In this masterful new novel, set in 1950s North Carolina, the acclaimed author of The Road to Bittersweet and The Education of Dixie Dupree brings to life an unforgettable young heroine and a moving story of family love tested to its limits. For twelve-year-old Martha “Sonny” Creech, there is no place more beautiful than her family’s cotton farm. She, her two brothers, and her parents work … farm. She, her two brothers, and her parents work hard on their land—hoeing, planting, picking—but only Sonny loves the rich, dark earth the way her father does. When a tragic accident claims his life, her stricken family struggles to fend off ruin—until their rich, reclusive neighbor offers to help finance that year’s cotton crop.
Sonny is dismayed when her mama accepts Frank Fowler’s offer; even more so when Sonny’s best friend, Daniel, points out that the man has ulterior motives. Sonny has a talent for divining water—an ability she shared with her father and earns her the hated nickname “water witch” in school. But uncanny as that skill may be, it won’t be enough to offset Mr. Fowler’s disturbing influence in her world. Even her bond with Daniel begins to collapse under the weight of Mr. Fowler’s bigoted taunts. Though she tries to bury her misgivings for the sake of her mama’s happiness, Sonny doesn’t need a willow branch to divine that a reckoning is coming, bringing with it heartache, violence—and perhaps, a fitting and surprising measure of justice.
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Captivating Historical Fiction, Unforgettable Characters
Donna Everhart has once again achieved the difficult task of expertly weaving light into a dark story, this one rooted in a 1950s cotton farm where, much like the delicate bolls in the the fields, uncontrollable circumstances can shred vulnerable fibers overnight. In THE FORGIVING KIND, we come to know the family of feisty Sonny Creech, a devoted daughter who has inherited her father’s gift of dowsing water, and her best friend Daniel, with whom she conjures scenes from his favorite movies. One of the things I admire most about Everhart’s storytelling is her ability to write flawed characters, especially the heroes. Readers will undoubtedly identify with the self-centric twelve-year-old who wants what she wants, brushing away the potential risks to her best friend, and feel empathy for a mother who needs so badly to believe she’s making the best choice for her children that she handicaps her own intuition.
This North Carolina farming community is infected with neighbors who wield powers of intimidation and physical abuse under the cowardly hoods of bigoted ideology. The author has done her research and perfectly captures the hardscrabble farming life, the cancerous growth of power cultivated in evil hands, and, much like the water below the surface, the indiscriminate nature of bounty vs lack. Everhart tenderly midwifes the debilitating weight of regret into the liberating fullness of forgiveness, both of others and self.
I did like this book. I live in the area of the setting, and could relate to some of the action. However, was a bit confused by some of the places named.
Author : Donna Everhart
The Forgiving Kind
351 pages
5
Set in 1950s North Carolina
For twelve-year-old Martha “Sonny” Creech, there is no place more beautiful than her family’s cotton farm. She, her two brothers, and her parents work hard on their land—hoeing, planting, picking—but only Sonny loves the rich, dark earth the way her father does. When a tragic accident claims his life, her stricken family struggles to fend off ruin—until their rich, reclusive neighbor offers to help finance that year’s cotton crop.
Sonny is dismayed when her mama accepts Frank Fowler’s offer; even more so when Sonny’s best friend, Daniel, points out that the man has ulterior motives. Sonny has a talent for divining water—an ability she shared with her father and earns her the hated nickname “water witch” in school. But uncanny as that skill may be, it won’t be enough to offset Mr. Fowler’s disturbing influence in her world. Even her bond with Daniel begins to collapse under the weight of Mr. Fowler’s bigoted taunts. Though she tries to bury her misgivings for the sake of her mama’s happiness, Sonny doesn’t need a willow branch to divine that a reckoning is coming, bringing with it heartache, violence—and perhaps, a fitting and surprising measure of justice.
