The reviews are coming in for The Summer of Grace!
“With the turn of every page, Jones had me running through the fields with Gracie and Brown Hound, feeling the damp air upon my face, the summer grasses across my shins, and the swell of courage in every step. Beautifully written and woven together, this multi-generational story follows the thread of one endearingly brave and clever girl as she learns that family is made from those that choose one another, in spite of a divisive past trying its best to not be left behind. What a sincere pleasure it was to spend time with these characters, brilliantly portrayed by such a skilled and talented writer.”
“Beautifully written with raw insight and a quick wit. A story of three generations of women that find strength in one another, despite the grip of an intolerable past.”
~ Carine McCandless, Author of The Wild Truth, the New York Times best-selling follow-up to Into the Wild.
Karen Jones gives us an authentic coming-of-age Southern story in The Summer of Grace. At once, funny, touching, tender, and infuriating through characters that you will remember long after you finish reading this terrific novel. And did I mention the twists? Yeah. There are twists. Highly recommend. And, Karen Jones, you owe me a night’s sleep because I couldn’t put it down.
~ Kathleen Brehony, Ph.D. Awakening at Midlife
What a sweet coming of age story! I really enjoyed watching the protagonist (Grace) growing up. She made laugh and cry too at times. Family is everything back then. I miss that feel.
I love the Southern setting of the novel too.
This new to me author has described Grace’s home that I felt like I was a part of her family. I didn’t want the story to end.
This was mom’s era too. That’s why this book in a way was special to me.
I loved everything about this story except for Sissy. I didn’t like her at all! I thought that she was mean and selfish.
Jane and Grace tickled me pink with their antics and I appreciated their good hearted adventures.
In a way I felt like the older ladies made the story.
I laughed at Brown Hound’s name and I loved how she sensed that about Sissy.
A wonderful Southern heartwarming story that will touch your heart in more ways than one.
5 stars for a job well done. I highly recommend!
~ NetGalley Review by Lori Parrish – Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Links:
https://www.netgalley.com/member/book/260746/review
The Summer of Grace, by Karen Jones
The Summer of Grace is an endearing tale filled with melancholy and natural wonder. The tender ache at the heart of this story belongs to ten-year-old girl Gracie, who is granted a reprieve from her abusive mother in the form of spending a summer on a farm with her cousin, who is burdened her own secret fears. As both girls find reason to hope again, they set their minds on uncovering a dark, family secret in the hopes they can save someone else as well.
~ Bill Glose, author of All the Ruined Men, Virginia Walkabout, and others
I loved the title of this book: The Summer of Grace. So much could be explored within that. It is listed on NetGalley in General/Women’s Fiction as well as Teen & YA – which had me intrigued.
The writing structure “feels” middle grade to me but doesn’t feel childish. All I know is I enjoyed it very much and was curious to see what else the author wrote; I look forward to seeing future works from her in this same vein.
Grace is a young girl who is ignored largely by her mother and scolded when she garners her mother’s attention. She is sent to her grandmother’s farm for the summer to give her mother a “rest”. She is apprehensive but thrives in the simple country setting and loving guidance of not only her grandmother but other extended family as well.
This book also explores the impact of segregation, lynchings and racism through Marcell’s storyline. While the girls were originally motivated to help Marcell for selfish reasons, they begin to understand her as they uncover the past one secret at a time.
~ NetGalley Review by Educator Cassie Larson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Links:
https://fortheartofit.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-summer-of-grace-by-karen-jones.html
What They Are Saying About Death for Beginners
Read the Review from ElderLawAnswers.com
Read an article about Death for Beginners in The Virginian Pilot
Navigating the to-do list after a loved one dies
Read the article “Caring for Your Loved Ones by Planning for Your Death” in the July 2010 issue of Caring Magazine
“Death for Beginners takes on an important and mostly avoided topic with a big breath of fresh air. Jones gives options, costs, pros and cons along with a healthy dose of humor to help readers with the process of planning for the inevitable.”
Kathleen Brehony, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist and Author of After the Darkest Hour: How Suffering Begins the Journey to Wisdom
“Death for Beginners is a delightful read about a very serious subject we all have to face eventually. Karen Jones has done a superb job of presenting the vast array of choices involved in making funeral arrangements. Her humor makes the necessities of this often taboo topic accessible, easy to grasp, and yes, fun. The fun is well balanced with a no nonsense process that guides the reader through their own very important and very personal decisions.
While reading Death for Beginners, I was often reminded of a George Bernard Shaw quote. “Life does not cease to be funny when people die, anymore that it ceases to be serious when people laugh.”
I have assisted dozens of families in making funeral arrangements, and every one of them would have benefitted from reading this book.”
Brian Flowers & Green Burial Coordinator for Moles Family Funeral Homes & Greenacres Memorial Park, Green Burial Council National Advisory Board Member
Death for Beginners is a book about how to accomplish the difficult but necessary task of planning for your death. It’s a quick “grab, read and workbook “with your life” type of guide. The work is useful to Baby Boomers and their parents, and in a sudden death or illness.
There is not volumes of text or workbook writing involved and there are easy ways to make choices. Step-by-step chapters with bulleted formatted topics are presented. Topics are presented with data, definitions, examples, pros and cons, costs, Internet links, and questions to answer. Streamlined, worksheets that can be ripped and filed make the process simple.
Internet Links to Websites keeps Death for Beginners from becoming a rambling book about death that becomes confusing. If you are interested in the options presented, you can go directly to a website and explore your interests.
Karen Jones is not a funeral industry insider and is not writing with the eyes of a funeral director. Excellent for the every-day-person looking for answers, examples of the costs for services are given, emphasizing practicality and frugality. This provides the reader with valuable information on saving money. Options and topics are presented that do not come up in a traditional funeral arrangement. It presents both the traditional and alternative death and funeral choices.
The work entertains while presenting difficult information. Avoiding funeral lingo, the quips, quick humorous vignettes and sidebars are slightly bizarre yet informative and appreciated.
Death for Beginners respects the individual’s funeral needs. Affordable and easy to use,t his book will help you avoid expensive choices made in grief. By easing the emotional and financial burden on loved ones left behind, the work will help with your final events.
R.Brian Burkhardt, Funeral Director Illinois and Virginia, Author of “Rest in Peace Insiders Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral”
“A lite- hearted and well researched compilation of information every consumer will be grateful to have when dealing with the modern day funeral industry. Karen Jones does an exquisite job of alerting the consumer to the power of pre-planning and education, including detailed checklists; as well as an industry wide overview of numerous micro-industries that have sprouted around end-of-life. From grass-root do it yourself choices to high end consumerism, Karen has shown that death in America is anything but slam dunk. A proficient tool for consumers at end-of-life.”
Nora Cedarwind Young ~ Death Midwife, Hospice Chaplain, Ceremonialist and Green Burial Educator
Thresholdsoflife.org
Karen Jones talks about Death For Beginners on WVEC13 News At Noon:
