In this spellbinding debut, Velva Jean Hart finds true love-and then risks everything to follow her dreams. Set in Appalachia in the years before World War II, Velva Jean Learns to Drive is a poignant story of a spirited young girl growing up in the gold-mining and moonshining South. Before she dies, Velva Jeans mother urges her to live out there in the great wide world In this spellbinding debut, Velva Jean Hart finds true love-and then risks everything to follow her dreams. Set in Appalachia in the years before World War II, Velva Jean Learns to Drive is a poignant story of a spirited young girl growing up in the gold-mining and moonshining South. Before she dies, Velva Jeans mother urges her to live out there in the great wide world. Velva Jean dreams of becoming a big-time singer in Nashville until she falls in love with Harley Bright, a handsome juvenile delinquent turned revival preacher. As their tumultuous love story unfolds, Velva Jean must choose between keeping her hard-won home and pursuing her dream of singing in the Grand Ole Opry.