by Jane Smiley
First published 2024
Six-year-old Jodie Rattler clutches a roll of two-dollar bills she won at the racetrack in 1955 St. Louis. Her uncle Drew brought her there for luck, and she has carried those bills ever since. Jodie grows up surrounded by her extended family's warmth before launching a singing career that takes her from Midwest clubs to New York City recording studios, from the English countryside to St. Thomas beaches, from Cleveland venues to Los Angeles stages. She performs in the shadow of legends like Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell, fighting to establish her own voice in the folk music scene. Yet despite her musical success, Jodie senses something missing from her life. She wonders if true love might fill the void, or if she seeks something else entirely. Her journey becomes a search for identity as much as stardom.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, american, contemporary, music, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family, search-for-identity
Setting: Cleveland, England, Los Angeles, Midwest, New York City, St. Louis, St. Thomas
Period: 1955, 20th Century, 21st Century
384 pages · Hardcover · Knopf