Dori Sanders

This is a beautiful, soft, sad, and sweet story told by Clover Lee Hill, a ten-year-old black girl living in South Carolina. It reads almost like a diary. Clover's mom was no longer alive. Her dad, Gaten Hill, dies suddenly in an automobile accident just hours after marrying Sara Kate, a white woman. That leaves Clover in the care of a stepmother she hardly knows.

In the first half of the novel, we meet Gaten’s extended family and see their reaction to his dating a white woman. Most of the family at first seems skeptical. Later most remain unhappy with his choice to marry Sara Kate, but they were not downright hateful so this novel at least starts out with a glimmer of hope and on an upbeat note. Gaten’s sister Everleen did tell Clover, “People need to be accepted and judged by the kind of person they are inside, not on the basis of the color of their skin.”

As the novel progresses, we see family and friends interact and bonds tighten. It's really lovely how this happens and is reflected in Clover's words. Of all of the qualities of this novel, I think its gentleness is what moves me the most.… (mere)

GENRE: Historical Fiction, African American

SETTING: post WWII; farm land in rural South Carolina

CENTRAL FEMALE CHARACTER: MAE LEE BARNES: hard working; persistent; a survivor; a mother full of love and her FIVE (5) CHILDREN

SYNOPSIS
She was left to raise her children on the large acre farm. This story is about a woman who worked hard and went on to see her children succeed and some to college.

WHAT I LIKED: Her reaction to losing her money. And, Lest We Forget and many have. Always a historical reminder

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE: Some parts of the book were a little slow in the pace of events.… (mere)

When I requested this book I thought it was right up my alley it sounded like something I should love I have been trying to read this little book for weeks, it just didn't grab me and was very easy to put down and try something else. The writing is sparse and I wanted more, I wish there had been more background on Gaten and Sara Kate instead of jumping right in with his death , it was hard to tell just how long Gaten and Sara Kate had been dating before they married. There were also times it was hard to tell if it was past or present.

I liked the last 50 or so pages the best it gave me the most insight into the main characters before that I just didn't feel much of a connection with the characters.

From the afterward we see this is somewhat autobiographical, but without the white step mother and maybe this would have been more interesting if she had just told her family's story.

I wanted to know more about the characters and by the time I started to the book was over. This one just didn't do it for me.

2 1/2 stars

I received this book from Librarything and the publisher for a fair and honest review.… (mere)

Gaten was killed in a car accident just a few minutes after marrying Sara Kate. Gaten left behind a 10 year old daughter named Clover. Gaten was black, Sara Kate was white. This really had very little to do with the story, which actually could be a good thing. Instead of focusing on the differences between the colors the author just focused on what was going on with the 10 year old, who was left to be raised by Sara Kate, a woman she barely knew. Clover is a nice little story about compassion, kindness and love. It's an easy read.… (mere)