BOOK REVIEW: A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

BOOK REVIEW: A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

"When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana, was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small—town America was caught in the amber of the innocent postwar period—people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday, and kept barnyard animals in their backyards.

Laced with fine storytelling, sharp wit, dead-on observations, and moments of sheer joy, Haven Kimmel's straight-shooting portrait of her childhood gives us a heroine who is wonderfully sweet and sly as she navigates the quirky adult world that surrounds Zippy."

This memoir will have you laughing and possibly crying. This little girl has more personality than most people have in their small finger. I loved the relationship she had with her rough-edged father and the friendships she formed. Nothing gets Zippy down, even the meanest girl in school. Even though she didn't usually tell us how old she was and there wasn't any certain flow to the stories, it was overall an enjoyable read. Haven Kimmel is nothing but a wonderful story-teller. It wasn't gripping by any means--I wanted to know how it turned out yet I could put it down for the night and be fine--but still fun. Rated G, 4.2 out of 5 stars.