Eleven-year-old Marty Preston, an eleven-year-old kid living in the hills of West Virginia, is the primary character of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's novel Shiloh. He shares a four-room house with his mother, father, and two sisters, Becky (age three) and Dara Lynn (age seven). His parents are divorced, and he has a close relationship with his father, who died when he was nine. In addition to writing books for children, Phyllis Naylor also writes adult novels under the name Phyllis Naylor Stone. She lives in Putnam County, West Virginia. Shiloh is Naylor's first published book. It was released in 1974 by Dodd, Mead & Company. The story is set in the fictional town of Shiloh, which is based on her native Charleston, West Virginia. Marty is a young boy who finds out that he is the heir to a large fortune after his father dies in a car accident. He must then learn to take care of his younger sister Dara and move to New York with only the clothes on his back to start over life-changing events that affect him greatly. Shiloh has been praised for its realism and characterization. It is also considered a classic example of a coming-of-age story, where young Marty faces many challenges due to his family situation and his new found wealth.