This novel is about the Harlan family and their family
secrets as told by the teenage granddaughter, Anniston Harlan, “I thought I’d
lived through everything by the time I was thirteen.” It starts out with her
father and uncle killing one another, which leads to ‘Anni’ discovering the
real reason leading up to their deaths. “Instead, I wondered how it came to
pass that two brothers---one of them my daddy---were dead. I wondered which
came first---the hate or the crime? I wondered if Cain always hated Abel, or if
the hate that caused brother to kill brother happens in a flash of evil.
Mostly, I wondered what I would do after the red clay covered my daddy and if
any of us would ever recover.” The tale describes how abuse is dealt with
inside a small Southern Alabama community.
Anni gives clear description of her feelings throughout the story, “…Sin
settled in the boughs of [the] Harlan family years ago, and now the boughs were
breaking….And yet I wonder what life might be like if we all knew the pain that
lay beneath each others’ sleeves.”
One of the characters, Ernestine, their family’s Haitian
nanny of thirty-five years, always had a different anecdote for all situations:
“Before you laugh at those who limp, check the way you walk….God says, Do your
part, and I’ll do mine….Words have wings.” I enjoyed each little epigram placed
at the beginning of each chapter. They give cause for thought.
The story itself is compelling and thought provoking. It
also gives way to feel compassion for Anni and how she handles numerous circumstances.
The author, Amy Sorrells has added Book Club Questions at the end, along with
an Author interview. Included are recipes from Bay Spring and the Harlan Family
and Friends. I recommend this novel to teenagers and adults alike. They will
find it attention-grabbing and most definitely enjoy the bonus recipes.
(I received this book from
David C. Cook Publishers for review purposes only)
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