Jennifer McMurrain's debut novel, "Quail Crossings," is a delightful piece of historical fiction. Set in a small, rural Texas town during the Great Depression, the story revolves around the family that owns Quail Crossings (a farm) and the family they take in.The main character, Dovie, has lost her husband and daughter; she wants nothing to do with more mouths to feed, especially when one of them is a little girl who reminds her far too much of Helen. Her father, James, is the one who brings the Brewer family home.The story made me smile and cry at different times; I felt like I knew the characters. They were well-rounded and developed (except for one secondary character, Charlotte, who seemed like her only traits were selfishness and meanness, without us being given a chance to understand her motivation). I cared about the people whose stories I was reading, which is the point of character-driven fiction like this.There were some editorial errors (homophones, pluralizations and punctuation) that were a distraction but not a major problem. Well worth reading for fans of Americana-type historical fiction. Edited to add: it appears that this book has been removed from Smashwords (from which I purchased it). That's a pity, as I also like to share reviews at the site where I bought the book.
