Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Book Giveaway of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

Valerie and Hatchette Book Group are generously giving away one copy of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by debut author Tiffany Baker.



The blurb:

When Truly Plaice's mother was pregnant, the town of Aberdeen joined together in betting how recordbreakingly huge the baby boy would ultimately be. The girl who proved to be Truly paid the price of her enormity; her father blamed her for her mother's death in childbirth, and was totally ill equipped to raise either this giant child or her polar opposite sister Serena Jane, the epitome of femine perfection. When he, too, relinquished his increasingly tenuous grip on life, Truly and Serena Jane are separated--Serena Jane to live a life of privilege as the future May Queen and Truly to live on the outskirts of town on the farm of the town sadsack, the subject of constant abuse and humiliation at the hands of her peers.

Serena Jane's beauty proves to be her greatest blessing and her biggest curse, for it makes her the obsession of classmate Bob Bob Morgan, the youngest in a line of Robert Morgans who have been doctors in Aberdeen for generations. Though they have long been the pillars of the community, the earliest Robert Morgan married the town witch, Tabitha Dyerson, and the location of her fabled shadow book--containing mysterious secrets for healing and darker powers--has been the subject of town gossip ever since. Bob Bob Morgan, one of Truly's biggest tormentors, does the unthinkable to claim the prize of Serena Jane, and changes the destiny of all Aberdeen from there on.

When Serena Jane flees town and a loveless marriage to Bob Bob, it is Truly who must become the woman of a house that she did not choose and mother to her eight-year-old nephew Bobbie. Truly's brother-in-law is relentless and brutal; he criticizes her physique and the limitations of her health as a result, and degrades her more than any one human could bear. It is only when Truly finds her calling--the ability to heal illness with herbs and naturopathic techniques--hidden within the folds of Robert Morgan's family quilt, that she begins to regain control over her life and herself. Unearthed family secrets, however, will lead to the kind of betrayal that eventually break the Morgan family apart forever, but Truly's reckoning with her own demons allows for both an uprooting of Aberdeen County, and the possibility of love in unexpected places.


About the Author, courtesy of the publisher:
Tiffany Baker lives in Tiburon, California with her husband and three children. This is her first novel. Learn more about on her website at http://www.tiffanybaker.com/ or her blog at http://www.thedebutanteball.com/


Reading Group Guide, courtesy of the publisher:

1. Truly is the “little giant” of this book, yet her size seems to make her less, rather than more, visible to the town around her. Can you explain this phenomenon? What do you think the author is trying to say about her outsider status?

2. Serena Jane and Truly are as physically different as sisters can be, yet Truly sees that this difference is crucial, explaining “the reason the two of us were as opposite as sewage and spring water, I thought, was that pretty can’t exist without ugly.” (pp. 97-98) How would you describe Truly and Serena’s connection? How is it different from Truly’s relationship with Amelia Dyerson? Which seems the more genuine sisterhood to you?

3. As the successor to a long line of old-fashioned, small-town doctors, Robert Morgan is traditional, strict, and often cruel. I the end, however, the legacy terminates with him and he becomes Aberdeen’s last Dr. Morgan. How do he and Bobbie stray from the family paradigm? What Morgan characteristics stayed with each of them? Is the town “more modern” without a Dr. Morgan, and with Bobbie and Salvatore’s restaurant instead? Is the replacement of nurturing through nourishment rather than doctoring a symbolic replacement?

4. Death haunts Truly and all of Aberdeen, sometimes in unexpected ways. As a gardener, Marcus’s aim is to “make things live,” but, as Truly realizes, “wasn’t it also true that gardeners were always wrestling with death, whether in the form of drought, or blight, or hungry insects? In a garden, Marcus always said, death was the first, last and only fact of life.” What other parallels do you see in the ways Marcus and Truly court life and death?

5. Truly’s size marks her as an outcast, but throughout the novel, other characters have trouble “fitting in” in a more figurative way. Examine how this manifests in Bobbie, Marcus, Amelia, even Serena Jane. What larger point do you this the author might be trying to make about the importance of conforming?

6. What role does Aberdeen County play in the novel? Could the story or these characters exist elsewhere? Do the effects of the 60s and the Vietnam War seem to touch Aberdeen in the same way they touched the rest of the country? What is unique and what is not about Aberdeen as a setting?

7. When Amelia discovers how Priscilla Sparrow and Robert Morgan died, she asks Truly whether it was mercy or murder that killed them. What do you think? How do you feel about Truly’s actions? What in Truly’s character draws her to “collect souls” as she comes to call it?

