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  • The Book of Polly

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Kathy Hepinstall
  • Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
  • Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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The Book of Polly cover art

The Book of Polly

Written by: Kathy Hepinstall
Narrated by: Jenna Lamia
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Publisher's Summary

With a kick like the best hot sauce, this is the laugh-out-loud story of a girl determined to keep up with her aging, crazy-as-a-fox mother.

Willow Havens is 10 years old and obsessed with the fear that her mother will die. Her mother, Polly, is a cantankerous, take-no-prisoners Southern woman who lives to chase varmints, drink margaritas, and antagonize the neighbors - and she sticks out like a sore thumb among the young, modern mothers of their small conventional Texas town. She was in her late 50s when Willow was born, so Willow knows she's here by accident, a late-life afterthought. Willow's father died before she was born, her much older brother and sister are long grown and gone and failing elsewhere. It's just her and bigger-than-life Polly.

Willow is desperately hungry for clues to the family life that preceded her, and especially Polly's life pre-Willow. Why did she leave her hometown of Bethel, Louisiana, 50 years ago and vow never to return? Who is Garland Jones, her long-ago suitor who possibly killed a man? And will Polly be able to outrun the Bear, the illness that finally puts her on a collision course with her past?

The Book of Polly has a great blend of humor and sadness, pathos and hilarity. This is a bittersweet novel about the grip of love in a truly quirky family, and you'll come to know one of the most unforgettable mother-daughter duos you've ever met.

©2017 Kathy Hepinstall (P)2017 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"Delightful...funny and poignant." (People)

"A mother/daughter comedy steeped in quirky characters, personal history mysteries, and no small amount of love, The Book of Polly is a delightful read about one of the world's most fundamental relationships." (Refinery29)

"Hepinstall’s Southern coming-of-age novel...[is] full of laughter and warmth and sadness. This is a warm and fresh tale." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Book of Polly

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