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The Girls in the Stilt House
Set in 1920s Mississippi, this debut Southern novel weaves a beautiful and harrowing story of two teenage girls cast in an unlikely partnership through murder—perfect for readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and If the Creek Don't Rise.
Ada promised herself she would never go back to the Trace, to her hard life on the swamp and her harsh father. But now, after running away to Baton Rouge and briefly knowing a different kind of life, she finds herself with nowhere to go but back home. And she knows there will be a price to pay with her father.
Matilda, daughter of a sharecropper, is from the other side of the Trace. Doing what she can to protect her family from the whims and demands of some particularly callous locals is an ongoing struggle. She forms a plan to go north, to pack up the secrets she's holding about her life in the South and hang them on the line for all to see in Ohio.
As the two girls are drawn deeper into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption, they must come to terms with the complexities of their tenuous bond and a hidden past that links them in ways that could cost them their lives.
Ada promised herself she would never go back to the Trace, to her hard life on the swamp and her harsh father. But now, after running away to Baton Rouge and briefly knowing a different kind of life, she finds herself with nowhere to go but back home. And she knows there will be a price to pay with her father.
Matilda, daughter of a sharecropper, is from the other side of the Trace. Doing what she can to protect her family from the whims and demands of some particularly callous locals is an ongoing struggle. She forms a plan to go north, to pack up the secrets she's holding about her life in the South and hang them on the line for all to see in Ohio.
As the two girls are drawn deeper into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption, they must come to terms with the complexities of their tenuous bond and a hidden past that links them in ways that could cost them their lives.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2021
About the author
Kelly Mustian
2 books566 followersKelly Mustian is the USA Today bestselling author of The Girls in the Stilt House and The River Knows Your Name. She is the recipient of the Mississippi Library Association's 2023 Author Award for Fiction, and The Girls in the Stilt House was shortlisted for the 2022 Crook's Corner Book Prize for best debut novel set in the American South. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and commercial magazines. Originally from Mississippi, she currently lives in North Carolina.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,796 reviews
November 20, 2021
I’ve developed a fondness for southern noir lit. This tale of two teenagers bonded by a murder and forced to fend for themselves totally fit the bill. Set in 1923, Ada is the daughter of a mean drunk, living in the Mississippi swamplands. She ran off at 15, but was forced to come back home at age 16. Mathilda is the daughter of black sharecroppers. Just a year older than Ada, prickly and wary, she’s much more aware of the dangers of the world than innocent Ada.
The story is told in three parts as we first get Ada’s background, then Mathilda’s, then the story going forward. Neither girl has had an easy go, but Mathilda in particular has seen the injustices of the day. I felt for both of these two girls. Mustian’s story engrossed me from beginning to end. I wanted so badly for these two to find a safe haven. It’s a reminder how poverty reduces options and opportunities and how often it puts you in harm’s way because of those lacks.
This is historical fiction at its best. It firmly puts you in the time and place. In fact, the Trace is definitely a character in its own right. The story so drew me in, and my loathing of a particular secondary character was so intense, I found myself hoping for him to go to a violent death.
I appreciated the Author’s Notes, which expressed her desire to balance the beauty and the brutality of the Trace.
I’m often amused or upset by comparisons between books. But in this case, I agree that fans of Where the Crawdads Sing or If The Creek Don’t Rise will enjoy this one as well.
The narrator, Johanna Parker, did a superb job. She had a range of voices and her energy really helped carry the story.
The story is told in three parts as we first get Ada’s background, then Mathilda’s, then the story going forward. Neither girl has had an easy go, but Mathilda in particular has seen the injustices of the day. I felt for both of these two girls. Mustian’s story engrossed me from beginning to end. I wanted so badly for these two to find a safe haven. It’s a reminder how poverty reduces options and opportunities and how often it puts you in harm’s way because of those lacks.
This is historical fiction at its best. It firmly puts you in the time and place. In fact, the Trace is definitely a character in its own right. The story so drew me in, and my loathing of a particular secondary character was so intense, I found myself hoping for him to go to a violent death.
I appreciated the Author’s Notes, which expressed her desire to balance the beauty and the brutality of the Trace.
I’m often amused or upset by comparisons between books. But in this case, I agree that fans of Where the Crawdads Sing or If The Creek Don’t Rise will enjoy this one as well.
The narrator, Johanna Parker, did a superb job. She had a range of voices and her energy really helped carry the story.
November 22, 2021
There are a lot of comparisons between this story and Crawdads. 🤔 I personally enjoyed Crawdads more, but this was still a good story. 🤗 I enjoyed the message of friendship and empowerment.
March 29, 2022
‘For the Adas and Matildas of the world, finding a way.’
Kelly Mustian
I first took notice of this novel because of it’s beautiful cover which ended up conveying perfectly the themes & feel of this story.
