School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-7-Times are tough for a single mom in Elkhorn City so when April Garnet Rose turns 14, her mother decides to move from Kentucky to Florida where there are more and better jobs. Garnet will stay with her father's sister, June, and her family in Black Rock, VA, while her mom gets established and settled. However, she has never met her father (he left before she was born) or any of his family. Though Garnet is initially uncomfortable with Aunt June, her husband, and their sons, she comes to appreciate family and the small community. She also realizes why her aunt is so actively seeking God by visiting different churches each week. When June's cancer disappears, she attributes it to faith healing by Reverent Shepherd, whose son, Silver, has become Garnet's first love, but a tragic accident results in her first loss. Garnet narrates her journey of discovery and heartbreak, maturation, and growing understanding. It is her voice that makes the relatively speedy resolution plausible. As in her other novels, White captures a small rural community in the mid-1950s that is peopled with likable, memorable characters.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fourteen-year-old Garnet has a summer of discovery when her mother goes off to seek work in Florida, leaving Garnet with an aunt she's never met. Garnet is angry and resentful, but Aunt June is welcoming and kind. She's also married well. Unlike the "three-room dump" above a grocery store where Garnet and her mother lived, June and Otis have a sprawling house, a telephone, and a television-a rare possession in rural Virginia in 1956. Their money can't buy what Aunt June needs most, however: she's been diagnosed with terminal cancer. As Aunt June visits a variety of country churches seeking a miracle cure, Garnet meets Silver, the handsome son of an itinerant minister. The two have an instant connection, but Silver's father is ready to move on before long. Too much happens for such a slim novel set over the course of a month, which makes the tragic ending seem not just abrupt but unearned. But White's command of the material-the setting, vernacular, and character tics will be familiar to readers of her previous books-makes this a rewarding read. Ages 10-14. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In this earnest middle-grade novel, Garnet, fourteen, finds faith, love, and family when her mother sends her to live with estranged relatives in rural Virginia. Garnet's evocative first-person narrative voice draws readers in as she seeks stability, rewardingly found in the unlikely home of her church-hopping aunt. Be prepared: a surprising eleventh-hour death tempers the sweetness of salvation everyone has found. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A sweet but slight Southern family story.It's 1956.April Garnet's father abandoned her before her birth 14 years ago; now her mother does the same thing, leaving her with Aunt June in Virginia while she goes to look for work in Florida. Garnet's stated resentment dissolves when her relatives, who'd not previously been aware of her existence, welcome her warmly. She accompanies her aunt to a different church service each Sunday, and gradually it's revealed that her aunt is looking to be cured from terminal cancer. The churches come across as both interchangeable and stereotypedthe speaking in tongues, snake-handling and even faith healing are presented more in the nature of carnival sideshows than as stemming from any actual religious belief. How Garnet feels toward God is never revealed. Except for her growing interest in a young preacher, Silver, her emotional tone remains flaccid, and she changes not a whit from start to finish. White's first-person narration and her comfortable dialogue are so smooth that it's easy to overlook the lack of action, but this is far from her strongest effort.The improbable happily-ever-after ending will appeal to children whose parents are separated.Homey and bland as a bowl of grits without gravy.(Historical fiction. 10-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Fourteen-year-old Garnet tells readers on page one that before she was born, her dad left her mother, Betty Sue, for a carnival singer. Life hasn't been easy, and when Betty Sue decides to join a friend in Florida, Garnet understands the appeal of starting over. What she doesn't understand, though, is why she gets stuck with her father's family folks she has never met while Betty Sue is off making a fresh start. At first, Garnet is as unhappy about the situation as some of her relatives seem to be. But Aunt June treats Garnet like the daughter she never had, and soon enough, Garnet begins to feel like a member of a real family, something she has never had. The twist in the story is Aunt June's cancer, which leads her and Garnet to a new church each Sunday. As in her previous books, White captures life in small-town America; here, it's Black Rock, Virginia, in the 1950s. Family and religion are at the center of everything, and it's up to Garnet to decide how she feels about both, especially after her father turns up, and Garnet meets a boy at church. Though perhaps not as layered as Sheila O'Connor's similarly themed Sparrow Road (2011), this heartwarming story has more than a touch of wonder. Expanding one's emotional life, the work of teens, is beautifully captured here, and Garnet's hard-won success will reach across the decades to today's readers.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist