The Fallen Snow
"In a gripping tale of self-exploration and atonement, Kelley's debut  skillfully evokes the unpredictability of life in 1918 through  mesmerizing descriptions and fully realized characters. Joshua Hunter  volunteers to fight in the Great War to escape his rural Virginia home,  becoming a respected sniper in wartime France. Unfettered from his  close-knit Appalachian community's expectations, he develops a growing  quietness and strength despite the ugliness of war. Returning home a  crippled war hero, Joshua feels the old familiar expectations becoming  more onerous. And even an engagement and job offer cannot erase the  past, the echoes of war, and a well-guarded secret. Kelley's novel is  emotionally complex and brimming with grit. Told in a plainspoken manner  through parallel story lines--the present in Appalachia and the past in  France--this story will appeal to readers of coming-of-age stories with  a historical bent." -(starred review)