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Dear Hank Williams by Kimberly Willis Holt (review)

When her teacher assigns a letter-writing project, eleven-year-old Tate Ellerbee knows exactly who her pen pal will be: rising country star Hank Williams. She begins writing him regularly, telling him of her absent movie-star mother and photojournalist father, her pesky little brother, and the aunt and uncle with whom she lives, as well as sharing the secret of her own singing aspirations. Through these humorous letters, by turn self-important and self-effacing, Tate’s resilient, persistent personality emerges, as does the tragic truth underlying her chipper and fantastical story. Underpinning this epistolary novel is the sense that Tate is not completely forthcoming, a feeling palpable enough for readers to take her tales with a grain of salt but understated enough for the surprise ending to pack a wallop. The book unfolds key details slowly, subtly laying the groundwork for Tate’s revelations while creating a strong sense of the people and places that make up life in 1948 Rippling Creek, Louisiana. Tate’s bluster-as-coping-mechanism is believable, and although her voice verges on twee at points, her indomitable spirit ultimately wins the day—and hearts. While readers will find plenty to love and to revisit if encountering this novel on their own, the snappy pace, engaging tone, and epistolary format make this an engaging classroom readaloud, with the skillful exposition and the incorporation of historical details providing discussion fodder and potential curricular connection. AA