Molly Lee

Molly is about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime . . . of two lifetimes.

It’s 1861 and the Civil War has just started. Molly is an eighteen-year-old girl living on her family’s farm in Virginia when two deserters from the Southern Cause enter her life. One of them—a twenty-four-year-old Huck Finn—ends up saving her virtue, if not her life.

Molly is so enamored with Huck, she wants to run away with him. But Huck has other plans and is gone the next morning before she awakens. Thus starts a sequence of events that leads Molly into adventure after adventure; most of them not so nice.

We follow the travails of Molly Lee, starting when she is eighteen and ending when she is fifty-six. Even then Life has one more surprise in store for her.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Life in the 1860s is nothing if not full of adventure, danger, and the realization of your own mortality. Molly Lee by Andrew Joyce follows the wanderings of one woman as she sets out on her own, with no idea what that might mean, in search of a young man named Huck Finn. 

Molly Lee begins the novel as a young, doe-eyed, naive girl, but is quickly introduced to the dangers of reality. She grows into a no-nonsense woman who knows that she can't rely on anybody but herself. Molly is brave, sharp tongued, and a survivor. In the 1860s, it seems you either had to be willing to kill or be killed and Molly knew how to protect herself. Though she also has a softer side. Molly is loving, loyal, respectful, and dutiful woman. She falls in love, takes on the role of stepmother, and even helps protect an Indian Tribe. Molly is definitely a well-rounded character, with good and bad characteristics. Readers will connect with Molly as the glitter of adventure wears off and reality settles in. Her feisty attitude and lovingness will win over readers as they share in her journey. 

Huck Finn is the beginning of this story. Molly Lee meets him after Huck helps save the livelihood of her family. Love at first sight sends Molly to chase Mr. Finn though it doesn't seem to be written in the stars for him and Molly. As Molly travels around the country, whether by interest or force, readers witness how different life was in the 1860s. Though the story was intriguing, it took me a while to get used to Joyce's writing style. It's very cut and dry without a lot of fluff. Joyce is a writer who gets straight to the point in telling the story and this makes the book a pretty easy read. However, it still seemed a bit long-winded. Maybe because so much happens to Miss Molly that I started to think there would never be a happy ending. Chapters are relatively short and each seems to be a new adventure for Molly Lee but the surprise factor wears off after the first few bouts of bad luck. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups