Sometimes oral storytelling traditions can't be properly captured in print. We had porch lies in my childhood too though that's not what we called it. If I hadn't had that tradition in my life, I might have appreciated this more, because her stories, the ones I read anyway, are very much in keeping with those tales told when folks get to jawing.

Unfortunately for me, what was missing was the critical element of live storytelling. The gestures, expressions, tones, dramatic pauses, and other physical elements that make the best storytellers the best. Everyone had a slew of uncles, aunties, and family friends who told more or less the same tales, but the art, the beauty, wasn't in the surprise of the story, but rather the telling. 

Because of that lack, this book isn't for me, but it could have a much more pleasing impact on a young reader who's never had the pleasure of hiding quietly near the porch on a hot summer night while peeking and listening in the hopes that the stories will keep anyone from noticing that your bedtime has come and gone.