Review - Tender Graces

This is the synopsis from Amazon:

A gentle yet unflinching look at how we find our way home. A woman returns to her West Virginia roots to resolve the ghosts of her childhood. In the tradition of Rebecca Wells, Sue Monk Kidd, Olive Ann Burns, and Dorothy Allison. TENDER GRACES by Kathryn Magendie is strong literary women’s fiction written with exquisite style. The death of her troubled mother and memories of her abused grandmother lure a young woman back to the Appalachian hollow where she was born. Virginia Kate, the daughter of a beautiful mountain wild-child and a slick, Shakespeare-quoting salesman, relives her turbulent childhood and the pain of her mother’s betrayals. Haunted by ghosts and buried family secrets, Virginia Kate struggles to reconcile three generations of her family’s lost innocence.

My review: 4 stars

Plot: This book made me cry so much. I am used to books making me cry, but this one was unbelievable. All that Virginia goes through is so heart breaking, you can't help but cry.

Characters: I loved how it went back and forth between present day Virginia, and memory Virginia. Although that became confusing at first, I realized the chapter would tell you at the beginning which year in time the book was in. Seeing the past through her memories made them that more real.

Setting: Both of her homes had special significance to parts of the story and helped blend the two families together.

Overall: This book makes you think. I connected to Virginia in so many ways, and it made me re-think some things in my life. Definitely a book worth checking out!