Happy Friday from Savannah! To kick of a Southern retreat weekend, let’s check out some fifteen-word (or fewer) reviews of Southern stories.

1. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Touching story about the isolation we all feel; loved reading it with ASL studies.

2. Sounder by William H. Armstrong
Early into the book, the dog gets shot. Things go downhill from there. Sad stuff.

3. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
I remember the act of reading this and the cover well, just not the story.

4. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Depression-era black family confronts racism; not as crushing as Sounder. School scenes stuck with me.

5. Georgia Music by Helen V. Griffith
Girl visits grandfather, they bond over “Georgia music.” Next summer he has dementia, I cry.