Natchez Trace in Mississippi, a cypress swamp, is as much a character in this story as Ada and Matilda. These girls are forced to fight to survive, both socially and geographically, in a world void of sympathy. It was very difficult to be a witness to the raw hatefulness of some of the characters… another novel I wanted to jump through the pages of and give a good ‘tongue-lashing.’ It was remarkable, in the midst of so much struggle, to see the hope these girls clung to.
Kelly Mustian has made a solid entry into the southern fiction genre with this debut novel and I can easily recommend it to all southern fiction fans. 5 stars.
Kelly Mustian
I first took notice of this novel because of it’s beautiful cover which ended up conveying perfectly the themes & feel of this story.
Natchez Trace in Mississippi, a cypress swamp, is as much a character in this story as Ada and Matilda. These girls are forced to fight to survive, both socially and geographically, in a world void of sympathy. It was very difficult to be a witness to the raw hatefulness of some of the characters… another novel I wanted to jump through the pages of and give a good ‘tongue-lashing.’ It was remarkable, in the midst of so much struggle, to see the hope these girls clung to.
Kelly Mustian has made a solid entry into the southern fiction genre with this debut novel and I can easily recommend it to all southern fiction fans. 5 stars.
March 25, 2024
Sadly this fell flat for me as just another ‘Crawdads’ wannabe. Wonderfully atmospheric and vivid descriptions of the swamp, but none of the humans every really come alive or resonate in anyway.
May 20, 2021
It isn't fair to write a review without actually reading the book or even listening for more than two chapters. I tried to listen to the audio version but I just could not get past the narration. This narrator may do a fine job with other books but she is not the right person for this southern book. I intend to actually read the book but I am a bit too traumatized to give it another try right now. I have to get that voice out of my head. ;)
I decided to go ahead and write this as a warning to those who may be contemplating listening instead of reading. This is one of the only books I have had a strong enough opinion of to actually put my opinion out there for all to see.
I decided to go ahead and write this as a warning to those who may be contemplating listening instead of reading. This is one of the only books I have had a strong enough opinion of to actually put my opinion out there for all to see.
June 24, 2021
Ada Morgan regretfully returns to her father Virgil’s cabin in the Trace, he lives in the creepy swamp in Mississippi, where he traps animals for a living and she ran away a year ago. She arrives home to a mess, the cabin is filthy and she cleans it up while nervously waiting for her father to return home. Living in Baton Rouge with Jesse was fun, she’s come home to face the music and her father is a very nasty man.
Matilda Patterson, is a colored sharecropper’s daughter, they live on the other side of the Trace and she dreams of having a better life. Her father Dalton works hard, he does what he’s told by his boss and he has no choice. Some nasty business goes on in the area with bootleggers, various people are involved, willingly or not, it’s illegal and they will do anything not to get caught. One night the two girl meet, Ada and Matilda are bound together by witnessing a death, they keep it a secret and was it murder?
Matilda is wary of white folks, she doesn’t want to get involved with Ada and she has no one else to help her. The two girls make an unlikely duo, just when Ada thinks she can drag herself out of poverty, Matilda vanishes, the whole situation becomes complicated again and it’s extremely dangerous.
The Girls in the Stilt House has a plot full of twists and turns and it involves secrets, murder, racial tension and it kept me engrossed from the start. It also had some really lovely characters, I liked Gertie the midwife, Flora the shop keeper, Pastor Brown and the undertaker Mr. Lewis. It would be a great book club read, thanks to Edelweiss for my copy and five stars from me.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
Matilda Patterson, is a colored sharecropper’s daughter, they live on the other side of the Trace and she dreams of having a better life. Her father Dalton works hard, he does what he’s told by his boss and he has no choice. Some nasty business goes on in the area with bootleggers, various people are involved, willingly or not, it’s illegal and they will do anything not to get caught. One night the two girl meet, Ada and Matilda are bound together by witnessing a death, they keep it a secret and was it murder?
Matilda is wary of white folks, she doesn’t want to get involved with Ada and she has no one else to help her. The two girls make an unlikely duo, just when Ada thinks she can drag herself out of poverty, Matilda vanishes, the whole situation becomes complicated again and it’s extremely dangerous.
The Girls in the Stilt House has a plot full of twists and turns and it involves secrets, murder, racial tension and it kept me engrossed from the start. It also had some really lovely characters, I liked Gertie the midwife, Flora the shop keeper, Pastor Brown and the undertaker Mr. Lewis. It would be a great book club read, thanks to Edelweiss for my copy and five stars from me.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
September 26, 2021
5 BRIGHT STARS FOR A SOUTHERN LIT ACCOMPLISHMENT!
Exceptional insights on life in deep south 60 years after the civil war, where blacks remain living in terror and must be watchful of the clever actions by whites to entrap them. Motherless, Ada is desperately poor and also a target though she is white, considered white trash by most particularly due to the activities and personality of her disreputable father, she is isolated and victim to her circumstances which include living in a nearby swamp. Soon the two lives become entwined in an unusual circumstance. Can they learn to trust and lean on each other? Will they be able to keep the secrets they know to save one another's life? How can they extricate themselves from the revenge that awaits them should they be discovered?
