Jolene

Elemental Masters, Book 15

By: Mercedes Lackey

Narrated by: Zura Johnson

Anna May Jones is the daughter of a coal miner, but a sickly constitution has kept her confined to the house for most of her life. Hoping to improve her daughter's health—and lessen the burden on their family—Anna's mother sends her to live with her Aunt Jinny, a witchy-woman and an Elemental Master, in a holler outside of Ducktown.

As she settles into her new life, Anna learns new skills at Aunt Jinny's side and discovers that she, too, has a gift for Elemental magic that Jinny calls "the Glory." She also receives lessons from a mysterious and bewitching woman named Jolene, who assures her that, with time, Anna could become even more powerful than her aunt.

But with Anna's increasing power comes increasing notice. Billie McDaran, the foreman of the Ducktown mine, begins to take an interest in Anna and her abilities—even though Anna has already fallen in love with a young man with a talent for stonecarving.

If she wants to preserve the life she has come to love, Anna must use her newfound powers to oppose the foreman and protect those around her.

©2020 Mercedes Lackey (P)2024 Tantor

Nice change of pace for the Elemental Masters series

Set in eastern Tennessee with an excellent narrator, this story combines the mining history of the region with the classic fairy tale elements of this series. My folks retired in that area, and the descriptions and narration brought me right back there.

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene….

If you like the elemental masters series, this one will surprise you, move you and simply delight you.
The narrators performs is a delight of accents and emotions. And it made me miss the Appalachian trails. The modern idioms might vary slightly but if you ever been in a Holler… Well yall know…

A Different Kind of Hillbilly Elegy

As a different kind of telling of the Dolly Parton song "Jolene" this was well done and interesting. The setting in the coal mining areas of Tennessee highlighted an era in our history rife with abuses of the coal miners, their families, and the environment... plus the ruthlessly unfair treatment of the Cherokee nation. It also shows the strength of kin bonds and the honor of members of the comunity--be they neighbors, merchants, or the hidden Cherokee in the next holler. Add the elemental magic into the mix and it makes a good if different addition to the Elemental Masters series.

My biggest complaint is the singular use of the word y'all. As a Southerner I cringed every time the word was used this way--and it was used very often! My father was from the hills of tennessee and I have lived in many states in the South and no one I have ever encountered used y'all when addressing one person. My Tennessee granny was born in 1898 and never used y'all except when talking to or about more than one person. Listening to this audio either made me cringe at the misuse or confused me when there were multiple people in the scene but the y'all was addressed to only one person. Perhaps there is a pocket of people somewhere in the South who misuse the contraction y'all--which means "you all"--but I've never met them. I'd like to recommend this one to my friends--it is pretty much stand alone and there is no need to have read the other books--but I'll have to warn them of the way y'all is used... many will give it a pass for that reason I'm afraid.

One of the best in the series

I have always loved how Mercedes Lackey uses Slavic folklore to supplement her amazing fantasy. This is a really fun blend of Slavic folklore, Native American folklore, and the themes from other books in the elemental masters series. This one is my new favorite!

Great story of Elemental Mastery for the new world.

Great storyline and merging of original Elemental Masters of Europe with the new world(North America). I only had a problem with the soft voice of the narrator and had to turn up my volume to far over exceeded limits to hear the book read. Anticipating the next book in the series once it is published.

a story crafted from a song

I loved this story crafted around the song Jolene. The food they prepared reminded me of being at my great grandmother'sbhouse sitting in her kitchen. The accents made me smile and the story was fantasruc!

Another creative elemental novel

The elemental novels are my favorite of Mercedes Lackey novels. Her first were in Europe, Jolene is in the Tennessee mountains, the perfect setting for an earth elemental. You can easily picture all of the tiny elementals pulled to the earth elementals in the Tennessee forests. The terrible effect the mining has on the environment and on the earth elementals living near the mines. That a sickly child is sent to her Aunt who is an elemental and healer who lives in an area that has not been destroyed by the mines. We see her grow and thrive with her aunt as she also learns new skills as she is a strong elemental. Of course there is an evil 😈 elemental who works for a nearby mine. There is also a diary from her great grandfather who was sent to America by Russian and European Elementals to help in the new lands. All over a great read. Narration adds to the tale

Jolene

As always Ms Lackey captures the imagination and the heart of the reader. Though the beginning seems like the story may be a tragedy, it ends in a victory that brings tears to the eyes.!
I would recommend this book for all readers from preteen up. 😇

Spoiler alert!

I do hope Ms. Lackey spoke to Dolly Parton about the last chapter of this story before publishing it. I enjoyed the song and the book as fairytale fodder.