Tiffany McDaniel

A Novel

Betty

zulfa

A girl comes of age against the knife. So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a white mother and a Cherokee father, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit in the rural town of Breathed, Ohio, is one of poverty and violenceboth from outside the family and, devastatingly, from within. The lush landscape, rich with birdsong, wild fruit, and blazing stars, becomes a kind of refuge for Betty, but when her familys darkest secrets are brought to light, she has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters. Despite the hardships she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters, and her fathers brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all to which she bears witness, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write. She recounts the horrors of her familys past and present with pen and paper and buries them deep in the dirtmoments that have stung her so deeply she could not share them, until now. Inspired by generations of her family, Tiffany McDaniel sets out to free the past by delivering this heartbreaking yet magical storya remarkable novel that establishes her as one of the most important voices in American fiction.

ella

"A girl comes of age against the knife, Betty." She softly tucked my hair behind my ears before kissing me on the forehead. "But the woman she becomes must decide if the blade will cut deep enough to rip her apart or if she will find the strength to leap with her arms out and dare herself to fly in a world that seems to break like glass around her. May you have the strength."

"Sometimes I think the universe is just a glow. The glow of a cigarette in the dark. All the stars, the planets, the galaxies, the infinite edges. It's all in the small glowin' tip of a cigarette in the hand of a man leanin' back against a wall, watchin' a girl walk by on her way home, knowin' she'll never get there."

"Besides, who needs to be in a church. God's in each tree, and we got plenty of them around."

"Everything we need to live a life as long as we're allowed has been given to us in nature," he'd say. "That's not to claim if you eat this plant, you will never die, for the plant itself will one day die, and you are no more special than it. All we can do is try to heal the things that can be healed and ease the complaints of the things that cannot be. At the very least, we bring the earth inside us and restore the knowledge that even the smallest leaf has a soul."

Lorelei Petcu

to be haunted is not always such a terrible thing

Syrina

It was the end of that August. The warm light devoured the shadows around us as our hair dried and sweat beaded down our foreheads. Late summer in southern Ohio was a beautiful challenge passed from the sun to the child, Can you survive my heat and still love me?

As for his own name, John was the one his parents bad him. Cinderblock was the name given to him by Breathed he dragged a cinder block everywhere. lt was tied to a ropé with loose end draped across his shoulder. He'd hold the rope end i he bent low and forward like he was struggling to drag the weight of a tanker. I guess you hold on to something for that long, itll weioh on you in more ways than one. He started carrying the cinder block after the woman he had lived with for three decades had up and died from pneumonia. Lose a woman, gain a cinder block. Maybe in the end it was him needing to feel the weight of something more than the weight of his grief. 

The water spots on the ceiling looked like young bruises, yellow and pale and green on the edges.

You’ll come across those who are so unforgettable, they’ll leave a rash on your memory as poison ivy does your skin.

My name was spelled with a y rather than an e because dad said a y reminded him of a slingshot and of a snake with its mouth open.

Donna

"You're my centimeter, inch and foof. The distance between your hands is the distance that measures everything between the sun and the moon. Only a woman can measure such things."

Beautifully written with some wonderfully redeeming characters. I loved the Cherokee thread and the myths shared across generations. The book was DARK though and weighed heavily on me - every page was a new horrific tragedy 🫣

Jacqui Spears

Heather Margaret

One of my favorite reads this year. This book broke open my head and heart in the way a book is supposed to. It's such an elegant and raw read as you are transported into Betty's world. Such great storytelling that I did not want to end.

D D D 

Betty was awesome fiction. I haven’t read a book like this in a while. it’s high rating is well deserved. Beautiful, funny and tragic. “A girl comes of age against the knife” - im not 100% down with the characterization of womanhood = suffering, and the female characters in this book SUFFER, but not in a way that is hyperbolic, heavy handed or unrealistic (except the kitten scene - jeez how’d they just move on from that). 

