Anne Hull

When I read the review of this book from the NYT I tagged it as one I’d like to read. Then my husband surprised me by buying tickets to hear the author speak when we were down in St. Petersburg, Florida. The tickets came with a book. Anne Hull was charming and funny, and I spent the rest of the week’s vacation reading this unique story.

Hull grew up in and around Plant City, Florida, smack in the middle of the state, in the 1960s and 70s. Her father was an orange grower - they owned 13 acres - and we meet Anne at about age 6, shortly before she entered school, riding shotgun with her father while he inspected the groves. Hull is able to give us an understanding of what central Florida was like before Disney and others began developing it. It sounds miserable to me - mosquitos, gators, poverty. Hull spends a good amount of time describing life for this little 6-year-old girl, both in the wild groves and at home. Her parents’ marriage was slowly unraveling, mainly due to her father’s alcoholism. Eventually her parents divorced, and her mother remarried - another unfortunate marriage. The result of this tumult was that Anne and her brother (Dwight/Jim) had to make their way in the world. This was complicated by Anne’s discovery that she was gay - not an easy thing to deal with in central Florida in that era.

The book is filled with details that make it so memorable. Beautifully written. I’m hoping there’s a sequel coming soon.… (más)