoat, just sitting there on that bench where the old-timers like to hang out and swap lies" A toddler she can only respond that "woo-bee" is her name so the town adopts Ruby informally, " if Ruby's people were dumb enough to lose something as valuable as a child, then finders keepers, losers weepers". The sheriff whose "heart was way too soft and his mind too fuzzy for sheriffing" looks the other way rather than try to locate any relatives when Miss Arbutus who runs the rambling three-story boardinghouse called The Roost volunteers to raise the little girl until "her people" are found. Ruby, now eleven, thrives on the love extended to her by the townspeople. The setting is well established: A charming little map shows: Busy Street and Ward Street where there are businesses like Bevins's BarberShop, Pure Gas Station whose owner also runs the Boxcart Grill and the medical office of Mr. and Mrs. Doctor, one is a dentist, the other is a doctor.
The cast of delightful characters include: a man who arrives with a goat which he offers Miss Arbutus in exchange for lodging and food; this goat loves to stand on a Studebaker to view his new town, Ruby's classmate Reese who loves to sing but sings off-key "In his own mind he was the second coming of Hank Williams, but to everybody else he was as off-key as a hillbilly slung up drunk on moonshine", Mrs. Thornton Elkins a "cultured lady" whose husband died in their first year of marriage so she moves into the Roost to recuperate for a few weeks, then a few months, then a few years; when she runs out of money, donations of food items and bolts of dress material are left for her so she could wear "simple but stylish dresses". One day an inept bank robber who is easily confounded, scared of real guns and so carries a plastic gun, cries when he tries and fails to hold up the town bank successfully. When it turns out he arrived in town on a bus and plans to leave on a bus, the townspeople are too polite to suggest to him a getaway on a bus was not the best idea. Nevertheless, the townspeople "adopt" his family since he is down on his luck. When Ruby is eleven years old, an uncle shows up to reclaim her; the interior motive proves to be that she is required to take care of a constantly angry and bitter grandmother. Ruby ingeniously starts telling her stories about the nurturing town where she grew up. Later when Ruby insists on returning to Way Down Deep, the grandmother wants to move there too where she might finally have some friends. This is a charming and uplifting story of a community that treasures its children (the adults put on a Kid's Day to celebrate all of them) and offers help to those in need. Yes, the residents are nosey and news travels fast, yet who would not want to live in this unique town where the residents are respectful of each other's idiosyncrasies and extend their love and care to residents and strangers alike. This is a powerful story of redemption and acceptance that is humorous and filled with interesting characters.

My daughters, ages 8 and 6, listened intently as I read 'Way Down Deep'. We truly enjoyed this book. We found it difficult to stop reading each night as they would ask for 'one more page'. The characters are colorful and vivid and charming. We laughed out loud when the townspeople turn the attempted bank robbery into an 'opportunity' and adopt the bank robber and his family. We breathed a sigh when Ruby made her decision about where her home is... who her family is. We will certainly re-read this book in the future.

Ruth White's WAY DOWN DEEP tells of a toddler found abandoned in a small town. Miss Arbutus takes her in and she leads a good life - but when Ruby is twelve a new family arrives in town with news of her past - and to learn more she must travel far from her newfound home. Is it worth it? A fine story of bonds and community connections evolves.

I like to purchase for my granddaughter, books that she really enjoyed reading. Rememberances of childhood. This book and others by Ruth White talk of difficult times for children - seperation and longing. They are presented in a way that is positive but with understanding of emotions.

A young child mysteriously appears into an idyllic community, Way Down Deep, in the Appalachian mountains. This caring community embraces the concept of "It Takes A Village" and helps the local old-maid raise her with love and acceptance. She becomes friends of a poverty-ridden family whose father needs forgiveness. Their senile relative's rantings begin to raise questions about who she really is and offer hope that she may find her true family - and she does!

I would rate this a five were it not for the insertion of a magical explanation for her appearance at Way Down Deep. It just doesn't fit with this, otherwise, home-spun type novel. It's like putting a Star Wars scene into Little House on the Prairie - doesn't fit.

Way Down Deep is just quirky enough to edge outside the realm of realistic fiction. Ruby is a toddler found outside the courthouse in 1944 and taken in by the owner of a boarding house, Miss Arbutus. Ruby has a rich, full life in Way Down Deep, but she has always been curious about her people. An inept bank robber comes to town and is befriended in his troubles with the townspeople. The robber knows of Ruby and helps lead her back to her roots. But it is not the happy world of Way Down Deep; instead, Ruby goes to live with a deeply unhappy grandmother, caring for her even though the grandmother is as mean to her as a grass snake. Finally, Ruby cannot take any more and decides to leave. Faced with yet another person leaving her, the grandmother resolves to change and to find a way to go with Ruby to Way Down Deep.

Read this to my 11 year old and LOVED it. We both did. Beautiful, touching and a great intro to magic realism and a lot of big questions and emotions. Fantastic characterization and amid the old-time quaintness a sense of openness to new ideas. The book is a coming of age story and a meditation on what is family. THe third to last line is one of favorite in children's (or any) literature: "She would grow up and suffer through algebra and acne, high heels and lost loves, and other bitter berries." As in other coming of age stories, we know that childhood and its magic (and in this case protective love) are short--but the author also prepares us for the bitter berries.
A real gem. Can't figure out why no paperback and why not more popular.

Way Down Deep is full of love, pain, a great mystery, but most of all, a happy ending. You've got to read it. I'm not kidding.

My 9 year old grandaughter and I read this book together. She loved it. She could not wait for the next night so we could read together. Finally she took the book and read it herself just to find out the end. Great book. Well done

This is a lovely lovely little story. This book was purchased In Memory Of my Mother-in-Law, Alma Lynn Wendell Laney, by the Marshall Co. (WV) Board of Education in honor of her 35 years of service as Secretary at Cameron High. I wanted to read what they picked for her and just loved the book. She would be very pleased to have her name associated with this wonderful story.
:) Pam and Mark