A luminous novel of a powerfully intuitive young girl’s coming-of-age in a small, Midwest town in the late 1960s. Eleven-year-old Grace Carter has a talent for hiding things. She’s had plenty of practice, burying thoughts and feelings that might anger her strict Evangelical pastor father, and concealing the deep intuition she carries inside. The Knowing, as Grace calls it, offers glimpses of … offers glimpses of people’s pasts and futures. It enables her to see into the depth of her mother’s sadness, and even allows Grace to talk to Isaac, her twin brother who died at birth. To her wise, loving Aunt Pearl, the Knowing is a family gift; to her daddy, it’s close to witchcraft.
Grace can’t see into someone’s thoughts without their permission. But it doesn’t take her special talent to know that her small community is harboring its share of secrets. A young girl has gone missing. Within Grace’s own family too, the cracks are widening, as her sisters Hope, Joy, and Chastity enjoy the normal life that eludes Grace. It’s Grace’s kinship with other outsiders that keeps her afloat—Lyle, a gentle, homeless man, and Lola, a free-spirited new girl at school. But when her mother lapses into deep depression after bringing home a new baby, Grace will face a life-changing choice—ignore her gift and become the obedient daughter her father demands, or find the courage to make herself heard, even if it means standing apart…
“A heartfelt and beautifully crafted coming-of-age debut…Don’t miss this one.”—Lesley Kagen, New York Times bestselling author
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This book is wonderfully unique. I felt like I was reading words from my heart sister.
A lovely written story about a uniquely gifted young girl and her struggle to understand her gift and her struggle to fit in with her family and friends. It was a bit of coming of age, self-discovery and spiritual intuition/psychic explorations. I loved it.
It let me see the world through different eyes. Having a great gift yet not wanting to go against her father was great tension.
Started out a little slow but then i couldn’t put it down. Wish there were other stories with her in them!
I enjoyed this book. It is not fast paced but I was not looking for that when I chose it. I loved Grace and admired her resiliency in the midst of family conflicts and misunderstanding. The book is very current although was depicting the seventies and eighties. The fear of diversity and exclusion is very much alive. It is well written and the characters are well developed I did not give it a five, because I was confused at the end. I don’t want to explain further why I felt this way because it is not fair to spoil it for future readers. I just found some inconsistencies in the way the story was concluded.