I feel like this is what A Little Life wanted to be. my only critique is that some of the dialogue is a little woo-woo and unrealistic, or laden with obvious metaphor (but i kind of leaned into that for this reading - something about the story made it feel right) and leland was almost cartoonishly evil. 

I really liked Betty. I thought the story was told really beautifully - my heart wrenched often. 4.4 stars or something. not a perfect 5 but it’s up there. if goodreads let you give half star ratings >>>>

i didn’t know it could be possible for my heart to hold so much grief and hope at the same time. there’s an ache in my chest but i think it’s also hollowed out. 

i will think of betty, her dad, her sisters, her brothers, and her mom. i will think of them. and their story will live on with me forever. 

easily my best read this year, no doubt. 

i didn’t know it could be possible for my heart to hold so much grief and hope at the same time. there’s an ache in my chest but i think it’s also hollowed out. 

i will think of betty, her dad, her sisters, her brothers, and her mom. i will think of them. and their story will live on with me forever. 

easily my best read this year, no doubt. 

Rosie Vulaj

100000/5 stars. i’ve never read something so sad but so beautiful in my entire life.

The most beautiful, heartbreaking book I’ve ever read. 

Katherine Kenny

This book crushed me, it took my poor heart and aggressively stomped on it, it scared my soul. I have no idea how I could finish it. Ah yes, I had hope that all the bad guys would be punished, and the good ones will be rewarded. I started it thinking this book would be like anne of green grables, but with a cherokee girl, and the 60s. But i was so wrong. LITERALLY ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF, ALL THE F WORDS, ALL THE R WORDS, ALL THE P AND I WORDS, AND THE D WORDS…AND ANIMAL ABUSE ??????? 

I love you Betty, you and your sisters will forever be girls together in my heart, and i love your little brothers too, those sweet angels, and I feel bad for your mom, and I LOVE your dad, i wish he knew that he was a great man, greater than any men who was famous, rich or walked on the moon. 

Those people are real, and they will forever live with me.

Lina <3

This book crushed me, it took my poor heart and aggressively stomped on it, it scared my soul. I have no idea how I could finish it. Ah yes, I had hope that all the bad guys would be punished, and the good ones will be rewarded. I started it thinking this book would be like anne of green grables, but with a cherokee girl, and the 60s. But i was so wrong. LITERALLY ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF, ALL THE F WORDS, ALL THE R WORDS, ALL THE P AND I WORDS, AND THE D WORDS…AND ANIMAL ABUSE ??????? 

DO not read this book. 

I love you Betty, you and your sisters will forever be girls together in my heart, and i love your little brothers too, those sweet angels, and I feel bad for your mom, and I LOVE your dad, i wish he knew that he was a great man, greater than any men who was famous, rich or walked on the moon. 

Those people are real, and they will forever live with me.

I can’t remember ever feeling so intensely sad about a book. I fought back tears often and succumbed to letting them stream down my face for the last 50 pages, including while in a bowling alley while surrounded by septuagenarians. 

This is a story about the best things in life: love, loyalty, happiness; but this is also a story about the worst things in life. Betty is an account of generational trauma, discrimination, and poverty. All characters (well…besides 1 who truly felt like a God I’d put my faith in) were flawed and redeemed over and over again. The author routinely tied together pieces that I thought were isolated, showing that nothing is truly isolated, no person is defined by one thing that they do or that happened to them. We are all dynamic characters who do things and who have things happen to us, but we should make the choice to see the best in people, treat bigotry with kindness, and believe in magic.

I can’t remember ever feeling so intensely sad about a book. I fought back tears often and succumbed to letting them stream down my face for the last 50 pages, including while in a bowling alley while surrounded by septuagenarians. 