The story is told in three parts, first we learn of Ada's life to the present time (early 1920's), then we are introduced to Mathilda and her ambitions to escape the trials of living as sharecroppers. Each must deal with Frank Bowers and other matters as revealed in the third portion. Only their mutual reliance will allow them to escape Bower's wrath and retribution for perceived wrongs.
Excellent plot and storyline delivers ongoing interest in resolution, more so once we meet and read Mathilda's history (which I found so fascinating, much more than Ada's). I found Ada's naivete a bit overplayed however, it was explained by her lack of mothering and support by her community. Mathilda is anything but naive. She is a survivor and very clever. Her dreams and risks she takes to pursue a better life was exciting and heartening. I loved her character! I felt so connected to these characters. Even the secondary characters were so vibrant and clear in their actions as the author relayed their relevance to moving the story further.
Awesome job! It didn't read like many debut works. I surely wouldn't mind seeing more of Mathilda in a follow-up story or she and Ada together. I hope movie maker's take notice or even some tv personalities. Oprah are you listening?
Terrific debut novel. Kelly Mustian is someone to watch!
Exceptional insights on life in deep south 60 years after the civil war, where blacks remain living in terror and must be watchful of the clever actions by whites to entrap them. Motherless, Ada is desperately poor and also a target though she is white, considered white trash by most particularly due to the activities and personality of her disreputable father, she is isolated and victim to her circumstances which include living in a nearby swamp. Soon the two lives become entwined in an unusual circumstance. Can they learn to trust and lean on each other? Will they be able to keep the secrets they know to save one another's life? How can they extricate themselves from the revenge that awaits them should they be discovered?
The story is told in three parts, first we learn of Ada's life to the present time (early 1920's), then we are introduced to Mathilda and her ambitions to escape the trials of living as sharecroppers. Each must deal with Frank Bowers and other matters as revealed in the third portion. Only their mutual reliance will allow them to escape Bower's wrath and retribution for perceived wrongs.
Excellent plot and storyline delivers ongoing interest in resolution, more so once we meet and read Mathilda's history (which I found so fascinating, much more than Ada's). I found Ada's naivete a bit overplayed however, it was explained by her lack of mothering and support by her community. Mathilda is anything but naive. She is a survivor and very clever. Her dreams and risks she takes to pursue a better life was exciting and heartening. I loved her character! I felt so connected to these characters. Even the secondary characters were so vibrant and clear in their actions as the author relayed their relevance to moving the story further.
Awesome job! It didn't read like many debut works. I surely wouldn't mind seeing more of Mathilda in a follow-up story or she and Ada together. I hope movie maker's take notice or even some tv personalities. Oprah are you listening?
Terrific debut novel. Kelly Mustian is someone to watch!
June 30, 2022
Shelby told me to read this the other night when we were chatting on the phone and despite having about eleventy-three library checkouts and a poopton of NetGalleys I put her on speaker and downloaded it instantly because, well . . . . .
The Girls in the Stilt House offered a “you had me at hello” opener that consisted of burying a body. Um, yeah I’ll take that with cheese. What followed was the story of Ada and Matilda’s unlikely cohabitation in the swamp during prohibition era where all of the various moving parts tied together pretty much seamlessly by the end. The blurb is accurate that this should be a winner for most fans of Where the Crawdads Sing and will probably work for many who didn’t fall head over heels for that one since it doesn’t feature a romance whatsoever.
Recommended.
The Girls in the Stilt House offered a “you had me at hello” opener that consisted of burying a body. Um, yeah I’ll take that with cheese. What followed was the story of Ada and Matilda’s unlikely cohabitation in the swamp during prohibition era where all of the various moving parts tied together pretty much seamlessly by the end. The blurb is accurate that this should be a winner for most fans of Where the Crawdads Sing and will probably work for many who didn’t fall head over heels for that one since it doesn’t feature a romance whatsoever.
Recommended.
May 12, 2021
Hold while processing 🤣.
Alright, let's talk about The Girls in the Stilt House.
.
I loved this Southern Fiction novel. If you have followed my reviews for any length of time, you know that Southern Fiction holds my heart. Having said that....it is certainly a genre that can be hit or miss for me. I am a smidge critical lol. Luckily for me....this one was a hit.
.
It is blurbed as "Perfect for readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and If the Creek Don't Rise". I want to talk about that for a minute. This description is problematic for me. If you loved Crawdads as much as I did.....do NOT go into the Stilt House with the thoughts you are going to read the next Crawdads. That is not the case....in my opinion. However, this novel, stands well on its own two feet. I really enjoyed it.
.
The format was so on point. You have two separate stories of two different girls that connect over one murderess incident. (You know that in the very beginning...not a spoiler). I really enjoyed how the story was told. I became very invested in both characters in very separate ways. Well done.
.
