I remember the fierce love and devotion as much as I remember the violence." "our family tree grew with rotten, broken branches and fungus on the leaves." In different native tribes, the Three Sisters represent the three most important crops. Maize, beans, and squash. The crops grow together as sisters. The oldest is maize. She grows the tallest, supportin’ the vines of her younger sisters. The middle sister is beans. She gives nitrogen and nutrition to the soil, which allows her sisters to grow resilient and strong. The youngest is squash. She is the protector of her sisters. She stretches her leaves to shade the ground and fight off weeds. It is squash’s vines which tie the Three Sisters together in a bond that is the strongest of all. This was how I knew I’d have three daughters, even after Waconda died. Fraya’s the corn. Flossie is the beans. And you, Betty, are squash. You must protect your sisters as squash protects the corn and beans.” When I was a mere 5% into this book, I fretted about not wanting it to end. This book is THAT good. The characters are living, breathing, loving, and endearing. They go through the darkest and most unsettling of times, and I was with them for every bit of this journey I never wanted to end. Betty is based on the life of Tiffany McDaniel's mother, and even though it is fiction, many scenes and most of the story are based on the real life. So yes, while there was a lot of darkness, there was also a lot of love, loyalty, and hope! The writing style was absolutely beautiful, and flowed like poetry in some areas. My Favorite Passages from Betty

Guernica: You’ve said that you hope the takeaway from your first novel, The Summer That Melted Everything, is that people should love one another more. Is there a similar message for Betty ? At the end of the book, I felt totally exhausted, but I’m so glad that I read this. What a wonderful, but difficult read! I have never read anything like it. When I was a kid, I was often by the side of my grandmother, Mamaw Alka. As a child, it was difficult to understand how one minute she could be loving and kind, while the next she could be distant and hard to reach. Once I learned about the abuse she experienced, I understood how it shaped her into the woman she was. We follow the family from the 1930s — the moment Landon and Alka meet — until Betty, their youngest daughter enters adulthood.

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Stephanie Powell Watts, bestselling author of N o One Is Coming to Save Usand We Are Taking Only What We Need I realized then that not only did Dad need us to believe his stories, we needed to believe them as well. To believe in unripe stars and eagles able to do extraordinary things. What it boiled down to was a frenzied hope that there was more to life than the reality around us. Only then could we claim a destiny we did not feel cursed to.

The women of this book are clever and witchy, speaking in a poetic cadence they have created together… McDaniel is exceptionally inventive… McDaniel’s sentences are often striking, ethereal and transcendent…an undeniable sense of wonder.McDaniel pulls off an impressive twist at the finale, with a plot shift that might inspire you to start the book again if your nervous system can handle it. And of course, the killer is not the point. We read for the women, the dismal yet beatific textures of their lives. Stories about murdered women always fall on the savage side, but beneath that, too, is the pulse of something beautiful.”Betty’s mother, Alka, has a tormented past, and she has her share of difficulty with mental health as a result. The author writes about this with honesty and openness, while showing how most of the family adapts, supporting one another. There’s such tenderness between many of the characters, such complete devotion. There’s complexity, too, where their human nature comes into play, the push and pull so many families experience in their dynamic. No one is perfect, and Betty, with her insightful narrative doesn’t hide anything from the reader. Betty is bold and strong and completely authentic. Some characters I hated with all my guts (if you know, you know 👀). And others I loved with all my heart: first and foremost being Landon, Betty’s dad. Gwyn Hyman Rubio, New York Timesbestselling author of Icy Sparks, The Woodman’s Daughter, and Love & Ordinary Creatures A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel – full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words. This book will make your blood boil. It will make you want to scream at the unfairness of it all. It will totally get under your skin. But most of all, it will show you how resilient people are when faced with the most impossible things, and it will fill you with hope.

I am going to try to get my hands on the authors debut novel, The Summer that Melted Everything, which was also set in the same town. I am officially obsessed with Tiffany McDaniel’s writing!! When I took a step forward, the hands took it with me. I realized then that the whole time I thought I’d been walking alone, my father had been with me. Supportin’ me. Steadyin’ me. Protectin’ me, best he could. I knew I had to be strong enough to stand on my own two feet. I had to step out of my father’s hands and pull myself up out of the mud. I thought I would be scared to walk the rest of my life without him, but I know I’ll never really be without him because each step I take, I see his handprints in the footprints I leave behind.” When you read one of her books, now that I have two under my belt, I can say this with absolute certainty, the reader knows she has something special in her hands. Books don’t come written like this every day. Storytelling isn’t always this memorable. And you know all know I love books and authors, so at the heart of what I am saying is I absolutely adored this book. It’s THE book. My book of summer. It was such a pleasure reading about him. Everything he taught his kids, his stories. I just- *sniffles* – love him so much. I felt consumed by the ambitious enormity and sadness of this book. Betty is about the power of words and the language it is written in rings with this. I loved it, you will love it."

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel – Highly recommended

Betty is a story inspired by Tiffany McDaniel's mother, Betty and her family secrets. It's a story of abuse, racism and poverty but a story of love through the strong connections Betty has with her father Landon and her siblings. It's also an Appalachian story with Cherokee stories and history. It's not an easy read at times and might not be for the lighter more gentle minded reader; however, it's one of those stories that shows us the dark to see the light in the world around us.