Velva Jean Learns to Drive: Book 1 in the Velva Jean Series, Paperback

From the author of theNew York TimesbestsellersHolding Up the UniverseandAll the Bright Places(soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning), a spellbinding debut about ill-fated love and what it means to grow up.
A touching read, funny and wise, like a crazy blend of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, a less morose Flannery O Connor, and maybe a shot of Hank Williams . . . Niven makes some memorable moon-spun magic in her rich fiction debut. Publishers Weekly(starred review)
Like All the Bright Places, hailed as a charming love story aboutan] unlikely and endearing pair (New York Times Book Review), Jennifer Niven's debut novelis a big-hearted story about the struggle to find happiness.
Velva Jean's mother urged her to ``live out there in the great wide world, and growing up in Appalachia in the years before World War II, Velva Jean dreams of becoming a big-time singer in Nashville. Then she falls in love with Harley Bright, a handsome juvenile delinquent turned revival preacher. As their tumultuous love story unfolds, Velva Jean must choose between keeping her hard-won home and pursuing her dream of singing in the Grand Ole Opry.