The characters themselves were very robust. Lots to unpack and analyze but alas, at the end of the day....the characters had so much depth and growth that I will carry them with me for a long time. One of the characters was the actual community? Is that the word? The literal place where the majority of the story resides. 1920's Mississippi has been written in many different ways. I loved this story of the Trace. It is so very atmospheric. I truly felt transported while reading. Is there anything better? I think not.
.
The more I talk about this novel, the more I want to move my rating to 5 stars....oooops, just did it :-). This is a very solid choice for a debut novel. Will I read Kelly Mustian again. Yes, ma'am. I sure will. Will I recommend The Girls in the Stilt House to my Southern Fiction (heck, let's just say Historical Fiction) fans. Yes, yes I will.
Alright, let's talk about The Girls in the Stilt House.
.
I loved this Southern Fiction novel. If you have followed my reviews for any length of time, you know that Southern Fiction holds my heart. Having said that....it is certainly a genre that can be hit or miss for me. I am a smidge critical lol. Luckily for me....this one was a hit.
.
It is blurbed as "Perfect for readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and If the Creek Don't Rise". I want to talk about that for a minute. This description is problematic for me. If you loved Crawdads as much as I did.....do NOT go into the Stilt House with the thoughts you are going to read the next Crawdads. That is not the case....in my opinion. However, this novel, stands well on its own two feet. I really enjoyed it.
.
The format was so on point. You have two separate stories of two different girls that connect over one murderess incident. (You know that in the very beginning...not a spoiler). I really enjoyed how the story was told. I became very invested in both characters in very separate ways. Well done.
.
The characters themselves were very robust. Lots to unpack and analyze but alas, at the end of the day....the characters had so much depth and growth that I will carry them with me for a long time. One of the characters was the actual community? Is that the word? The literal place where the majority of the story resides. 1920's Mississippi has been written in many different ways. I loved this story of the Trace. It is so very atmospheric. I truly felt transported while reading. Is there anything better? I think not.
.
The more I talk about this novel, the more I want to move my rating to 5 stars....oooops, just did it :-). This is a very solid choice for a debut novel. Will I read Kelly Mustian again. Yes, ma'am. I sure will. Will I recommend The Girls in the Stilt House to my Southern Fiction (heck, let's just say Historical Fiction) fans. Yes, yes I will.
April 15, 2021
3.5
I picked this one up, first because of the cover. It's beautiful, but also because they labeled it as "perfect" for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing. I loved Crawdads and hoped for another fantastic read along those lines. Unfortunately, this wasn't nearly as good as that book. I found it slow and choppy. And neither Matilde nor Ada were all that engaging as characters. However, it wasn't a complete miss. The author did a very good job with the setting and time period.
I picked this one up, first because of the cover. It's beautiful, but also because they labeled it as "perfect" for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing. I loved Crawdads and hoped for another fantastic read along those lines. Unfortunately, this wasn't nearly as good as that book. I found it slow and choppy. And neither Matilde nor Ada were all that engaging as characters. However, it wasn't a complete miss. The author did a very good job with the setting and time period.
May 24, 2024
Compelling historical fiction/coming-of-age set in early 1900s Mississippi. Themes include loneliness, emotional abuse, racism, courage, found family, gender roles, and freedom.
September 14, 2021
What a stunning novel, debut or otherwise. The story holds a thread of tension all the way though and the writing is beautiful--a rare combination of wanting to keep reading to see what will happen, but also having to stop and reread sentences just because they're so gorgeous. I also loved reading a southern fiction story set in an entirely new place for me--the Natchez Trace area. Such a mix of brutal and beautiful, in both the landscape and the relationships.
April 6, 2021
A moody, atmospheric coming of age story about two struggling yet resilient teenage girls living with abuse and in poverty, who can’t depend on the people who should be protecting them and forge new paths forward. A descriptive and emotional journey.
June 17, 2021
Not like where the Crawdads Sing. Don't listen to them. They have similar settings and that is all. I listened to it on Audible. Maybe that was why I didn't like it. I finished it. Barely. Not sure where it derailed for me.
January 11, 2022
This review is for the audiobook version of this book. OMG I just can't even get past the first chapter. The narrator's poor attempt using a southern accent is distracting and her narration flow is absolutely impossible to follow- I'm convinced the effort I put in to *trying* to listen to this audiobook gave me a headache 😂 Interested to read other's reviews of audio version!
(I'll write a new review after I read the paperback version)
(I'll write a new review after I read the paperback version)
February 27, 2022
If you enjoyed Where the Crawdad Sing, you will enjoy this one.
Sixteen year old Ada vowed to never return to the Trace. After being left, she needed to return and face her abusive father.
Matilda, is a black girl, in 1920's Mississippi. She has dreams to help her family and find work in the north. The two girls are drawn together through tragedy and circumstances. Now they find themselves in a world of bootleggers and corruption, trying to survive together.
This is an well-done story full of twists and turns, but great character development in the meantime. You will like Ada and Matilda and the other side characters as well in the story. The story takes place in the swap area in Mississippi, where the girls live.
I listened to the book on Hoopla. The narration was well done and kept the story interesting.
Sixteen year old Ada vowed to never return to the Trace. After being left, she needed to return and face her abusive father.
Matilda, is a black girl, in 1920's Mississippi. She has dreams to help her family and find work in the north. The two girls are drawn together through tragedy and circumstances. Now they find themselves in a world of bootleggers and corruption, trying to survive together.
This is an well-done story full of twists and turns, but great character development in the meantime. You will like Ada and Matilda and the other side characters as well in the story. The story takes place in the swap area in Mississippi, where the girls live.
I listened to the book on Hoopla. The narration was well done and kept the story interesting.
May 20, 2022
Ada Morgan is a sixteen-year-old white girl who has recently slunk back to her home in the swamp in Natchez Trace in Mississippi, where she lived with her father Virgil. She’d left a year earlier to be with a boy she’d met. Now, that was over and done with, and she has nowhere else to go.
Matilda Patterson is perhaps a year older. She’s a Black sharecropper’s daughter. She lives with both parents on the other side of the trace. This is 1923. What are the chances that these two teenagers would meet, share a terrible secret, and out of necessity, become The Girls in the Stilt House?
Kelly Mustian’s debut novel has been compared to Where the Crawdads Sing. Mmm – maybe. As I turned the pages, I soaked up the words for what they were, an unlikely bonding of two young women trying to survive in an environment and social order that is stacked against them.
Early on, we learn what kind of man Virgil Morgan is and why Ada’s mother is no longer around. Suddenly, Matilda – Mattie – appears after an unspeakable family tragedy. Then Virgil is gone, too, and when it becomes obvious that Ada needs help, the two young women form an uneasy alliance, sharing living space in the stilt house.
Ms. Mustian has sewn a complex quilt of many textures in which the dangers of the swamp and its creatures add to the mood of the story. The most dangerous creature – man – threatens to harm the safety and security of the girls and their loved ones. With careful stitches, each of the girls comes into her own power as a person, gaining self-awareness, competence, and confidence. Ada wonders about Matilda’s lack of openness, her distance at times. While there is much overt racism and cruelty shown to Blacks in this novel, the barrier between the two girls is not color. It is the secrets Mattie holds within herself, things she has written down and keeps buried, literally, in a secret spot.
Amendment 05/20/22: A reader pointed out to me that the barrier between the girls DOES have to do with color, and I absolutely agree. Perhaps it was carelessness on my part to have phrased it that way. Color is not the ONLY barrier between them. I appreciate the feedback.
I loved Gertie Tuttle, the midwife from the Trace. What a wise, beautiful woman she is! There are some nasty bad guys in this book, too. They are perhaps stereotyped as all evil and no good, but they are fun to hate, and we more or less know them from Matilda and Ada’s perspectives. Is it realistic to think that these two could ever escape so much this hardship and trouble? Mmm – maybe.
4 stars
Matilda Patterson is perhaps a year older. She’s a Black sharecropper’s daughter. She lives with both parents on the other side of the trace. This is 1923. What are the chances that these two teenagers would meet, share a terrible secret, and out of necessity, become The Girls in the Stilt House?
Kelly Mustian’s debut novel has been compared to Where the Crawdads Sing. Mmm – maybe. As I turned the pages, I soaked up the words for what they were, an unlikely bonding of two young women trying to survive in an environment and social order that is stacked against them.
Early on, we learn what kind of man Virgil Morgan is and why Ada’s mother is no longer around. Suddenly, Matilda – Mattie – appears after an unspeakable family tragedy. Then Virgil is gone, too, and when it becomes obvious that Ada needs help, the two young women form an uneasy alliance, sharing living space in the stilt house.
Ms. Mustian has sewn a complex quilt of many textures in which the dangers of the swamp and its creatures add to the mood of the story. The most dangerous creature – man – threatens to harm the safety and security of the girls and their loved ones. With careful stitches, each of the girls comes into her own power as a person, gaining self-awareness, competence, and confidence. Ada wonders about Matilda’s lack of openness, her distance at times. While there is much overt racism and cruelty shown to Blacks in this novel, the barrier between the two girls is not color. It is the secrets Mattie holds within herself, things she has written down and keeps buried, literally, in a secret spot.
Amendment 05/20/22: A reader pointed out to me that the barrier between the girls DOES have to do with color, and I absolutely agree. Perhaps it was carelessness on my part to have phrased it that way. Color is not the ONLY barrier between them. I appreciate the feedback.
I loved Gertie Tuttle, the midwife from the Trace. What a wise, beautiful woman she is! There are some nasty bad guys in this book, too. They are perhaps stereotyped as all evil and no good, but they are fun to hate, and we more or less know them from Matilda and Ada’s perspectives. Is it realistic to think that these two could ever escape so much this hardship and trouble? Mmm – maybe.
