After hearing so many great things about Big Stone Gap, I am glad to say it lived up to it's reputation. This is a quiet, charming story of small town life with a nice blend of universal truths about life. The author does an excellent job of presenting a lot of real personality types that we've all had to deal with. Trigiani is quite insightful in human traits and attitudes that can help us all get through life a little more easily. It was enjoyable to watch as Ave Maria learned so much about herself through the discoveries she made and how she learned to find herself and a place she was comfortable with in Big Stone Gap. I look forward to reading the sequel, Big Cherry Holler.