5.  The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson

I loved this book.  Set in eastern Kentucky, it combines two interesting items in the history of the region.  If you love the power of books and feel compassion, this is a book to read. It goes a little too Jane Austen at the end for me, I wanted the protagonist to take the teacher's spot. Also, the fat equals bad implication hurts my feelings; it's not unlike some of the other prejudices the book addresses.

I ran across the title when researching my eastern Kentucky ancestors. My direct ancestors left that area eighty years earlier than this story was set, before the coal industry exploited the area so much.  This story describes the setting and gives insight into how people interact, any time or place.