This is a story about the best things in life: love, loyalty, happiness; but this is also a story about the worst things in life. Betty is an account of generational trauma, discrimination, and poverty. All characters (well…besides 1 who truly felt like a God I’d put my faith in) were flawed and redeemed over and over again. The author routinely tied together pieces that I thought were isolated, showing that nothing is truly isolated, no person is defined by one thing that they do or that happened to them. We are all dynamic characters who do things and who have things happen to us, but we should make the choice to see the best in people, treat bigotry with kindness, and believe in magic.

Teeeeeesha

A coming of age story about a Cherokee girl which is so beautiful and traumatic that it will leave you with a lot to think. I cried at the end of this book because it deals with the nature of abuse.

Mellanie Ann Duque

The moment I started reading this novel I knew it will be hard for me to write my thoughts just like what happened to me when I read The Summer That Melted Everything. Sad and Beautiful, these are the words that will stay in your heart when you read this. A book that has so much to offer, so much that the world must know.

The author has the power to drown her reader in emotions, emotions that will make them love everything in this book. A very vivid description of life that will surely take your heart away.

This is a story of a girl named Betty. As being different as what the world tried her to say, she found it difficult to life with all the stones they are throwing her. She is a representation of the women in the world who suffers cruelty because of her appearance and status in life. With her father who guides her as she grow she finds bravery and love. She learned to forgive people who hurt her and fight for the people she love.

Every character in this novel has a story to tell, each of them highlights issues that are rampantly being ignored in our society until now. This novel will surely cut your heart open and touch your soul. There are so much emotion and lessons to learn. A book that talks about cruelty of life especially women and people in color.

In this book you will also find connection with nature and how beautiful life is, even how much cruelty it contains.

Readers today needs an author like Tiffany, who writes truth ang highlights important topics like inequality, racism, harassment and many more.

McDaniel’s books is a whole package. Truly diverse in every way. TSTMET and Betty will always have a special place in my heart. This book have taught me to value life and love yourself and the people around you even more.

So much emotion, lessons and love for this piece.

If you are looking for a diverse book, this is for you. Be ready to dive into emotions and be carried away.

***please consider that some parts of this book might trigger anxiety or might be heavy for some readers. Read it with caution.***

Lynn

PLEASE NOTE: read the trigger warnings before picking up this book. Take them extremely seriously. 

Now that that’s out of the way I want to say this was an extremely addictive and bewitching read. The way Tiffany weaves words together and describes feelings, colours and sociological events is truly incredible. I couldn’t recommend this book enough. The book discusses a variety of inadvertently important topics from womenhood to family life, to generational trauma, to processing feelings as a child and/or teenager to the fleeting existence of life. There is so many lessons within this book about growing up and the changing nature of human relationships. 

Probably my most thought-provoking read of 2022. I cannot wait to reread this one and annotate the physical copy. Credit goes to the audiobook narrator Dale Dicky, it truly was like listening to (a very harrowing) bedtime story.

Stacey Rainey 

Stick with this one, runs long, but worth it. The trauma pile on was a lot, but what characters they are. And Betty. What got her out? What was it that got Tara out in Educated?

Eva Bailey

My heart. It's broken.
This feels like a book I will never forget. So special.

Marloes

Another 5-star read this year! 
What a piece of work this is. I smiled, winched, and shed some tears along the way, and I felt the closeness to nature as if I was standing next to Betty throughout this story. And the Dad... he has a special place in my heart too. McDaniel writes like poetry. 
Yes, yes, this book is a real treasure.

Josefina

this book just left me in my feels, but i would definitely not recommend to people that can't handle reading graphic descriptions of animal abuse, pedophilia, incest, racism (the n word written down) and sexual assault. everyone gets what's coming to them, but it's still gruesome to read. many characters that deserved a good life got dealt a bad hand in life which clearly states that life is not fair but there's always a person who is able to break the cycle and have a good life.

A stunning, lyrical novel set in the rolling foothills of the Appalachians about a young girl and the family truths that will haunt her for the rest of her life "A girl comes of age against the knife." So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a white mother and a Cherokee father, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit in the rural town of Breathed, Ohio, is one of poverty and violence--both from outside the family and, devastatingly, from within. The lush landscape, rich with birdsong, wild fruit, and blazing stars, becomes a kind of refuge for Betty, but when her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, she has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters. Despite the hardships she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters, and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all to which she bears witness, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write. She recounts the horrors of her family's past and present with pen and paper and buries them deep in the dirt--moments that have stung her so deeply she could not tell them, until now. Inspired by generations of her family, Tiffany McDaniel sets out to free the past by delivering this heartbreaking yet magical story--a remarkable novel that establishes her as one of the most important voices in American fiction.

A novel

Giovanna da Custodia

One of the best books I have EVER read! Couldn't stop thinking how much you would've loved it ... read it :)

Emma Parker

In my top 5 reads of all time! Brilliant but devastating subject matter. Really enjoyed all the myths and nature associations of the Cherokee and their Matriarchal society. Loved everything about Betty and her courageous view of life. Didn't want it to end.

Natalie Stenson

Beautiful and heartbreaking

I absolutely adore this book. It’s tragic and full of sorrow but so beautifully told. This story will stay with me for a long time.

Veronica Zarate

Betty is the story of the Carpenter family and is inspired by the real life of the author's mother, Betty Carpenter. This beautifully written novel covers the time period between 1909 and 1973 - during which Betty's family started, grew, and ended. Throughout their life, they encounter an abundance of hardships that transcend their socioeconomic status. Betty and her siblings are the children of a white mother and a Cherokee father with traumatic pasts of their own. Their experiences dictate how they raise their children and, thereby, directly affect how their children perceive and tolerate the world around them. 

This novel is brutal & it is beautiful & it is definitely not for everyone. From the start, I fell in love with the poetic writing & the strong father-daughter relationship that prevails throughout the novel. Betty is a five-star read to me. It is a novel I won't forget soon. It is probably one of the best novel's I'll read this year. 

While this is a fictional novel and there is no telling how much of the events within the story actually happened to the family of our author's mother, the details are deeply affecting. You can't help but grieve for this family and how much devastation they experienced. There were several times where I had to set the book down for a period of time before regaining the emotional capacity to go on. 

I don't want to scare you away from this amazing book, but I also don't want you to scroll away from this review with a false sense of security. There's a reason I haven't said much about the actual contents of this novel - it's difficult to share more without treading on traumatic events. Please do not let the cover of this book fool you into thinking this is a happy novel. The cover is based on an afghan the author's mother, the real Betty, crocheted and hasn't much to do with the contents of the book. Betty is graphic & certain passages feel like a punch to the gut. If you pick this up, have someone you can hug nearby & do not feel bad if you cannot finish this book. It is beautiful and there are so many captivating passages, but every bit of beauty is bookended by tragedy and trauma. 

Alexis Aumagamanaia

This is an OwnVoices review and I was gifted an early copy of BETTY by Knopf in exchange for my review and OwnVoices reflection. 

TW:// racism, child abuse, incest, death of a child, childhood sexual abuse, self-harm, suicide, animal death, death of a parent

ᏣᎳᎩ. ᎠᏅᏓᏗᏍᏗ. 
Tsalagi. Anvdadisdi.
Cherokee. Remember. 

Tiffany McDaniel...blew me away with this absolute MASTERPIECE. Her prose is lyrical, every word reads as a poem, and this story is heartbreaking, personal, and explosive. Everything from the framework to the language used is absolutely phenomenal and I cannot count the tears I cried, but I can tell you that I cried from the first page of Part Five to the last page of this book. Above all else, this is a story about family and the power culture and community can give you but it is also SAD. Almost overwhelmingly so at times, but it is a story that absolutely needs to be shared. I found that this really dug into the truth of the family dynamic of the 40s-70s and peels back the sepia-toned glasses to really show the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly. This is also the first time I have ever truly seen myself, my spirituality, and my culture represented. My language was in this book. My legends. My teachings. I saw my grandmother and my father. I saw the generational trauma in my own family in this novel. I was finally able to be Cherokee and understood by someone else who knows what it means to be a Cherokee Woman. I feel seen and all I feel is the ache in my chest that comes from longing for my community, my traditions, my ancestral land, and my family. I will from now, until the end of time, be holding this book in a vice grip and keeping it right next to my heart; it might have even inspired my next tattoo.
I can only describe this in one word, in the best language I know how to use. 
ᎤᎳᏂᎩᏛ. 
Ulanigidv. 
Powerful. 
Beyond comprehension or comparison.

