Demon Copperhead

By Barbara Kingsolver,

Book cover of Demon Copperhead

Book description

Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

54 authors picked Demon Copperhead as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I loved the voice of this narrator. I was stunned by the skill Kingsolver has in creating a vivid, believable, unique character. Despite Demon continuously getting kicked in the head – actually and figuratively – I rooted for him and believed him capable of rising above his circumstances.

How she is able to seamlessly capture social injustice, environmental issues, and political nonsense without ever hitting the reader over the head is nothing short of genius.

This book combines the work of two of my favorite authors. Barbara Kingsolver weaves a powerful tale of a young boy raised in poverty by a single mother in Appalachia amid the opioid epidemic.

The story structure, characters, and Demon’s resilience in the face of multiple challenges mimic the Charles Dickens classic David Copperfield, one of my all-time favorite books.

I chose not to put this 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner first on my list simply because everyone else already has.

I have loved Kingsolver’s writing from her very first non-fiction essays. So, what can I add? Except to say that this is a book for the ages:  the enthralling journey of a southern Appalachian orphan. A tale of fortitude and redemption, the modern David Copperfield.

I’ve read it three times, finding more depth each time. Kingsolver balances pain, pathos, humor, insight, and resilience—all the facets of humanity—in the compelling character of Damon.

From Sarah's list on the strength of the human spirit.

Let Evening Come

By Yvonne Osborne,

Book cover of Let Evening Come

Yvonne Osborne Author Of Let Evening Come

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on a family farm surrounded by larger vegetable and dairy operations that used migrant labor. From an early age, my siblings and I were acquainted with the children of these workers, children whom we shared a school desk with one day and were gone the next. On summer vacations, our parents hauled us around in a station wagon with a popup camper, which they parked in out-of-the-way hayfields and on mountainous plateaus, shunning, much to our chagrin, normal campgrounds, and swimming pools. Thus, I grew up exposed to different cultures and environments. My writing reflects my parents’ curiosity, love of books and travel, and devotion to the natural world. 

Yvonne's book list on immersive coming-of-age fiction with characters struggling to find themselves amidst the isolation and bigotry in Indigenous, rural, and minority communities

What is my book about?

After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through young adulthood. Miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are displaced from their land by multinational energy companies. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie’s aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program.

Stefan promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his story, has grown sympathetic to his cause and complicit in his pushback against prejudiced accusations. Their mutual attraction is stymied when Stefan’s older brother, Joachim, who stayed behind, becomes embroiled in the resistance, and Stefan is compelled to return to Canada. Sadie, concerned for his safety, impulsively follows on a trajectory doomed by cultural misunderstanding and oncoming winter.

Let Evening Come

By Yvonne Osborne,

What is this book about?

After her mother is killed in a rare Northern Michigan tornado, Sadie Wixom is left with only her father and grandfather to guide her through the pitfalls of young adulthood.
Hundreds of miles away in western Saskatchewan, Stefan Montegrand and his Indigenous family are forced off their land by multinational energy companies and flawed treaties. They are taken in temporarily by Sadie's aunt, a human rights activist who heads a cultural exchange program.
Stefan, whose own father died in prison while on a hunger strike, promptly runs afoul of local authority, but Sadie, intrigued by him and captivated by his…


I loved this book because Demon, the main character, touched me. As soon as I finished, I listened to it again, just to keep him and his perspective in my life.

Demon made me feel poverty on a visceral level that will prevent me from blaming anyone who has found themselves caught in it. His child’s voice was innocent, believable, humorous, and poignant at the same time. He taught me about patience and compassion toward people who are hurting you.

Never have I better understood the quicksand of poverty, how hard it is to get out of, the vicious cycle…

I love Charles Dickens, so I could not resist this rewriting of my favorite of his novels. At first, however, I found it so bleak that I put it down. When a friend suggested that I should keep going, I decided to pick it back up as an audiobook.  

I ended up becoming extremely attached to the various characters in the book, especially Demon. And I saw connections between Kingsolver’s novel and the original David Copperfield, which were made in a way that I thought was brilliant. 

I lived in West Virginia for four years, so I appreciated the fact…

I loved the character Damon (nicknamed Demon) whose captivating coming-of-age story launched me on a roller coaster of emotion.

From the first sentence of the first page, I couldn’t put it down. His voice is poignant and unforgettable, and I silently cheered every achievement and mourned every setback as if they were my own as he struggles to escape addiction and the life he was born into.

While his story is the focal point of the novel, I learned much along the way about Appalachia, a neglected region of the country, and the depths of the opioid crisis which hits…

I loved this book because I saw in it how good kids without parents get lost in the sometimes cruel world and how these kids choose to do the wrong thing out of necessity, the need for love.

Like my own life, I saw how relatives and neighbors stand by and watch, unable or unwilling to help these tossed young souls who suffer and struggle to find their way. I could relate to Demon being willing to do almost anything to be loved, and how even when help is given, it can be retracted at any time. Knowing this is…

I hadn’t encountered any good stories about the current opioid epidemic before reading this book. A contemporary re-write of Dicken’s David Copperfield, this book faces it all: being an orphan, being pushed around in the care system, struggling in school, sliding into addiction.

I love how Kingsolver’s powerful fictional account makes a little bit more concrete what so many people in America and beyond are going through right now. This story is devastating, and there is no happy ending, but that is also the case for many of the real people currently struggling with addiction. 

I admit that I’m currently averse to reading anything too ‘heavy.’ The news of senseless violence, tragedy, and loss of life seems endless. Our country appears polarized beyond recognition and my year, for personal reasons, hasn’t been easy. I tend to tune out and shut off when overwhelmed. However, if anyone was going to open my eyes to America’s opioid epidemic, then I’m glad it was Barbara Kingsolver. 

Her characters are so real, so evolved, that you can’t help but route for, or despise them. I haven’t felt so connected to and empathic towards my fellow Americans in a long…

This book tells the sweeping story from childhood to young adulthood of Damon Fields, or Demon Copperhead as he is also known.

As the son of a single, drug-addicted mother in Appalachia, Demon faces a difficult life from the start. Following his mother’s death, he is left to struggle with poverty, addiction, abandonment, and prejudice from the larger society that has branded him a hillbilly. The book also hosts a large stable of secondary characters and interwoven stories that highlight the complex way of life in this geographic area.

Kingsolver tackles various harrowing issues with compassion and insight in this…

Want books like Demon Copperhead?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Demon Copperhead.

Browse books like Demon Copperhead

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in poverty, foster care, and Appalachia?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about poverty, foster care, and Appalachia.

Poverty Explore 90 books about poverty
Foster Care Explore 51 books about foster care
Appalachia Explore 47 books about Appalachia