My Review
This is the first Donna Everhart book I have read – but not my last!! I found the story very interesting and the writing well done. Good character development and an easy to follow story line. She delivers a wonderfully well written story that is heart breaking . It drew me in so much that I refused to put this book down until I read the last page. I started and finished this book all in one day. The cover is also very beautiful .I’m really glad I read it because now I have a new author to follow from my home state of N.C.
The author has a wonderful writing style and she WILL draw you in and keep your attention and not let go. If you have not read one of her books you really should. This one will stay with me a long time. As always if you like the book you read please take the time to leave a review for the author in places like goodreads & Amazon. It does not have to be long. Just a few sentences saying you liked the book will do. Authors really appreciate every review they get !
is always such a delight to listen to a book by Donna I absolutely love this book!
Very good read. Highly recommend
I loved reading this book and immediately recommended it to a family member. I spent a lot of my childhood in this part of N.C. growing up, visiting relatives. My father grew up in the area on a cotton farm. I loved the authenticity, the language and the coming of age story. The Klan activity was sadly a part of the culture of the people of this area, as well as other parts of the south. The author tells a great story.
The Forgiving Kind is an emotion coming of age story that is set in the 1950’s in the South.
The characters were well developed . I enjoyed reading about Sonny and her entire story.
The story writing was so detailed and descriptive the characters and the story popped off the pages, which I read a fast pace. I especially enjoyed the dialogue written between the characters.
This is a story that made me happy, sad, cry , and angry all at the same time. It was a wonderful journey and I highly recommend this book.
I will be honest. I started to give this book a 3 star rating. But, after I finished, and continued to think on it, I changed that to a 4 star rating. Why did I do this? Because, after reflecting more on the book, I could see just why the author wrote what she did, why she created the characters the way she did, and why it was actually a really gripping novel.
The characters. Oh how I loved them, and some, I loved to hate! As a mama myself, I could feel the emotions that Sonny’s mama went through. As a daughter, I hated the feeling. As a reader, I was in awe of the amount of feelings I could go through with Sonny and her family. I smiled, I cried, I wanted to throw the book a time or two when Frank was centered on.
That said, the plot line, albeit a raw, emotion, sometimes tender filled one, was slow. That’s what threw me off in the beginning and made me want to give it a 3 star rating. I struggled to get into the book, I struggled to finish it. I am more of a fast-paced kinda gal. But, I pushed through, I conquered, I endured, and I am happy to be able to reflect and learn from this Southern Fiction novel.
Overall, this is a book I can say is worthy of 4 stars. If you are looking for a talented author who created a Southern Fiction novel that will make your heart both happy and hurt at the same time, then grab this one up. If you are looking for a book that is centered around family, even a misguided, broken one, then this is one you need to grab. You’ll be seeking forgiveness, you’ll be holding tight to those you love, and you’ll become a new fan of Everhart’s. Despite the slowness of the story, I am looking forward to reading more of this author’s work!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kensington Publishing Company and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*Donna Everhart
Do you ever wonder how an author comes up with a story that will invoke every emotion there is possible within the reader? A story that is warm and beautiful, dark and terrifying, a story full of goodness and evil, love and hate? A story that is breath-taking? Donna Everhart did it with her newest book THE FORGIVING KIND. I read the last page, closed the book, took a deep breath and thought “How did she do it?”
THE FORGIVING KIND took me back to my childhood days. A time that was carefree. Growing up in a rural area I am very familiar with the sights and smells and tastes Donna describes in this beautiful book. Even the characters’ dialogue brought back childhood memories. “No honey, I ain’t seen hide nor hair of it.” I was awed with the imagery she paints with her words – “freshly plowed soil looks like that rich chocolate powder Mama uses for baking.”
In 1955, the Creeches were a fairly typical farming family in rural North Carolina. Their main source of income was their cotton crop. Twelve-year-old Sonny and her brother Ross loved working in the cotton fields. Their brother Trent wasn’t quite as enamored with farming. Then one day their idyllic life comes to an end.
When Sonny’s father dies the family fights to save their farm. No longer able to get a line of credit they are unable to buy the seedlings needed to plant their next crop. Their seemingly magnanimous neighbor Mr. Fowler steps in to assist. But Sonny, Ross, and Trent soon learn that Fowler presents one face to their mother and a vastly different one to them.
In her author’s note, Everhart writes “for all of the idyllic living, the Southern hospitality, the genteel way of life, intolerance and narrow-mindedness can still be found”. This is heartbreakingly evidenced in the character Daniel, Sonny’s closest friend.
This is a story sure to remain in your heart and mind long after the last page has been read and the book placed aside. The characters have become a part of you, embraced and taken lovingly into your forgiving heart.
This remarkable book brings childhood on a cotton farm in 1950s North Carolina vividly to life. In Sonny’s compulsively readable narrator’s voice, I found that I could see, smell, and “feel” her surroundings, emotions and experiences. I could easily and happily read another 350+ pages written in her voice! I loved the story and the way it was told, even though there are some parts that made me so angry and some that made me feel broken. It captures the way that children’s lives are so reliant on the decisions, actions and fate of their parents and the adults in their life, and it boldly confronts many harsh realities of the south at this time in our country’s history. This is the first of Donna Everhart’s books that I’ve read – I am thankful that I have two others to catch up on while she is working on her fourth!
Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishers and the author Donna Everhart for this ARC.
This book took off from the very beginning and didn’t let go at all. It kept me captivated and wanting more. The descriptions were so realistic that I felt I was there. The love in this family was so kind and tender and sweet that it made what came later made it even worse. Sonny, the daughter, was such a free spirited young girl. She didn’t mind hard work at all. She loved her family deeply and completely. Even Trent, her brother, who tended to pick on her at times. But all three children were there for each other no matter what.
When their daddy was taken from them so suddenly, their mother was so lost without him and things just kept getting worse. She was suddenly raising three children totally on her own, with no job and bills everywhere. She could not get the seeds for growing cotton that would have been given to her husband. A point I noticed and took that it was because she was a woman. Even though the store owner knew she would pay him when the crops came in.
The reclusive neighbor, Frank Fowler, who I already didn’t like, came and offered to help them out. More to help out the mother than the children. He didn’t seem to have any empathy for them or their loss of a daddy that they loved dearly. He was pure evil in my opinion and I was very afraid of what he was up to from the start. Even when he made fun of Sonny about her ability for finding water. The way he treated her and her daddy when they found water on his own land for him. I did love how their daddy handled him.
When Frank Fowler convinced Ms Creech to let him help, things went from bad to worse. So much worse. He was so filled with hate and bigotry. He was not at all kind to the children. It was like they were in his way. But how he treated Daniel, and Sonny was the straw that did me in. He was so cruel. So full of hate and for children. 12 year old children at that. Frank Fowler was just a very cruel to the bone person. I hate cruelty and thought this author addressed it perfectly. She did a great job of describing events from that era.
I loved the characters in this book, except for Frank Fowler. Him I truly hated and won’t forget for a time to come. The abuse he put this this family through was unforgivable. I was a tiny bit angry at her for putting her children through this but also understood why she accepted help from the jerk. She felt she didn’t have a choice. She was overwhelmed with the bills, feeding her children, keeping their farm. She did what she thought was the best. She didn’t realized the extend of Frank Fowler’s evil ways or the fact that he just did not like her children at all. I felt bad for her in the end so much. But I also applauded her. I can’t tell you why because it would give away part of the story. But trust me, she is a strong woman when she has to be.
My heart broke bad for Daniel and Sonny’s friendship. I cried so hard at the ending of this book. For two reasons. You’ll have to read it to see why. It’s a very good, touching story of things that happened in the South in the mid 1950s. I am glad that for the most part this country is not still that bad. Though in some places it is and that is unbelievable considering we are in the 21st century.
The end of the book has an Author’s Note that is a must read. It explains a lot and is another part that brought tears to my eyes. The fact that things were so bad in the 1050s and I agree with the author in what she wrote here. It was spot on and yes you did a great job of telling what happened in those times. It was something that really needed to be addressed and you Ms Everhart did it beautifully.
This book will touch your heart. It will make you very sad and so very angry. It will bring hope in the end that forgiveness is possible. I loved it from start to finish. The title is perfect. It’s a bit of a roller coaster ride that will keep you wanting more.
A definite 5 stars and in this one I think we could be allowed to give more stars. It was well written. Told in a way that you felt every feeling. Felt the beauty of the land and the family. The evil in Frank Fowler and the sadness in Daniel and Sonny. The anger in Ross and Trent and the love of a mother for her children. I think this is my favorite book by Donna Everhart for sure. At least for now.
One thing that touched me in this book was at the very end: All that mattered was Daniel had sent me a sign by way of a tiny, twinkling light, an offer of forgiveness, and for me, that little light was big as the night sky above us.
That touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes….
This is a beautifully written story of a family in rural North Carolina the 1950’s. Sonny and her family own a cotton farm. When her dad tragically dies, her family doesn’t have the money for this years crop. Sonny’s mom takes help from their neighbor Frank Fowler. He has ulterior motives by helping the family. This is a story of wonderful characters, a beautiful setting, and so many layers to the story. It is a story of love, forgiveness, and redemption. I reccieved an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Kensington Books. All opinions are my own.
I loved everything about Donna Everhart’s novel, “The Forgiving Kind”. “The Forgiving Kind” has all the ingredients of an amazing,intriguing,intense, captivating, riveting, enthralling and thought-provoking Novel. The Genres for this book are Fiction, Suspense, Mystery and History. The timeline for this book is set in the 1950’s in North Carolina. The “Forgiving Kind” has a flavor of “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
This is a coming of age story. It is a story of good and evil. It is a story of prejudice, bigotry, hatred and bias that existed in the 1950’s. It is a story of good people who farm the land, cotton and soil. It also is a story of survival, family, love and hope. The author describes her colorful cast of characters as complex, complicated, ignorant, good and evil, and dysfunctional.
Twelve year old Martha “Sonny” Creech loves working with the soil, and has inherited the skill of finding water from her deceased father. The other children make fun “Sonny” and call her a “water witch”. Sonny finds comfort with her friend Daniel, who has his own quirky personality and problems. Mrs. Creech and her two sons and Sonny are left in a financial dilemma when her husband dies. Mrs. Creech is forced to accept an offer of help from Frank Fowler a neighbor that has motives of his own. In order to survive, the Creech family has to grow cotton, pick it and sell it. Rumors are circulating that there will be a drought. How will the Creech family survive?
Sonny finds that there are some secrets in her family. Donna Everhart vividly describes the land, the soil, and the process of planting. There are twists and turns. It is a long hot summer and it is dangerous. If only certain people would get their just desserts.
I appreciate that the author discusses important issues as homosexuality, race, color, laws, bigotry and prejudice, ignorance, justice and hope. I highly recommend this important novel to those readers who enjoy a thought -provoking story.
THE FORGIVING KIND by Donna Everhart is a beautifully-written and compelling story of family, friendship, loss, survival and forgiveness. Set on a cotton farm in rural North Carolina in the 1950s, the story follows young Sonny Creech as her family suffers the tragic death of her beloved father and then struggles to keep afloat when drought hits the region and threatens to take away everything they have. Donna Everhart has once again written a riveting novel that brings the reader straight into setting with exquisite descriptions and expertly-portrayed characters. She has captured the very essence of time and place and the raw emotions of the characters, flawed as they are. Some of the subject matter is hard to read, but the story is told with such compassion and empathy that I couldn’t help but be totally invested in it from beginning to end. I loved this unforgettable novel of heartbreak, endurance and forgiveness and I recommend it most highly.
A divine, yet troublesome story…… of love, friendship, and life itself for one family’s quest of mere survival during the time of the 1950’s and it’s setting; North Carolina cotton-farming country.
A story so rich it flows like “honey over a biscuit” until tragedy and the threat of ruin take over.
Our protagonist, a twelve year old girl named “Sonny”, her brothers, Trent and Ross, all find themselves of not only finding their way in the world as children, but deep in the grips of tragedy with the need to survive so they may save themselves as well as two very special people that are near and dear to their hearts.
You will become emotionally invested in their exuberance, struggles, terror and triumphs.
Donna Everhart has written a masterful story with descriptions and characters so valuable, complex, yet so touching, that you feel as if you become an integral part of its storyline and all that is, The Creech Family.
A meaningful story that will immerse you into a time of true southern experiences as the good, the bad, and the ugly flow seamlessly throughout its pages.
I was fortunate enough to receive a signed, ARC copy from the acclaimed author herself in which I’m truly grateful for.
ARC
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When is 5 stars not enough? When a book transports readers to another time and place, a cotton farm in North Carolina in 1955, a brutally hot summer filled with drought and despair. When the story of a grieving family fills readers with anguish and heartache and fear and hope. When the author is able to get into the mind and motivations of a desperate mother; a narrow-minded devious man; a confused twelve-year-old boy; and, the heart of the story, Sonny Creech, a young girl who misses her old life as much as she’s trying with all her might to preserve a future for herself and her family. Donna Everhart has once again given readers a riveting story of survival, determination, persistence, and forgiveness. Readers will be compelled to turn pages…pulse-racing, heart-pounding, with a lump in their throat and tears in their eyes.
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. Donna Everhart has once again given us a young main character who in many ways is wise beyond her years as she tells us the story of her early years. The setting is rural NC in the 50s. The descriptions are so well done that you can feel the heat when the family is planting cotton and chopping weeds and you can feel the joy of the rain after a drought. The characters are so well done that you can feel their tiredness after a long day in the fields. you can feel their pain when their father dies and their fear of the person that they hated. You will know them so well that you’ll laugh with them and definitely cry with them as you cheer them on throughout the novel. In other words, this is a must read and I highly recommend it.
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As a farmer’s daughter growing up in the 1950’s, I really enjoyed reading The Forgiving Kind by Donna Everhart. The story centers around a twelve year old girl and the pitfalls that happen to her and her family. Losing her father , Martha “Sonny” Creech, her mother, and two older brothers try to work the cotton farm as their father would have if he were here. A neighbor, Frank Fowler, comes over, helps the family financially, and takes over their lives. What happens next has me engrossed with so many emotions while reading, i.e, love, hate, grief, loss, forgiveness. I loved the authors descriptions of farm life and how hard farming can be, so rewarding when good crops come in and despair when a farmer has a bad crop. I’m now a fan of Donna Everhart and look forward to reading more of her books!
Wonderful book, so well written. First I’ve read by this author, now the first of many.
The setting being in the South during the 1950’s – my homeland, the time period of my youth – and the mindset of the day – made this book very relatable for me.
Grit, determination, sacrifice, love, anguish, human frailty, and pure D evil are just a smattering of the emotions realistically portrayed by this novel’s characters in a small North Carolina cotton farming community.
Multiple powderkeg issues tackled with grace and compassion make this a read you won’t want to put down.
I highly recommend The Forgiving Kind.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about this one going into it however, after reading the first line I was immediately hooked.
“Daddy never wanted to do nothing much other than grow cotton, and the way he’d gone at it, we figured that would be the thing to kill him, but it wasn’t”
This is a story set in the 1950s in North Carolina that follows 12 yr old “Sonny” and her family on a cotton farm and what happens after her father passes away who ran the farm. Sonny and her brothers try to maintain the land after their dad dies, however a rich neighbor promises help and security for the farm and they can’t refuse. They soon find out that he isn’t what he seems and Sonny must fight to save the farm and help her mother after being victim of lies and abuse. There may be some triggers for some but only slightly and handled very well. We meet several characters who are all very important to the storyline and it all leaves you on an emotional rollercoaster and definitely left me thinking about our world today. I found this book to be so captivating and with unforgettable characters. A must read! Can’t wait for her next book!