GodPretty in the Tobacco Field

By: Kim Michele Richardson

Narrated by: Katie Schorr

Atmospheric and searingly honest, GodPretty in the Tobacco Field is Coal Miner's Daughter meets Winter's Bone in a gripping tale of tender love and loss.

Nameless, Kentucky, in 1969 is a hardscrabble community where jobs are few and poverty is a simple fact - just like the hot Appalachian breeze or the pests that can wipe out a tobacco field in days. RubyLyn Bishop is luckier than some. Her God-fearing uncle, Gunnar, has a short fuse and high expectations, but he's given her a good home ever since she was orphaned at the age of five. Yet now, a month shy of her 16th birthday, RubyLyn itches for more.

Maybe it's something to do with the paper fortune-tellers RubyLyn has been making for townsfolk, each covered with beautifully wrought, prophetic drawings. Or perhaps it's because of Rainey Ford, an African American neighbor who works alongside her in the tobacco field and with whom she has a kinship despite her uncle's worrisome shadow and the town's disapproval. RubyLyn's predictions are just wishful thinking, not magic at all, but through them she's imagining life as it could be, away from the prejudice and hardship that ripple through Nameless.

©2016 Kim Michele Richardson (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Story w a Twist

Very interesting characters and plot. Too much sadness, but accurate prejudice for the time period.

A good old time story line similar to Sue Monk Kidd’s
The Secret Life of Bees.

From a Farmer’s Daughter

A story about a young artist with a kind soul coming of age on a Kentucky tobacco farm with her uncle. Love, family, and friendship are at the core of this sometimes painful and often beautiful story.

Richardson’s imagery is especially charming. I found myself delighted and amused by many of Ruby Lyn’s descriptions and sayings.

Beautiful writer and storyteller.

I love this Author! Her writing style is beautiful and she is a beautiful story teller. I love her descriptions of Kentucky landscape and how she brings history alive. She highlights the beauty of the Kentucky while also bringing to life the ugly parts of the commonwealth's history. I have read all of her books and can't wait for her next book in 2026.

Best book I've listened to on AUDIBLE

GOD Pretty in the Tobacco Field is the best book I've gotten from Audible. I usually listen to a book until I fall asleep, but this one kept me awake all night. Nameless is about like where I come from and for many years families here depended on their tobacco to sell with a good price so they could pay on their house, get their kids school supplies and clothes, and most of all make sure that Santa came that year.
Kim Richardson is a talented writer, that I can't wait to read more of. My review doesn't even touch the surface. there are several relationships in this book that really make it great. Katie Schorr narrated the book so well. Her voice wasn't irritating or lifeless at all. All around great Audible experience☆☆☆☆☆

love this author!

the narrator for this and a few other if Richardson's books is fantastic! I loved the story, and the romance, and historical references. great listen!