Madden completes her Maggie Valley Trilogy with these two books.  Livy Two’s family continues to struggle, following her daddy’s accident.  But through it all, the family is determined to stay together, and stay in their beloved Maggie Valley home.

Livy Two is a songwriter like her daddy, and one thing I loved about this trilogy were excerpts from Livy’s songs.  She writes songs about her family and the things going on around her, and they are beautiful in their simple descriptions.  Livy has a large family, yet Madden manages to make them all come to life as well-known individuals.  Although Livy herself narrates the trilogy, Madden focuses on several different family members in each book, so by the end, you feel as if you know them all well.

A sweet story about Livy Two Weems, her mother, father and eight siblings.  Together, they’re struggling to survive in their North Carolina home.  Livy’s father, although he doesn’t earn much money, has big dreams of becoming a famous song writer.  Livy’s mother somehow manages to keep the family fed and the kids out of trouble.  And Livy, who writes songs of her own, dreams of traveling to see the world and of teaching her blind sister Gentle to read.