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Sugar Run
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
39 posts | 35 read | 45 to read
A shining debut, with a heady admixture of explosive plot and taut, burnished prose. This is a book that loves its wounded characters and troubled places, and in so deeply loving, it finds a terrible truth and beauty where other writers wouldn't have found the courage to look . . . Mesha Maren writes like a force of nature. Lauren Groff, author of Fates and Furies On the far side the view was nothing but ridgelines, the craggy silhouettes rising up against the night sky like the body of some dormant god. Jodi felt her breath go tight in her chest. This road went only one way, it seemed, in under the mountains until you were circled. In 1989, Jodi McCarty is seventeen years old when shes sentenced to life in prison for manslaughter. Shes released eighteen years later and finds herself at a Greyhound bus stop, reeling from the shock of unexpected freedom. Not yet able to return to her lost home in the Appalachian mountains, she goes searching for someone she left behind, but on the way, she meets and falls in love with Miranda, a troubled young mother. Together, they try to make a fresh start, but is that even possible in a town that refuses to change? Set within the charged insularity of rural West Virginia, Sugar Run is a searing and gritty debut about making a run for another life.
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Addison_Reads
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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#BeginsWith @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

I remember seeing a lot about this book when it was first released. I picked it up at a used bookstore and it's been neglected on my shelves ever since.

Eggs 👏🏻📚💗 2y
37 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Soubhiville
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Pickpick

I heard Mesha Marin speak at TX Book Fest last October and was drawn to her book description. The hooks for me: takes place in Appalachia- specifically WV, lesbian MC just released from 18 years served in prison returning home.

This was my March #Bookspin

Jodi‘s troubled past, essentially growing up in prison, poor life choices both before and after. Tendency towards addiction and obsession. It all rang true.

TheAromaofBooks Great review!! 4y
65 likes1 comment
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Julz422
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Even though the novel kind of lost me towards the end, I enjoyed listening to the author today and appreciated her taking the time to talk about the writing process!

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Julz422
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Mehso-so

The first half of this I was super into. It started to drag out a little in the middle and then left me wanting a little more detail in the end.

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Julz422
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Perfect fall day! Finally! 🙏🍂🍁

Hestapleton That book was so good! 4y
Julz422 @Hestapleton I‘m into it!! 4y
2 likes2 comments
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Soubhiville
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Mesha Maren and Chantelle Benz talked about the sense of place in their books, specifically rural America. I am interested in reading both of their books.

#TXBookFest2019

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Julz422
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Got this yesterday when at the #RVABookFestival with @Owlizabeth. Today is the perfect rainy reading day!

Owlizabeth You know that‘s what I‘m doing!!! 4y
2 likes1 comment
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aa_guer2021
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Mehso-so

Another one that I powered through recently. Again, another tough subject due to LGBTQ relationships, a crime, and the survival of a unit with kids and trying to find a place and a sense of belonging. There was some positive notes to this, but it felt rushed, disjointed and sadly disappointing. I would have #DNF‘ed it, but something forced me to keep going. 3⭐️😕 #recentlyread #nospoilers

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Redwritinghood
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Mehso-so

Jodi is released from prison as the book opens. She returns home, but picks up Miranda and her sons along the way. The story flashes back and forth between the past, where we learn why Jodi killed her former lover, and the present. The past doesn‘t really seem to impact the myriad issues she faces once she‘s released, however, so I‘m not sure what that aspect added to the story. The ending was a bit of a let down, too. 3⭐️ #Hoopla

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BittersweetBooks
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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There was something unspoken, she thought, a kind of proprietary confidence and ease that parents and children seemed to carry with them. The way these four people could make this room home in a matter of minutes, claiming the space and settling in, so self-contained that the world outside seemed unnecessary
🃏🍺🚬

18 likes1 stack add
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mrozzz
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The chapters flit between the pasts & melded present of Miranda, an on/off drug addict, mother of 3, and estranged wife of washed up musician, Lee Golden- and Jodi, a recently released convict, thrown into jail as a minor where she stayed for 18 years. Slowly the truth of what led Jodi to kill in 1989 is shown, how her involvement with Paula ruined her, & how she hides it from Miranda, her new lover, will likely lead to her/their demise.

BookishTrish Love this photo 5y
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BookNAround
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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This is sort of last minute Louie but any #NCLittens or #Charlotte Litten want to join me tonight? It‘s a free event. I‘ll be there regardless.

BookNAround @DGRachel @dsfisher You two are the only Charlotte Littens I can think of off the top of my head although I know there‘s someone up by (in?) Davidson too. (edited) 5y
DGRachel I wish I could, but I‘m on day two of this migraine and didn‘t go to work. I try not to do things after hours when I don‘t go to work. @4thhouseontheleft is in the Huntersville area, I think. 5y
BookNAround @DGRachel I‘m so sorry about the migraine but I totally get it. And it is a very last minute post anyway, even if you weren‘t suffering! 5y
DGRachel Have fun! 5y
Graciouswarriorprincess Feel better @DGRachel ! I am fighting allergies and a headache too. 5y
54 likes5 comments
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Hoopiefoot
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Not actually from this book, but it could be. It‘s from Mesha Maren‘s story in the most recent Oxford American and I feel it deep in my soul.

Chrissyreadit Do you live in WV? 5y
Hoopiefoot @Chrissyreadit I used to. Now I live in Delaware. 5y
53 likes2 comments
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TheNerdyProfessor
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Finished my 4th book this month. Overall, I was happy with averaging about 1 book a week. Here is my overall ranking:
1. A Woman is No Man
2. Sugar Run
3. Beautiful Bad
4. The Bookshop of Yesterdays

I guess I prefer the soul-crushing books to the sappy, heartfelt ones.

Bring it on April! ☂️🌷📚🔖

Moony Oh that a good statistic. I wish I would read one book a week. 👏👏👏👏 5y
53 likes1 comment
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TheNerdyProfessor
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Weekend ready.

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TheNerdyProfessor
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Yay Friday! Thanks for this fun topic @Samplergal

1. We are having homemade mac and cheese tonight! 😋
2. I'm reading Sugar Run and hope to finish it this weekend
3. My goal is 4.. I need to get through some of my #BOTM backlog

#fridayfun #spring #booksandfood

Bklover I‘m coming to dinner. 🥘 🧡💛 5y
ericarobynreads Oh heyyyy! I‘m hoping to have baked Mac and cheese with broccoli tonight! 😁 enjoy!! 5y
TheNerdyProfessor @Bklover Dinner is at 5:30! We always make way too much because those uncooked noodles never quite look like enough food 😂 5y
Bklover Oh yay! I know what you mean - I always make way too many noodles. 5y
46 likes4 comments
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Nitpickyabouttrains
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Finished my final #booked2019 quarter! Just in time for the end of the month.

Cinfhen Congrats!!!! You‘re on a roll!! 5y
alisiakae Wow, that is AMAZING you have finished all 4 quarters already! 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Amazing! 👏🏻👏🏻♥️♥️📚📚 5y
22 likes3 comments
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Nitpickyabouttrains
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Pickpick

A woman gets out of prison after more then half her life. She goes looking for someone left behind and the land of her grandmother. Along the way she builds a found-family and gets into some trouble.

Cinfhen Sounds good!! 5y
33 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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cestmabiologie
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Road Trip! 🚙

I love being a passenger because it means I can read. I‘m so happy that I don‘t get motion sickness.

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Book_Fairy_Mary
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Had the pleasure of listening to Mesha Maren speak about her novel, Sugar Run, this evening and was excited to also get the opportunity to have my copy signed.

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Lauren.Archer
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Going to give this a shot. First part was a little meh but hoping this picks up soon.

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nosferatoos
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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I was deleting pics from my camera and I came across this glaring error that COMPLETELY took me out of this otherwise really great novel. You only crochet with one needle. Knitting is two. You could make the argument that the POV character doesn‘t know the difference but I do and it bothers me so much.

DGRachel That would drive me nuts, too! 5y
OrangeMooseReads More often than not the reader will know the difference this feels like complete laziness on the authors part. 5y
21 likes2 comments
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ReadingEnvy
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Pickpick

Jodi is released from prison and is left to fend for herself in rural West Virginia. She gets together with a young mother of three and goes on a quest to rescue the brother of her former lover, while fighting to hold onto her grandparents' land. .
I was sent a galley at the end of 2018 and included it in a round of speed dating that is discussed on Episode 135 of the Reading Envy Podcast. I'm glad I went back to it.