Jade Flynn

Read for the 'Tis' the Damn Readathon' prompt - Fearless: A book that intimidates you

Yoomi

This book needs all the trigger warnings: suicide, rape, incest.

There are times when it was hard to read. I had to stop because I couldn’t bear anymore. But the language is a stark contrast to all the ugliness. The writing is beautiful.

BETTY

celeste

TW: racism, rape (detailed), incest, animal cruelty (detailed), suicide attempt, bullying


  
    ‘Nailed to the cross of her own gender, a girl finds herself between the mother and the prehistoric rib, where there’s little space to be anything other than a daughter who lives alongside sons but is not equal to them. These boys who can howl like tomcats in heat, pawing their way through a feast of flesh, never to be called a slut or a whore.’
  


A very lyrically written coming of age novel that often times reads like a memoir. Tiffany McDaniel took inspiration for writing Betty from the story of her mother’s life. The daughter of a Cherokee father and a white mother living in the mid 1950s, Betty’s life is filled with tragedy and loss.

This was such a hard book for me to finish. Reading Betty left me emotionally and physically drained. It’s not an easy read, it’s a story that is filled with tragic events and loss surrounding a numerous family struggling to survive in America in the mid 50s. The book does an incredible job in painting the rural life of a family at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains struggling to keep their Cherokee roots and traditions in a society filled with racism and discrimination. We can see the struggles especially from Betty and her father, Landon, whom are constantly ostracized for their ways of thinking and acting. What I loved about Landon was how much he refused to let go of his culture and how much he tried to instill pride of his roots in his daughter Betty, whom, because she takes after her father so much, is the one who suffers from racism the most, even from her own family members.

Like I said, a hard book to read most of the times because nothing ever seems to go well for our characters, especially for Betty. There is no respite for any of these family members. I kept waiting for the silver lining of the story but as the pages went on the darker they got. I don’t know if this is one of those books where you take something out of the story or you are left with a feeling of content. It’s one of those experiences you wish you didn’t have to go through, just like you wish the things happening to the characters weren’t things that occured in our real world to so many people. The racism suffered by Betty and her father for their Cherokee blood, the intergenerational trauma, the constant violence against the women of this family by men who were supposed to care for them and protect them, and the unjust treatment from society against anyone who broke the mold or was different from the ‘american stereotype’ are some of the things that Betty sheds a light on.

Tiffany McDaniel writing strength is clearly her purple prose filled with visual imagery. Telling the story of an entire generation and bringing each single character to life with such vibrant personalities is not an easy task, and yet McDaniel excelled in that department as well. I loved her debut novel ‘The Summer That Melted Everything’, so it’s no secret I’m a fan of her writing style but this book was hard for me to digest, suffocating at times, hence the rating. I wish we could have seen more of those joyful moments in Betty’s life or at least know that after those bleak last couple of chapters she went on to have a wonderous life, but the book ended without us readers being able to enjoy that pinch of happiness for a character whose life was filled with nothing but tragedy. And to finish this review off, I’d like to add another quote, tho as simple as it is, it strikes home for many of us:


  
    ‘You know what the heaviest thing in the world is, Betty? It’s a man on top of you when you don’t want him to be.’
  


*ARC provided by Knopf Doubleday Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Betty A Novel

Reviews

Highlights