Review: The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

Title: The Virgin of Small Plains

Author: Nancy Pickard

Published: 2006

Length:  335 pages

Genre:  Mystery 

Where Found: Borrowed from my local library

Counts Towards: Hide and Seek Mini Challenge, What's In A Name Challenge

Summary:
Small Plains, Kansas, January 23, 1987: In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteen-year-old Rex Shellenberger scours his father’s pasture, looking for helpless newborn calves. Then he makes a shocking discovery: the naked, frozen body of a teenage girl, her skin as white as the snow around her. Even dead, she is the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. It is a moment that will forever change his life and the lives of everyone around him. The mysterious dead girl–the “Virgin of Small Plains”–inspires local reverence. In the two decades following her death, strange miracles visit those who faithfully tend to her grave; some even believe that her spirit can cure deadly illnesses. Slowly, word of the legend spreads.

But what really happened in that snow-covered field? Why did young Mitch Newquist disappear the day after the Virgin’s body was found, leaving behind his distraught girlfriend, Abby Reynolds? Why do the town’s three most powerful men–Dr. Quentin Reynolds, former sheriff Nathan Shellenberger, and Judge, Tom Newquist–all seem to be hiding the details of that night? 


Review:
On a bitterly cold, snowy night in January 1987, a sequence of events unfold that will forever change the lives of a whole town. A young girl is found dead and naked, with no one willing to identify her. The town, horrified that no one knows who she is, all pitch in to give her a proper burial and headstone. Her death remains unsolved for 17 years, bringing a mystery upon the town. Known as The Virgin in the years that follow people believe she can bring miracles to them from beyond the grave. 

This was my first time reading Nancy Pickard and I was pleasantly surprised. I adored her characters and she kept me  turning the pages to find out what had happened all those years ago. Her writing was lovely and she painted a gorgeous picture of Kansas for the reader. 

What's in a Name 4 Challenge

Right, I signed up for another challenge last night.
If anyone else would like to join it go here, my dears.



Here's How It Works

Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a number in the title: First to Die, Seven Up, Thirteen Reasons Why
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: Diamond Ruby, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Opal Deception
3. A book with a size in the title: Wide Sargasso Sea, Small Wars, Little Bee
4. A book with travel or movement in the title: Dead Witch Walking, Crawling with Zombies, Time Traveler's Wife
5. A book with evil in the title: Bad Marie, Fallen, Wicked Lovely
6. A book with a life stage in the title: No Country for Old Men, Brideshead Revisited, Bog Child

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.

Other Things to Know

• Books may be any form (audio, print, e-book).
• Books may overlap other challenges.
• Books may not overlap categories; you need a different book for each category.
• Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed but encouraged.
• You do not have to make a list of books before hand.
• You do not have to read through the categories in any particular order.

So far this is what my list is looking like - 

1. A book with a number in the title: Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear - I'm really looking forward to this one, it looks really readable.

2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: The Ruby in the Smoke (The first book in the Sally Lockhart series) by Philip Pullman

3. A book with a size in the title: The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

4. A book with travel or movement in the title: The Kite Runner Novel by Khaled Hosseini

or The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

5. A book with evil in the title: The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin

6. A book with a life stage in the title: Old Man's War (the first book in the Old Man's War series) by John Scalzi or Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd