The Forgiving Kind by Donna Everhart ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

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. We got three hundred acres in Jones County, North Carolina, first-rate land he calls it. For a girl like me, meaning a girl who'd rather spend time outside more than anywhere else, there was no better place on earth. Some might think we're stuck out in the middle of nowhere, that what we have ain't no different than any other farm along Highway 58. I see things different - I see what he does. The way freshly plowed soil looks like that rich chocolate powder Mama uses for baking. How the leaves on a cotton plant are heart shaped, and how on a sunny day, their vivid green color gets so intense, you have to squint your eyes. There's these little buds on the cotton plants, called squares, and when they bloom, they turn pale yellow, like fresh cream. Within days they go to a light pink, and then darker pink, self-pollinating, Daddy says. When our fields turn those different colors, I can't imagine how nobody wouldn't think it wasn't the prettiest sight they'd ever laid eyes. on.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

January 2019; Kensington; 978-1496717009
audio, ebook, print (352 pages)
Southern Fiction

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.

Twelve-year-old Sonny lives on a cotton farm with her parents and two brothers. Like her father, she feels a real connection to the land and loves her life there. When an accident causes the death of her beloved father, the family is unsure whether they will be able to continue farming until a neighbor offers to help them and then share the profits at the end of the season. When it turns out that the neighbor is interested not only in the land but in her mother, Sonny and her brother know that life is about to get more difficult but they have no idea how terrible their lives will become.  This is a story about the survival of the family, love, and forgiveness.

The Forgiving Kind is not only beautifully written but is also very well researched. The author has everything well suited to the time period of the 50s and is very knowledgeable about cotton farming. Most importantly is that this is a book you don't want to miss. It's going to be one of my top books of the year.

Buy The Forgiving Kind at Amazon

Other Books by Donna Everhart:

The Education of Dixie Dupree (Read my review)
The Road to Bittersweet (Read my review)

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.