8. When Marcus and Truly finally come together, Marcus says “We’re not exactly a match made in heaven, you and I, but I figure we’re good enough for here on earth” (p. 334) What does he mean by this? Do you agree?

9. Why doesn’t Robert Morgan “care” that his son runs away? What does it say about what he thinks of himself? How does this connect to Serena Jane’s leaving and his reaction to that event?

10. After Robert Morgan’s death, Truly gradually takes on some of his responsibilities as town doctor by using the knowledge she’s gained from Tabitha’s quilt. How is this a fitting purpose for Truly, and a fitting counterpoint to the legacy of Morgan doctors?

11. What about this story is larger than life or possesses elements of a tall tale or folklore? How are these details woven into the story? How is the book similar to or different from other works in this tradition?

CONTEST DETAILS:

To enter, share a book recommendation. Or visit Tiffany Baker's website and share something that you've learned about her with the rest of us.

Rules:
1. Please include your email address, so that I can contact you if you win. No email address, no entry.
2. For an extra entry, sign up to be a follower. If you're already a follower, let me know and you'll get the extra entry as well.
3. For another extra entry, subscribe via googlereader or blogger or by email and let me know that you do.
4. For another entry, blog about this giveaway and send me the link.
5. Leave a separate comment for each entry or you'll only be entered once.

The contest is limited to US and Canada only. No P.O. boxes. The contest ends at noon on January 31, 2010.

Thank you so much to Valerie and Hatchette Book Group for sponsoring this giveaway and this review opportunity!

95 comments:

  1. 7th Heaven by James Patterson is very good.
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am a follower
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am in the middle of Dear John by Nicholas Sparks and I am loving it.
    I follow.

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I recommend Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

    simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I recommend The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. It will be available in February. I read the ARC through Barnes & Noble's First Look.

    dlodden at frontiernet dot net

    ReplyDelete
  6. I follow with Google Reader.

    dlodden at frontiernet dot net

    ReplyDelete
  7. justpeachy36@yahoo.com

    A book I would recommend is Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, if you like a good romance that is....

    Please enter me in the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  8. justpeachy36@yahoo.com

    I am an old follower.

    ReplyDelete
  9. justpeachy36@yahoo.com

    I follow via Google Reader as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, I've been wanting to read this one for awhile.

    My book recommendation: Eon, by Allison Goodman. It's been un-put-downable for me. Quite good.

    bethrevis (at) gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tiffany Baker received a graduate degree in creative writing from UC Irvine and then a PhD in Victorian literature.

    Thank you,

    Christine
    womackcm@sbcglobal.net

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am already a follower.

    Thank you,

    Christine
    womackcm@sbcglobal.net

    ReplyDelete
  13. I subscribe via email.

    Thank you,

    Christine
    womackcm@sbcglobal.net

    ReplyDelete
  14. I recommend The Last Beach Bungalow by Jennie Nash.

    litandlifeATgmailDOTcom

    ReplyDelete
  15. She went hiking on Corsica with her mother.
    bekki1820cb at gmail

    ReplyDelete
  16. Follower of the blog
    bekki1820cb at gmail

    ReplyDelete
  17. google reader subscriber
    bekki1820cb at gmail

    ReplyDelete
  18. A good book that I just read is Say You're One Of Them.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am a follower - janetfaye

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  20. I blogged:
    http://blog-giveaways.blogspot.com/2009/12/book-giveaway-of-little-giant-of.html

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I would recommend Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy. It's a really fast cute read.

    squiggles87(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I am a follower.

    squiggles87(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm currently reading The Queen's Dollmaker by Christine Trent. It's really good. Thanks for the giveaway!

    RAchelhwallen@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. I follow you on Google Reader!

    Rachelhwallen@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill is fantastic!

    melacan at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  26. I'm enjoying 9 Dragons right now
    copperllama at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  27. already a follower
    copperllama at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  28. email subscriber
    copperllama at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I've wanted to read this book for quite some time. Thanks for the giveaway.

    fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. I'm a follower.

    fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I'm a subscriber via GoogleReader.

    fitz12383(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  32. I highly recommend reading 'eve: a novel of the first woman' by elissa elliott. fabulous.

    karenk
    kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  33. She is currently writing her second book, and it is scheduled to be released in early 2010.

    susanaudrey316 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  34. I'm a follower as well.

    susanaudrey316 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  35. And I subscribe to your blog (RSS feed) via Bloglines.

    susanaudrey316 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  36. I recommend A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. Anna
    hayleybubba@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  37. Under This Unbroken Sky was a great book!

    nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  38. I follow

    nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  39. I subscribe

    nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  40. Here's my recommendation-The Benefactor by Margaret Reyes Dempsey.

    bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  41. I recently enjoyed reading Lit.
    catss99@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  42. i subscribe in google reader
    amanda
    catss99@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  43. Recommend a book?! One book?! LOL! How about 'The Lost Dog' or 'The Book of Negroes' or 'The Woman Who Named God'... I also learned that the author has a great sense of humour and is poetess in describing herself. Please accept this as my entry. Thank you!

