May 1, 2015
Following his father's unexpected death, Henry Phillips starts working on his grandmother's West Virginia farm and, begrudgingly, seeing more of the young housekeeper, Margaret Hoffman. Margaret appears tough but longs to make a simple life for herself and her highly sensitive younger sister, Mayfair, especially if it's against her uncaring, well-to-do parents' wishes. Henry and Margaret find friendship in their mutual concern for Mayfair, but just as they begin to soften toward each other, a terrible revelation associated with Henry's illegal moonshine activity threatens their blossoming relationship. Set in the 1970s, Thomas' second Appalachian Blessings novel, after Miracle in a Dry Season (2014), uses grief, choice, and consequence to guide the plot into unexpected turns while gently reflecting on Christian healing and scripture. One beautifully unique element of this book is the sincere and realistic portrait of intergenerational female companionship, which is sure to entertain readers. Relaxed in pace yet clear in purpose, Thomas' lovely inspirational novel examines the struggle to identify and accept love and to learn to love someone in spite of his or her flaws.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)