By 
I loved everything about “Famous in a Small Town” by Author Viola Shipman. I feel like packing my bags and visiting “Cherry Picking” Hart, Michigan, for a nostalgic visit. Viola Shipman vividly describes the small town; I can see, smell, touch, hear, and feel everything there. The author writes a fantastic novel about the importance of friendship, sisterhood, family, and self-worth. In my mind, I hear the song “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better,” where a little girl points to a little boy. Don’t you think women can do anything they put their minds to just as well or better than men?
In 1958, Fifteen-year-old Mary Jackson, one of the female protagonists in the story, breaks all records and becomes the first female champion to win the ‘Cherry Pit Spitting Contest”. As time passes, Mary proves courageous and runs the town’s general store. An eighty-year-old Mary has a vision that she believes in, that a woman is meant to carry on after her.
Forty-year-old Becky Thatcher and her best friend come to Michigan after major disappointments. Becky is looking to find herself. Somehow Becky and Mary meet, and the two believe this was meant to be. At the same time, Mary’s grandson comes to visit, looking to find himself.
Viola Shipman has written a heartfelt, emotional, witty, and thought-provoking novel that I highly recommend. Happy Reading!
Linda's Book Obsession: 