Plucked and Burned is a fictionalized account of the tragedy in the daily lives of contract growers and processing plant workers in their community’s struggle against a poultry integrator. Included revelations are murder, suicide, poisoning, poverty, and more. This book is not for the squeamish. There is plenty of name-calling, and enough descriptions of chicken abuse to turn the stomach of readers - even if they aren’t PETA people.

Having said that, this is an important book - in fact, readers will probably never look at another chicken dinner or think about a farmer the same way again. These are good things, because we take both of these things for granted. This is what Author Sylvia Tomlinson is trying to let everyone know. She does this by a remarkable amount of good research and attention to detail.

As for the storyline, it is excellent. The plot of the novel keeps you guessing until the last minute. The characters are fleshed out and multi-dimensional. Readers really care about even the secondary characters because they are so well-written. The dialogue is authentic without being condescending.

Plucked and Burned is an important book and is recommended for those who have a social conscience or just like a good story.