This book was a very interesting read! The story was well written and explored life in a rural mountain area during WWI and WWII. The characters were believable and I felt like I was right beside them experiencing the story along with them. The background and moonshine information was very interesting and made the story that much better!

I downloaded this book because the story about life in the Virginian Mountains between the wars sounded interesting. I soon found that this story was so much more and it kept me engrossed, in order to find out what happened to the Warren family and the other residents of Warrensburg. I liked the characters and warmed to almost everyone. It is interesting that the only sympathetic female character is Millie though. The more I read of this title, the more I became amazed and enraged about the treatment of people with disabilities at that time (and later) and about the eugenics movement in general. I thoroughly recommend this book for both the engaging story but also the insights into a most unfavourable period of social history. The characters and the world of Warrensburg have stayed with me long after I reached the final page.

Warrensburg' by Flurry Sommers is a well presented story based on true events. I like this novel because is seems to be well researched novel about eugenics, a horrifying part of American history. If you like to read books on true history, this book comes highly recommended.
However, I did not like some of the vocabulary in this book. It felt as though the author used a thesaurus throughout 'Warrensburg' to find the most unusual and difficult words possible. If I were to make a suggestion to the author of this book it would be to "Dumb the down vocabulary"
I received this book from NetGalley with the understanding that I would give an honest review. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you Quality Books, Fleury Sommers and NetGalley. for this informative novel.

The Warrens had lived in Warrensburg since the Revolutionary War. Their daughter Millie had a difficult birth and was considered slow by the Warrensburg health officials. Because of her perceived disability, the County Health Officials decided that it would be best if she were sterilized.

The family had no intention of having her “fixed” to satisfy some over-zealous county officials. After WWII her father was only getting $.54 a bushel for his corn crop. Even in good years, this was not enough to put food on the table, however, there was one product that her papa made that was profitable and well-received in the community. Moonshine!

Of course, the Revenuers were excited to catch him and destroy his still. The local sheriff looked the other way when the moonshine went to market after receiving his gallon and the local storeowner had a number of folks who would buy all of the product he produced.

This story follows closely the plight of the poor mountain people in West Virginia. Keeping ahead of “The Revenuers” and the county welfare officials was a constant struggle for the family. The saga is a good exposé of government overstepping its’ authority.

I read and enjoyed this book with interest in both topics and highly recommend it. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

A fascinating novel, which explores the horrors of eugenics in early 20th century USA, along with a lot about the hardships of rural mountain life between WW1 and 11. A compelling read, well paced, with nicely drawn characters that engaged from the outset. Learnt a lot including about moonshine production. Fantastic.