Velva Jean Learns to Drive

This debut novel from Jennifer Niven introduces Velva Jean, a young woman growing up in Appalachia during the Great Depression, just before World War II. Inspired by her mother's words to "live out there in the great wide world," Velva Jean harbors a deep ambition to become a big-time singer in Nashville. Her journey is complicated by an intense, ill-fated romance with Harley Bright, a former juvenile delinquent turned preacher. The story explores her coming-of-age as she grapples with difficult choices, balancing her desire for a hard-won home with her dreams of performing at the Grand Ole Opry. It's a big-hearted story about finding happiness and forging one's own path.

The New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places—soon to be a Netflix film starring Elle Fanning—presents a coming-of-age debut about ill-fated love during the Great Depression—and what it means to be a woman with ambition. Velva Jean’s mother urged her to “live out there in the great wide world,” and growing up in Appalachia in the years before World War II, Velva Jean dreams of becoming a big-time singer in Nashville. Then she falls in love with Harley Bright, a handsome juvenile delinquent turned revival preacher. As their tumultuous love story unfolds, Velva Jean must choose between keeping her hard-won home and pursuing her dream of singing in the Grand Ole Opry. Like All the Bright Places, hailed as a “charming love story about [an] unlikely and endearing pair” (New York Times Book Review), Jennifer Niven’s debut novel is a big-hearted story about the struggle to find happiness.