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Cold Sassy Tree is a classic novel written by Olive Ann Burns. It is a fictional work, however based on some true historic events and a town by a different name.

Will Tweedy is the main character and the story evolves from the death of his grandmother in the beginning of the book to his grandfather hastily remarrying to a much younger woman (a Yankee!), ignoring the entire towns disapproval. Will is an adventurous young boy and has a couple of near death experiences in the book and also struggles to understand the complexities of social etiquette along with religion and death.

I highly recommend reading! I particularly like stories from the South based in the early 1900's, so if that is your style too, you will like this book.

Olive Ann Burns also started writing a sequel called "Leaving Cold Sassy", however she passed away before finishing it. It was published and her editor attempted to finish it based on her knowledge of Olive's wishes. Sadly, it leaves a little to be desired, however I enjoyed it just the same and am sad that Olive didn't have the chance to finish it.

I read this book years ago and I really, really enjoyed it. I also like books that take place in the South during the early twentieth century--they have a certain charm about them, don't they? I didn't know that the author was writing a sequel and it's a shame that she passed away prior to finishing it. I can imagine that it wouldn't quite be the same as the first book, seeing as someone else had to finish it, but I'm interested in reading it anyway.