Book Beginnings - Icy Sparks

Book Beginnings is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the first sentence (or so) of a book you are currently reading, along with your initial thoughts and impressions about the sentence or book. Remember to include the title of the book and the author AND link up at the Rose City Reader

Matanni, my grandmother, said it began deep inside my mama's womb, when she was pregnant with me. Mama ate those little green crab apples that grew beside the toolshed. She ate oodles of them, popped them into her mouth like rock candy, crunched, and swallowed one right after another until not one was left to ripen on the tree. "Green apples ain't no baby's nourishment,"she said, "but in the beginning they was all your mama could hold down." 

Wow, it's been a while since I've done a book beginning...because I haven't opened a new book in a really long time. I'm trying to finish out my reading year casually and without pressure in the holiday season. But this year is almost over, and next year will be an even better reading year. So I'm starting my first book for 2013 next week: Icy Sparks. It's my 'January' read for the Monthly Keyword Challenge. 

I love this beginning from the prologue. Everyone knows you're not supposed to eat crab apples--at least that's what I was told as a kid. They make you sick, right? I've actually never eaten one because I was told they're bitter and full of worms. But they were tempting as a child...those little cute green apples growing everywhere. So I think it's such an interesting angle that they were the only thing this pregnant woman could eat.