Millie's ordinary life revolves around the kitchen, "a place where things simply made sense." Like the recurring bassline in a song, her hardscrabble routine lulls the reader into breakfast, lunch and dinner, washing dirty dishes, laundry and bodies, scrubbing tables, sinks and floors ... surviving the impoverished South in the late 1920s. But Millie is not ordinary, nor is the kitchen and its occupants, nor is the house and its guests. Abandoned at 16 with a baby, Middleton's heroine comes of age in a few short months through events that puncture her routine with unexpected circumstances. The writer's skill creates a time-true universe and the gift of a refreshing and deeply satisfying read. You'll taste the crispy fried catfish and hush puppies, smell the biscuits baking and hear the singing of gospel hymns as spunky Millie Martin Stapleton strives to make a better life for herself working in the kitchen of a whorehouse. And you will be rooting for her as she does the best she can, under the circumstances, to find a good life is possible, even when she stumbles a bit along the way. Full of humor and keen observations about Southern life in a much harder time, this novel will remind you that all things are possible for those who have faith and pursue their dreams. Kathryn Smith, author of "Baptists and Bootleggers: A Prohibition Expedition Through the South...with Cocktail Recipes" Under the Circumstances is a heartwarming tale of a gutsy teenage mother in 1920s Georgia. Poor and mostly alone in the world, Millie finds a home in a highly unlikely place. You'll cheer every triumph over obstacles to make a good life for herself and her baby. Lindy Keane Carter, author of "The Rice Birds"