What People Are Saying About Leslie Goetsch's
"Back Creek"

“With a sure hand and a generous heart, Leslie Goetsch lovingly depicts the land, the water, and the inhabitants of Back Creek, a fictional town on Virginia's Eastern Shore, in the summer of 1975. Finely wrought prose, keen observation, and a compellingly authentic voice make this a thoroughly memorable, engaging, and enjoyable read.”
—MARGARET MEACHAM, AUTHOR OF OYSTER MOON AND A MID-SEMESTER NIGHT'S DREAM

“Teenage girls will identify with Grace, Back Creek's down-to-earth protagonist, as she struggles with family secrets, a boy's mixed signals, and her own uncertainties. Grace's perceptive yet innocent personality makes her a believable and endearing character who will engage readers and have them hoping she can find her way amidst the confusion of growing up.”
—PEALE IGLEHART, 17, BALTIMORE, MD

“It is Grace that takes you there, and it is Grace that will see you through. The journey to Back Creek, a small enclave in Tidewater Virginia where families have lived for generation upon generation, is told by Grace Barnett, the youngest and only functional member of her otherwise dysfunctional family. Her mother disappears from time to time, ostensibly to care for an ailing aunt, while her father is often at home in a semi-drunken or totally drunken state. Cal, their closest neighbor and Grace's only real friend, is a Vietnam veteran haunted by the war. Except for a mysterious suicide, all seems to be going along as usual until her sister Lillian turns up with unsettling news. The stories of Back Creek will hold your interest from the first sentence to the last and make clear why Grace must ultimately leave the creek she loves. ‘Floating along the surface’ might be okay for others, but it is not okay for Grace.” 
—JANICE A. MOORE, DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES, ROLAND PARK COUNTRY SCHOOL

“I loved Back Creek! The author beautifully captured the easy rhythm of life in a Tidewater tributary community. The natural setting, combined with a story of self-discovery, kept me reading late into the night. I couldn't stop until I finished.”
—KATHY RICHARDSON, TEACHER, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA

“A Chesapeake coming of age story whose spunky, bookish heroine, Grace, over one dramatic summer, arrives at a new understanding of her unruly family and a new awareness of her own possibilities.” 
—RACHEL EISLER, FORMER CHAIR, THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL

"With Back Creek, first-time author Leslie Goetsch instantly proves herself to be a writer to watch. In a seductive and assured narrative voice, Goetsch weaves a rich tapestry about a Tidewater Virginia family that, like other equally memorable Southern generational sagas, finds its lifesource in the inexplicability of tragedy and the profound mysteries of the human heart. Carefully observed and deeply felt, Back Creek calls to mind the early work of Pat Conroy, as well as Beth Henley's Southern-sisters classic, Crimes of the Heart, yet manages to stand out all on its own. An accomplished and impressive debut."
—JOHN ROWELL, AUTHOR OF THE MUSIC OF YOUR LIFE

Read More About the Book

To order “Back Creek”

Click the button below or to purchase your book(s) by phone, call Bancroft’s toll-free number at 800-637-7377. If, for some reason, no live person answers, leave your message in the Voicemail address for “Ordering,” and someone will respond within 24 hours.