"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

If David Copperfield (Dicken's character, not the magician) and Huck Finn were
to have a baby, Demon Copperhead would be the result. Barbara Kingsolver
masterfully retells the Dicken's classic with Appalachian drawls instead of
Cockney accents. Demon Fields (nicknamed Demon Copperhead for his red hair and
spit fire demeanor) inherits his fathers good looks and bad judgment and not
much else. The story follows him from his en caul birth through his childhood
and into his early adult age. Kingsolver craftfully weaves the surrounding
social and political issues of the Appalachian region into the story as Demon,
and the majority of the people he encounters, battle poverty, bigotry, and the
onset of the Oxycontin pandemic. I personally think it deserved the Pulitzer
that it was awarded because even though it tackled some tough issues it did not
come off as preachy and was enjoyable to read. There is plenty of laughter
throughout the book to help offset the dark and depressing portions of this
kids life. Demon keeps a positive outlook and consistently tries to do the
right thing, even though he doesn't know what it is.