Long Gone, Come Home

Birdie Johnson dreams of a life outside of Mt Sterling Kentucky. Birdie’s dream starts to come true when she meets smooth talking dreamer Jimmy Walker. Jimmy is full of promises for a better exciting life with her and their children. One day he disappears and doesn’t come back forcing Birdie and her two small children to live with her mother. Birdie resettling back into her life witnesses a brutal murder and to avoid questioning she gets out of Kentucky with a quest to look for Jimmy. Throughout the book we see Birdie in Chicago and Cincinnati and the jazz clubs that were popular in the 1930s and 1940s and meet all sorts of people. We also see Birdie go through highs and lows but not letting it stop her from chasing her dreams.

Pros

The descriptions were excellent and I felt as though while I was reading the book that I was in the story myself. Birdie is a character you root for because despite the hardships she went through she perseveres and never gives up. Another favorite character of mine was Birdie’s mother whose a no nonsense lady. I like that she encouraged her daughter to be independent and to explore the world outside of Mt Sterling Kentucky.

Cons

I think the ending could be a bit longer in my opinion.

Overall

Overall I enjoyed Long Gone, Come Home. I can’t wait to read more books from Monica Chenault Kilgore. If you are into historical fiction books and stories about not giving up no matter what life throws at you, pick this book up now. Thank you Leah Morse for the early copy. Thank you Monica for writing this story. I hope to do a Q&A with you soon.