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Godpants
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Pickpick

I think my favourite books are the ones that end badly. Where maybe nothing goes right and it‘s painful for the characters and for you too. This book hurts, and I loved every minute I got to spend with it.

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MidnightBookGirl
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Finishing this up for tonight's event with the author! Despite it being winter, it is a gorgeous 72° here in VA!

Godpants What did you think of this one? 5y
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UnabridgedPod
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Pickpick

Maren's novel--which I listened to on @scribd--is stunning. Jodi, who was imprisoned at 17, is released when she's in her early 30s. She returns to her WV home to find that her grandmother's land has been sold and any hope that she can dive back into a sense of normalcy is lost. (Continued in comments)

UnabridgedPod Jodi strives to help those in her circle, and the portrayal of her attempts to come of age, 20 years late, and of the Appalachians that are her home is incredibly effective. The sense of doom that trails behind her is haunting. A gritty, compelling, thought-provoking read. 5y
12 likes1 comment
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MidnightBookGirl
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Started my first #audiobook of February ! Mesha Maren is coming to the bookstore that I work at for an event. Only a few chapters in, but digging it so far!

Rachel_nyc I‘m really looking forward to this one! 5y
Book_Fairy_Mary She's coming here as well! Looking forward to reading Sugar Run and seeing her in person! 5y
56 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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nosferatoos
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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First book of #24in48 I‘m getting a late start so I might not make it but let‘s go.

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Godpants
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Just picked up some holds at the library. Got my latte and I‘m ready to dive in. Anyone else reading this one?

AlwaysForeverReading Welcome to Litsy!!! 📖📚 5y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Welcome to Litsy 📖💙 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Welcome to Litsy!! 5y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🌺 5y
MidnightBookGirl Reading this now! The author is coming later this month to my bookstore. 5y
12 likes5 comments
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ErinGoBragh1011
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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《《2019 releases I am looking forward to reading》》 A tense, atmospheric Southern noir spiked with queer themes, Sugar Run weaves between two timelines in its depiction of Jodi, a woman just finishing an 18-year prison sentence.

▪Release Date: January 8th 2019

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Hestapleton
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Anxiety is flaring up today (YAY LOVE THAT LOVE EVERYTHING), but this book is strangely calming. It‘s different from what I normally read (kudos to reading challenges for pushing me), but the language is beautiful, like sliding into a hot bath and feeling it warm you down into your bones.

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MidnightBookGirl
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Another arc #bookhaul. I grabbed Sugar Run because the author is coming to our store for an event. I'll tag the rest of the books in the comments!

MidnightBookGirl 4 (under Sugar Run) 5y
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kyraleseberg I'm so excited for Growing Things! 5y
vivastory I can't wait for the Tremblay! 5y
62 likes6 comments
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SunriseBooks
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren

Beautiful writing about issues I care about. I look forward to Maren‘s next book. Fewer pills, please. #imnotaprudebutdamn

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Skeebies05
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Pickpick

I tried the new shortbread latte at Starbucks then rushed home to finish this book. I loooooooved it! Loved the setting and the time period and the cast of people. Yay yay yay.

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BethFishReads
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Listening to jazzy #Christmas music and getting organized before the day‘s activities. Happy day to those who celebrate. #coffee

Daisey Merry Christmas! 🎄 5y
Chrissyreadit Fun! Merry Christmas! 5y
Crinoline_Laphroaig Happy Christmas! 5y
See All 7 Comments
Simona Happy holidays to you too❣️ 5y
Dragon Happy holidays! 💚🐉 5y
39 likes7 comments
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Samplergal
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Panpan

Just not for me. When I have to flip back and forth to keep track of characters and who is who, it‘s never a good sign. 2⭐️

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Samplergal
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Next up. Hoping it is good!

78 likes2 stack adds
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mauveandrosysky
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Mehso-so

I liked how this novel centered women who are a product of their circumstances without making excuses for their actions. Maren keeps the perspective objective, unsentimental and without judgment, similarly to The Mars Room. That said, there was something that kept me from ever becoming fully invested in these characters. There‘s not a lot of narrative tension, and I wasn‘t always convinced by the main characters‘ choices and interactions.

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swishandflick
Sugar Run: A Novel | Mesha Maren
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Man, I love free books ❤️😆