Review: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker

Fabulous.

Just fabulous.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is Truly, a girl born with a pituitary gland disorder so severe that she reaches physical proportions, even in utero, greater than anyone in small-town Aberdeen has ever seen. When her mother dies in childbirth, and her father, whose anger and helplessness propels him into alcoholism, dies an early death as well, Truly and her perfect porcelain doll sister, Serena Jane, are split up, Serena Jane going with one of the well-to-do families of the town to continue her charmed life, while Truly goes to live with the town outcasts.

Of course, not everything is as hopeless as it seems. The Dyerson farm, downtrodden though it may be, is the first real home Truly has ever known, and the family becomes her own. Their daughter, Amelia, finally opens up in Truly's presence and begins speaking, and the two of them, along with another 'unpopular', Marcus, who happens to be the smallest boy in school, form an insular group that lasts them into adulthood. Life holds surprises for the perfect Serena Jane, who follows the expected path and winds up somewhere she never expected to be. On their journey, their lives cross and continue in opposite directions, bringing the opposite of everything they had been branded with from birth.

In the midst of the social and emotional workings of the novel lies a mystery that dates back generations: where is the shadow book of Tabitha Dyerson, homeopath and great-great-grandmother of the town's current doctor (who also happens to be Serena Jane's husband)? The answer, and secrets within it, are Truly's salvation, if she can only decipher the clues.

This was a miraculously good book. Baker has created an entirely captivating town full of characters that are reminscent of LM Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, and Truly herself is an adventure. I finished it yesterday, and when I reached into the book basket to select another,
I turned every one aside, until I finally realized that what I was looking for was another Aberdeen. I may give in and read it again.

Rating: five out of five stars. Fabulous. Put it at the top of your to-read list.
As depressing as all of this sounds, it's really not. Truly's