Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Author Daniel Woodrell was born in Springfield, Missouri and graduated from KU before heading over to the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He currently lives in the Ozarks and this is his second book to be adapted to film. The main character, Ree Dolly, is a scrappy teenager who works hard to care for her two younger brothers and their mentally ill mother. Her father who cooks meth for a living has dissappeared and if he doesn't show up for his court date the bondsman will own their home. The dysfunctional families that surround Ree seem too horrific to believe but something tells me they do indeed exist. Ree's attempts to find her father and do what she has to do to get things done makes it hard to put this book down. Reminded me of an especially brutal Oprah pick.