Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt

In Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt, Remy Walker has just graduated from high school and now must make some major decisions about his life. His family has always lived on Walker Mountain in West Virginia. It is not an easy life, living in a trailer with unreliable plumbing and his father mining and selling coal by the pickup load. But Remy has never known any other life and unlike most of the people in his small town, he does not dream of living elsewhere. He has a job working as a mechanic at the filling station and he is content.

However, it is "funny how things change, Remy's girlfriend Lisa is going away to college in Pennsylvania and she wants Remy to go with her. He doesn’t plan to go to college, but they could share an apartment and he could find a job while she is at school. The idea of not being with her makes him sick. But so does the idea of leaving his home. He once went to live with his mother in Virginia Beach, but he didn’t like it, missing his mountain and way of life more than he thought was possible. Can he really follow Lisa?

To make things more complicated, a new girl has come to town. She is working on a government grant to paint murals on the water towers of small towns around West Virginia. Through Dana’s eyes, Remy sees the beauty of where he lives and struggles with making a decision.

When we get a certain age, we all must make decisions about our futures and whether we choose home or adventure? New or Old? Love or Family? This is a great novel that explores these struggles.