There was a thrift store next door to the restaurant where the last meet-up was held -- paperbacks were 8/$1. I bought a lot, including this one. This one has been on the wishlist since I read a book regarding the 25 greatest heroines in literature which included the main character in this book.

A really lovely read about a young woman who encounters the good, the bad, and the ugly when she sets out into the world. Something about the voice of this novel just stuck with me and made me smile all along, even when the subject matter in the story was grim. I loved all of the characters and the compassion they had for each other and the way they created a family from a hodge podge collection of people. This is one of those books where you don't want to tell anyone about the plot because you want them to discover it for themselves and love it the way you did. Definitely my favorite Kingsolver so far.

This book is one of many being passed along to potential readers at the Kensington Day of the Book Festival by members of BookCrossing in Washington DC (BCinDC).

We are excited to be able to share this book with you and hope that you are equally excited by receiving a free book. The book is given freely to you to enjoy as you see fit, although if you choose to someday share it with someone else we encourage you to do so.

Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.