Go Down the Mountain is set amidst the real-life drama of the confiscation of small mountain farms to form Shenandoah National Park. The protagonist, teenager Bee Livingston, lives in Livingston Holler, but when her father dies unexpectedly, she is left with an abusive mother and finds herself having to deal by herself with men who may or may not prove trustworthy. "The world that Battle creates is unnerving and enchanting in equal measure, and always utterly beguiling ... A vivacious, absorbing, and accomplished debut." - Kirkus Reviews. The author, Meredith Battle, is a native of Virginia who lives in a 200-year-old house in the Piedmont not far from the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Herndon, Virginia: Mascot Books, 2019. 219 pages. Trade paperback.