Product Description

"The morning I died it rained. Poured down so hard it washed the blood off my face."

Thus begins the story of Lori Jean, whose short life and death are woven into this poignant, heart-wrenching novel set in the rural South of the 1950s. Told from the point of view of ten-year-old Lori Jean, a sensitive dreamer of a child who longs for a "normal" family, Roseflower Creek is raw with the emotions of a child burdened by the harshness of her life. Abandoned by her father when she was five, her world is filled with a self-absorbed mother who can't seem to hold her life together and an abusive, alocoholic stepfather who can't-or won't-keep a steady job. Yet Lori Jean is filled with the curiosity and hope common to all children.

After Lori Jean's stepfather , Ray, begins attending AA meetings, he seems like a changed man, and Lori Jean begins to think that finally she and her mama are going to experience some long-overdue happiness-be a real family. But tragedy strikes anew, and Ray, unable to cope, returns to the bottle and his shiftless ways. Fired from his job at the cotton mill, he resorts to stealing, and when Lori Jean uncovers his secret, things begin to spiral out of control. Unable to keep silent, Lori Jean pays the ultimate price for what she knows.

Poignant and bittersweet, Roseflower Creek is a story of the loss of innocence. Told with an honesty and authenticity that only a child narrator could achieve, it is a remarkable first novel that will move readers with profound emotions and haunt them long after the last paragraph has been read.

"Finally, we was gonna be a family. Have ourselves some happy times to look back on. Git ourselves one of them futures-just like regular folks."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12884 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

From Booklist
Ten-year-old Lori Jean believes that love can heal Ray, her abusive stepfather whose drunken rages have left Lori Jean and her mother beaten and bruised. Growing up impoverished in rural Georgia in the 1950s, Lori Jean survives abandonment by her biological father, as well as the deaths of her grandmother and her best friend, Carolee. Despite these tragedies, Lori Jean clings tenaciously to faith and hope. When she discovers that her stepfather was the victim of sexual abuse as a child, she struggles to "fix" Ray's problems, but unfortunately, his illness runs too deep. Told in southern dialect through the innocent eyes of a child, the first-person narrative effectively draws the reader into Lori Jean's world. Though the ending is a bit contrived, Miles' story proves haunting and even inspirational. Linda Zeilstra
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
J. L. Miles, a native of Racine, Wisconsin, lives and writes in Lilburn, Georgia. Roseflower Creek is her first novel.

Customer Reviews

Roseflower Creek Book Review
This was a fantastic read!! I couldn't put it down and finished it within 12 hours! (I should have been sleeping...) This story will break your heart and you will fall in love with Lori Jean. This was a fabulous book that I would recommend to any avid reader.

Excellent!
This book is not only a page turner, but it pulls you into the characters. It is well written and a must read!

Roseflower Creek
This book was a page turner! I finished it in two readings - couldn't put it down until I found out what happened to Lori Jean. This story is very sad but well worth your time. I definitely recommend it.