4 stars
August 16, 2021
AVOID THE AUDIO VERSION! I never got past chapter two. Maybe if it appears in physical form I will try again but the audible version is dreadful.
June 2, 2022
Не знам какво им става на хората - всеки пише "Ако сте се наслаждавали на "Където пеят раците", ще се насладите на тази също". Е, не, едва ли ще се насладите, защото единственото, което свързва двете книги е мочурището и нищо повече. Ако това е достатъчно, окей, няма проблем, но аз се чувствам определено излъган. Най-вероятно "Момичетата от мочурището" ще се окаже най-отегчителната книга, която съм прочел през тази година. Авторката пише добре без съмнение, но откъм действие книгата е пълна скръб. Само 260 страници са, които при нормални обстоятелства бих прочел за един ден, но прочтитът го усещах все едно ми отнема цяла година. Първата част за Ейда започна добре, струваше ми се горе-долу интересна, но при Матилда попаднах в черна дупка, от която нямаше измъкване. Давам две звезди и то единствено заради обстановката, в която се развива действието.
June 11, 2023
It can't be easy to write with tenderness a novel about racism and egregious injustice, but that is exactly what Kelly Mustian did. After someone compared my novel Porch Music to The Girls in the Stilt House, I was curious. The two novels are quite different, but I can see the similar themes.
I read this book in four extremely busy days. I didn't want to put it down, and I would love to read a sequel. One cool thing is that I was reading this on women's fiction day, and it is certainly that. The power of women, uniting to make better lives for themselves, is a powerful thing.
Unlikely friendships, a ribbon that also runs through my novel, are at the heart of The Girls in the Stilt House. The novel is easy to read, and it will make a profound impact on anyone who wants to read about life along the Natchez Trace one hundred years ago. It's about losing and gaining.
For my CF friends, this book contains some profanity but is otherwise a clean read. Best of all, faith is at the heart of survival.
I read this book in four extremely busy days. I didn't want to put it down, and I would love to read a sequel. One cool thing is that I was reading this on women's fiction day, and it is certainly that. The power of women, uniting to make better lives for themselves, is a powerful thing.
Unlikely friendships, a ribbon that also runs through my novel, are at the heart of The Girls in the Stilt House. The novel is easy to read, and it will make a profound impact on anyone who wants to read about life along the Natchez Trace one hundred years ago. It's about losing and gaining.
For my CF friends, this book contains some profanity but is otherwise a clean read. Best of all, faith is at the heart of survival.
May 3, 2021
The Girls In The Stilt House by Kelly Mustian
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This coming of age novel reads like a easy Sunday morning. Something you want to take your time on.
I’ve heard this was being compared to Where The Crawdads Sing and I strongly disagree. This focuses on the unlikely friendship between Ada and Matilda as they survive the swamp of Mississippi and try making a better life for themselves but of course that can’t come easily. This book is full of hardships and isn’t the easiest read. I started this thinking it would be more fast paced but it’s much slower southern fiction. It wasn’t the most engaging read but I still enjoyed the friendship made and the characters throughout.
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This coming of age novel reads like a easy Sunday morning. Something you want to take your time on.
I’ve heard this was being compared to Where The Crawdads Sing and I strongly disagree. This focuses on the unlikely friendship between Ada and Matilda as they survive the swamp of Mississippi and try making a better life for themselves but of course that can’t come easily. This book is full of hardships and isn’t the easiest read. I started this thinking it would be more fast paced but it’s much slower southern fiction. It wasn’t the most engaging read but I still enjoyed the friendship made and the characters throughout.
January 29, 2023
4 and 1/2 stars rounded to 5 stars. This is a bittersweet tale of the downtrodden: children, females, poor, and colored in 1920’s Mississippi. And yet these two girls manage to overcome, forge a friendship, and support each other through some tragic events. So much tragedy! There is evil and goodness, naïveté and wisdom, and murderous intent along with sweet inner spirit. I believe this story will tumble around in my mind for a long time to come. It wasn’t an easy story but it was an excellent novel.
April 13, 2021
My Review of
THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE
By Author, Kelly Mustian
Gifted & Published by @Bookmarked
On Sale: 4/6/21- Link In Bio
******
I absolutely loved this book. Need I say more. It had everything that keeps you turning the pages again and again until you reach the end, where you then feel like crying because you didn’t want to leave Trace and the people you met. When you meet the main protagonists, it’s like an instant magnetic pull. You can’t help but adore them and their flaws. No matter what they are up to, you have their back. Now the antagonist on the other hand has the personality of a fish; wet, slimy and slips your grip. There is something fishy about them. The writing was not only meaningful but memorable. You learn that the strongest bonds formed aren’t always blood and actually are by the ones you’d least suspect.
*****
Ada returns to the swamp after leaving her father a year ago. He isn’t too pleased that she ran off without any warning and she is unhappy to be back where her mother and siblings passed away. Her father takes everything out on her; especially when he’s drinking which is daily. She knows he’s up to no good but she has no one to turn to.
