Sugar Run by Mesha MarenRead about the other entries on the list.
This gripping, heartwrenching debut follows Jodi McCarty, who gets out of prison and has to find her footing in the face of unexpected freedom. She meets and falls in love with Miranda, a young single mom who's down on her luck, and the two hope to find brighter horizons together. It's a propulsive story, told in gorgeous writing.
Sugar Run is among Kaytie Norman's seven eye-opening books about Appalachia.
--Marshal Zeringue