Rural South

The stories in Sleepovers take place in various unnamed small towns in the rural Southern region of the United States. The author is from North Carolina, and she depicts these settings with the accuracy and realism of a long-time native. These small towns are places where all of the residents seem to know one another and often gossip about each other's lives, but also look after one another. The latter quality is most evident in "The Chopping Block," when the narrator breaks into a home to see her father's butcher block and the couple that lives there recognizes her and offers to take her home instead of calling the police.

Both "The Country Woman" and "The Hunting Lodge" feature characters that have recently returned to rural hometowns after living in the city for years and are dealing with loneliness and culture shock. Many of the characters are...