Miss Ophelia

By Mary Burnett Smith

Book Overview

Part coming-of-age story and part slice of life, this remarkable novel explores the issues of abortion, illegitimacy, adultery, and skin color "with the appeal of a tale spun out at twilight on a front porch" (New York Times Book Review).

Rural Virginia, 1948. Belly Anderson is now in the autumn of her life. She cannot help but reminisce about the last summer of her childhood and the events that transpired which irrevocably changed her.

A strong-willed and free-spirited eleven-year-old, Belly reluctantly leaves her home in rural Pharaoh and goes to Jamison to help her mean Aunt Rachel recover from surgery. Belly has two reasons for deciding to go to Jamison: She's left alone when her only friend becomes pregnant and is sent away, and she hopes that she'll be allowed to take piano lessons from Miss Ophelia--her mother's childhood friend.

While taking lessons from Miss Ophelia, Belly soon grows very fond of her teacher and forms a deep bond with her. Then, she learns a terrible secret about Miss Ophelia--a secret that forces Belly to grow up and learn what it really means to be an adult.

Compelling, moving, and deeply absorbing, Miss Ophelia is an unforgettable, timely story that will resonate with readers long after the final page is turned.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688163572
• ISBN13: 9780688163570
• Release Date: May 2015
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

So Beautifully Written!!

This book hit me where the heart is!!! The characters: Belly, Willie, Miss Janie, Miss Rachel, Mama, Uncle Avery, Miss Pheenie, And of course, the lovely and dearest of all, Miss Ophelia. When I first got into the book,( first quarter of the book),It primarily focused on teen pregnancy and the main character (Belly's) best friend, Teenie getting sent away to get "rid of her problem", which hurt Isabel Anderson/Walker.The way the book portrays Miss Opelia, and her warm and kind personality was so well-written, that in the end, I cried, thinking about the True love that could never be, between...Oh!!!!! Youre just going to have to read the book and see why most of these people(including myself, of course) rated this book 5 stars.

I didn't want it to end!

This is the best book that I have read in a while, and I read a lot of books. It was simply a delight to read. The author did a masterful job of bringing Belly to life and describing her thoughts and feelings. I loved Belly and almost all of the characters in the story; in fact, I felt like I knew many of them. I can't wait to read the author's next book. If you haven't read this one, please, please, please, go out and buy it today!

Extremely well written and interesting story

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are well defined, true to life and memorable. The story was easy to read, well-paced and had interesting sub-plots. I also read Ms. Smith's next book -- Ring Around the Moon -- which I also enjoyed as well.

A refreshing view of life from a childs perspective.

Being the parent of a 12 year old, "Miss Ophelia" not only brought back memories of my own childhood; it has also reminded me to take time and look at life from my daughter's perspective. Ms. Burnett Smith has beautifully protrayed the innocence of being young and the struggles of coming of age.

A WONDERFULLY WRITTEN NOVEL!

My book club recently read "MISS OPHELIA" as our March Book Selection and over 80% of the sistahs in the book club (Circle of Friends II) rated this book a "10". It is a wonderfully written novel that you will find hard to put down. After meeting Belly, her mom, others in the town and Lord...UNCLE WILLIE, you will not be able to put it down until the last page...and then you will be sad...because the story comes to an end. If you are looking for a good book...gift...you definitely need to pick this one up!!!!!