Until one night her father puts her life at risk and there appears a neighbor, Matilda. She helps Ada out and gets her back on her feet then decides she wouldn’t leave Ada but help her with the burdens coming ahead. The fact that Ada is white and Matilda is black leaves for an exchange of the past that will melt your heart and sympathize with their souls. Both have secrets and it’s priority to keep them that way. Because if the past catches up with Matilda, both she and Ada could be in real danger.
THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE
By Author, Kelly Mustian
Gifted & Published by @Bookmarked
On Sale: 4/6/21- Link In Bio
******
I absolutely loved this book. Need I say more. It had everything that keeps you turning the pages again and again until you reach the end, where you then feel like crying because you didn’t want to leave Trace and the people you met. When you meet the main protagonists, it’s like an instant magnetic pull. You can’t help but adore them and their flaws. No matter what they are up to, you have their back. Now the antagonist on the other hand has the personality of a fish; wet, slimy and slips your grip. There is something fishy about them. The writing was not only meaningful but memorable. You learn that the strongest bonds formed aren’t always blood and actually are by the ones you’d least suspect.
*****
Ada returns to the swamp after leaving her father a year ago. He isn’t too pleased that she ran off without any warning and she is unhappy to be back where her mother and siblings passed away. Her father takes everything out on her; especially when he’s drinking which is daily. She knows he’s up to no good but she has no one to turn to.
Until one night her father puts her life at risk and there appears a neighbor, Matilda. She helps Ada out and gets her back on her feet then decides she wouldn’t leave Ada but help her with the burdens coming ahead. The fact that Ada is white and Matilda is black leaves for an exchange of the past that will melt your heart and sympathize with their souls. Both have secrets and it’s priority to keep them that way. Because if the past catches up with Matilda, both she and Ada could be in real danger.
June 14, 2021
This tale of two young girls, set in the swamps of the 1920’s Mississippi, is a wonderful debut novel by Kelly Mustian. Ada is 16 and has just returned to her father’s home after running away the year before. She vowed never to return but has found she has nowhere else to go, and she knows she’s going to pay a high price for returning. Matilda is 17 and the daughter of a sharecropper. She has plans to head north and break free of the racial oppression she is under, but she has secrets that threaten her family’s lives.
Ada and Matilda are unexpectedly thrust together and are drawn deeper into the dangerous world of corruption that oozes out of the souls of some of the people of power in the swamp. Both plan on escaping, but the bond they share is one that could end both their lives rather than give them the freedom they deserve.
This book is excellent! Although it’s a unique story, readers of “Where the Crawdads Sing” or “Call Your Daughter Home” will appreciate both the beauty and the fear that arises from this Mississippi swampland. You can feel the steamy humidity!
I didn’t get the ending that I’d hoped for but, having said that, I think Mustian gives us the best possible outcome and I finished the story very satisfied. I’m looking forward to more books by this author!
Ada and Matilda are unexpectedly thrust together and are drawn deeper into the dangerous world of corruption that oozes out of the souls of some of the people of power in the swamp. Both plan on escaping, but the bond they share is one that could end both their lives rather than give them the freedom they deserve.
This book is excellent! Although it’s a unique story, readers of “Where the Crawdads Sing” or “Call Your Daughter Home” will appreciate both the beauty and the fear that arises from this Mississippi swampland. You can feel the steamy humidity!
I didn’t get the ending that I’d hoped for but, having said that, I think Mustian gives us the best possible outcome and I finished the story very satisfied. I’m looking forward to more books by this author!
November 10, 2020
I found this novel sad and hopeful, haunting and thought-provoking. The author's depiction of the beauty and brutality of the Trace and the characters desperately trying to live their best lives there pulled me in and wouldn't let me go. I quickly became deeply invested in the outcomes for both Ada and Matilda, and did not want to put the book down. The complexity of their relationship had me on an emotional rollercoaster, but I was rooting for them both! Although the novel takes place in 1920s Mississippi, the issues of race, social status, and relationships remain relevant, and resonate strongly with me as I reflect upon what is happening in our society today. I can't wait to share this book with our book clubs at the library!
March 6, 2022
This is Historical Fiction set in the 1920's in rural Mississippi. Lots of poverty. Lots of abuse. This one started off strong. The story levels off after that as the set up and back stories fall into place. Then it ebbs and flows thereafter.
I liked the characters and at times I wanted to reach in and pluck them from danger. But the setting is what made this one shine. Overall, I liked this one...I'm just not sure how much I liked it. 3 or 4 stars? 3 stars for now.
I liked the characters and at times I wanted to reach in and pluck them from danger. But the setting is what made this one shine. Overall, I liked this one...I'm just not sure how much I liked it. 3 or 4 stars? 3 stars for now.
January 31, 2023
I'm not sure how many stars to give this book. 🤷♀️ Parts of this book are very interesting and keeps your attention and parts are very slow and boring.