    Aliya D.
    aliyadaya(at)shaw(dot)ca

    ReplyDelete
  44. Ragtime by EL Doctorow. It's incredible.

    misusedinnocence@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  45. My favorite book I've read recently is The Heretic's Daughter. SO good.
    amandarwest at gmaildotcom

    ReplyDelete
  46. I follow.
    amandarwest at gmaildotcom

    ReplyDelete
  47. I'd love to win this book. I am a new follower. I'd like to recommend the book: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt; Beth Hoffman

    bostonredsoxfever AT gmail DOT com

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  48. Please enter me, this sounds like a great book!
    joannelong74 AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  49. I would love to read this book, thanks for the chance.

    alongtheway(at)telus(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  50. I follow

    alongtheway(at)telus(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  51. I recommend 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly.

    rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  52. suggest Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper

    Thanks
    dlsmith44@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  53. I am following you with Google.

    dlsmith44@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  54. Book Recommendation: Roses by Leila Meachum. I'm a follower via Google Reader.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Tiffany sounds like a choco-coffee-holic: "Indecent amounts of chocolate and coffee" :) Following with Google Friend Connect -- *Thanks* for the giveaway!
    theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  56. A favorite book recommendation of mine is "Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner. This book is on my tbr list and I'd love to win a copy. Please enter me in your giveaway!

    Thank you!

    Amy
    Aimala127@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  57. I am a follower on google friend connect!

    Amy
    Aimala127@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  58. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  59. I found out she has 2 girls and a boy. I have 2 boys and a girl!

    readingatthebeach@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  60. I'm a new follower!

    readingatthebeach@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  61. I'm subscribed

    readingatthebeach@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  62. I blogged about your contest here.
    joannelong74 AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  63. I would recommend "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

    Sheila
    skkorman@bellsouth.net

    ReplyDelete
  64. The book I recommend to EVERYONE I possibly can is "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery.

    I have always had a hard time coming up with a "favorite" book, but this one quickly jumped to the top of my list!

    michellemsherman(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  65. Also, I'm a follower!

    michellemsherman(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  66. I recommend the new dean koontz book breathless
    spynaert@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  67. Mary Karr's LIT is a wonderful read.

    laruediane2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  68. I blogged about your contest here:

    http://bookchickdi.blogspot.com/2010/01/win-little-giant-of-aberdeen-county.html

    laruediane2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  69. I'm a follower too!

    laruediane2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  70. I aslo subscribe via Googlereader.

    laruediane2000(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  71. I recommend Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffery Stepakoff. Please enter me. Thanks!

    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  72. I subscribe via email!

    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  73. I learned that Tiffany Baker moved to England to be with the man who would become her husband.

    wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  74. I subscribe to your blog via blogger dashboard & google reader.


    ~ Amy
    Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  75. I would recommend Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger. It truly is amazing that this book was written by a man!!

    cyeates AT nycap DOT rr DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  76. I am a Google follower.

    cyeates AT nycap DOT rr DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  77. I also am an e-mail subscriber.


    cyeates AT nycap DOT rr DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  78. J.D. Robb's Creation in Death is a good read.

    dsandyboy@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  79. I've just finished reading 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly and would recommend it.

    ReplyDelete
  80. I just finished reading 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly and would recommend it.

    walkerd@primus.ca

    ReplyDelete
  81. I recommend The Cure by Geeta Anand.

    leenbeen2001 (at) yahoo (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  82. I am a follower

    leenbeen2001 (at) yahoo (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  83. I subscribe via yahoo reader.

    leenbeen2001 (At) yahoo (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  84. My book recommendation is anything by Henning Mankell, but especially "Before The Frost." Thanks for entering my name.

    denny(dot)gill(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  85. I recommend Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

    ReplyDelete
  86. I recommend Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

    steffanie771 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  87. A book I highly recommend is "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett - an excellent read.
    Thanks ~ megalon22 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  88. I already follow in GFC
    megalon22 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  89. I subscribe via Google Reader
    megalon22 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete