Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Forgiving Kind” by Donna Everhart

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “The Forgiving Kind” by Donna Everhart, Kensington Publishing Company,  January 29, 2019

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.