AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT

The creation of the Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934 drives this debut novel. Cades Cove, Tenn., may be beautiful, but to spunky 11-year-old Autumn Winifred Oliver, it is dullsville. She’s fuming after Mama announces that their move to Knoxville has been postponed to care for Gramps, who is recuperating from a sick spell. A girl who “does things different,” Autumn pays close attention to Gramps, who’s pushing the Government’s plan to create a national park in the Smoky Mountains that surround Cades Cove. He’s got his eye on tourist dollars, but Autumn soon discovers that once the park is operational, loggers like her pop will be out of work. On top of that, the park will oust Cades Cove residents from their homes. Autumn’s narration, peppered as it is with Appalachian superstitions and homey, colorful phrases, grows tiresome and at times seems too mature. Readers will hope for a solution, but unfortunately the conflict between the U.S. government and Cades Cove’s residents is weakened by a labyrinth of subplots and a too-neat ending. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)