January 4, 2022
“But it always happens you get what you need, a little at a time. You get through a hour, then a day, then a week. Then you look back and it’s been a year, and then more years, and good things found a way in, too. And in time, you see that them you lost are holding you up and moving you on. Helping you see the good. You ain’t done with good things to come.”
THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE
The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian was the December selection for the Bookstorians Book Club and for me it was definitely a winner! I heard that it is similar to Where the Crawdad’s Sing but I never got around to that one. I am actually kind of grateful for that because now I can review this book with a clean slate. I don’t have to worry about the comparison hype.
Trigger Warnings: Rape, Assault, Racism, Lynching, Pregnancy Loss, Death
This book tells the story of two women who find themselves together in a dangerous place. First is Ada, a white woman from Trace who vowed to never go back after she ran away with the man she loved and who she thought loved her in return. Now, she must return home to the cruel man she calls father. She wouldn’t normally go back, but she must for the sake of her unborn child. Then there is Matilda, a Black woman who comes from a family of sharecroppers in Trace. She has dreams of going North and writing for a newspaper. However, events lead them together and they must stick together in order to survive.
This book grabbed me from the very beginning. While I was completely immersed, it is a difficult read. There is a lot of trauma that these characters endure, this book is not for sensitive readers. However, a lot of the themes are meant to make us uncomfortable and heartbroken. These are experiences that really happened and we need to hear these stories whether fictional or not. Matilda is described as prickly and temperamental. I found her to be cautious because she had to survive. She knew who the monsters were and even worse, she knew they didn’t even have to hide. While Ada experiences her own trauma, she is very naive about the world and naive about the experiences of others.
I did appreciate how the author tried to find a balance between describing a beautiful setting and exposing the dangers that lurk there. I really enjoyed this book and also went through a box of tissues. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE
The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian was the December selection for the Bookstorians Book Club and for me it was definitely a winner! I heard that it is similar to Where the Crawdad’s Sing but I never got around to that one. I am actually kind of grateful for that because now I can review this book with a clean slate. I don’t have to worry about the comparison hype.
Trigger Warnings: Rape, Assault, Racism, Lynching, Pregnancy Loss, Death
This book tells the story of two women who find themselves together in a dangerous place. First is Ada, a white woman from Trace who vowed to never go back after she ran away with the man she loved and who she thought loved her in return. Now, she must return home to the cruel man she calls father. She wouldn’t normally go back, but she must for the sake of her unborn child. Then there is Matilda, a Black woman who comes from a family of sharecroppers in Trace. She has dreams of going North and writing for a newspaper. However, events lead them together and they must stick together in order to survive.
This book grabbed me from the very beginning. While I was completely immersed, it is a difficult read. There is a lot of trauma that these characters endure, this book is not for sensitive readers. However, a lot of the themes are meant to make us uncomfortable and heartbroken. These are experiences that really happened and we need to hear these stories whether fictional or not. Matilda is described as prickly and temperamental. I found her to be cautious because she had to survive. She knew who the monsters were and even worse, she knew they didn’t even have to hide. While Ada experiences her own trauma, she is very naive about the world and naive about the experiences of others.
I did appreciate how the author tried to find a balance between describing a beautiful setting and exposing the dangers that lurk there. I really enjoyed this book and also went through a box of tissues. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
June 15, 2023
3.5 stars
A beautiful and heartwarming story about two young women trying to overcome their traumas and stations in life. There was lots to love about this book and my heart was captured by the setting, characters and their plights.
What didn't work as well for me was the sometimes too simple and convenient plot elements that detracted from what otherwise could've been a more complex emotional story. By having the characters too simplistic, naive and at times extreme in their decision-making, it polarized them as either too weak or too brash. Some flaws are good in creating relatabiliry but extreme repetitive flaws are not.
A beautiful and heartwarming story about two young women trying to overcome their traumas and stations in life. There was lots to love about this book and my heart was captured by the setting, characters and their plights.
What didn't work as well for me was the sometimes too simple and convenient plot elements that detracted from what otherwise could've been a more complex emotional story. By having the characters too simplistic, naive and at times extreme in their decision-making, it polarized them as either too weak or too brash. Some flaws are good in creating relatabiliry but extreme repetitive flaws are not.
January 25, 2022
Two girls - Ada and Mathilda - grow up in the Trace of Mississippi. Their stories develop around a murder (that's the prologue). We get Ada's story first - abusive father, mother's dead - and Mathilda's - no spoilers - in the first half of the book. We then understand better how their lives join together.
This book revolves around friendship, found family and standing up for yourself. I think the setting has a major role in the events and I liked that aspect of the story. This does have a bit of a trite ending, but I like how Ada found her voice.
This book revolves around friendship, found family and standing up for yourself. I think the setting has a major role in the events and I liked that aspect of the story. This does have a bit of a trite ending, but I like how Ada found her voice.
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