Customer Reviews

Clover

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hours after his wedding to Sara Kate, Gaten dies in a car accident, leaving behind his widow and his ten year old daughter, Clover.

Clover, gifted but strong-willed, is not quite ready to embrace the new stepmother she hardly knows. They have differences in race -- Sara Kate is white, while Clover is black -- and in background -- Sara Kate is a highly educated, cultured city girl, while Clover has lived all her life in rural Round Hill, South Carolina. Clover's beloved Aunt Everleen is also none too fond of the newcomer she views as an intruder in their close knit family. Over time, though, the characters learn to adapt to each other. The transition from strangers to family is subtly told, and remarkably moving.

Sanfers, who grew up in a rural South Carolina town much like Round Hill, and still manages her family's fruit stand there, tells Clover's story in a series of non-linear vignettes. This technique results in some confusion: a character that was dead two pages ago will suddenly resurface, alive. I can foresee that this jumping around would especially confuse younger readers, the target audience of this book.

I also have my doubts about the voice of Clover. She is perhaps the most mature, self aware ten year old I have ever encountered in literature or in life. Despite these flaws, though, this book is a strong story, beautifully written.

Drawing from childhood experiences of growing up in Filbert (York County), Sanders wove a unique coming-of-age story. As Sander's story begins, 10 year-old Clover, a strong willed Southern African American girl, is facing a crisis. Her widower father, Gaten, is about to re-marry, this time to his college sweetheart, a white woman named Sara Kate.

Clover isn't the only one upset, her aunt Everleen isn't too thrilled about the union either. But, Clover and her family face and even bigger crisis several hours after the wedding when word comes that Gaten and Sara Kate have been in a car crash. Everleen is convinced that Gaten's new wife will divide both the family and its land.

This book is not wholly about race. It's about the whole family. Not only does Clover have to adjust to the sudden changes in her life, but so do the other members of her family. I liked it because it's a story you can read with your children. It is a heart warming story and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

This book was unique, telling the story of Clover, a 10-year-old black girl and her new white stepmother. Clover serves as the narrator of this mild tearjerker, and when her father dies just hours after his wedding to Sara Kate, she is left with a stranger to raise her. The story is well-told, convincing in the voice of a 10-year-old, but does tend to wander a great deal. It was difficult to keep up with the pace at times, but altogether an incredibly enjoyable read!

Ten year old Clover narrates her struggle to accept the loss of her grandfather and father and the acquistition of a white stepmother she barely knows. It is refreshing to read a novel so simply written, nothing overblown here. Southern customs and racial stereotypes color the story helping us to learn with Clover about the support and love that can found within our families.

Clover is the ten year old main characther, in this story of learning to deal with new things. When clover's father is killed in an accident, she expects to move in with her aunt and uncle, but instead her new stepmom, who is white plans to keep and raise her. Clover has to get use to a lot of new things, like eating different kinds of food, and just getting used to living with a stranger. I throught the book was good, and give reader's a look at two people from totally different ways of life learning to understand one another.

This story is about a young girl, Clover, who loses a father and gains a stepmother all in the same day. The story shows about a young girl in a whole new situation and a young woman in a whole new world. Clover, a gifted, talented young girl experiences loss like no other when her father is suddenly killed in an accident, which leaves Clover under the supervision of his new wife. To add to the anger and frustration of losing someone you love, Clover faces yet another challenge, that of living with a woman of another race. Sara Kate, a white woman, moves into Clover's black neighborhood. It seems that the color of their skin is not the only thing that is different between the two of them. In this story about love and acceptance, there is a growth that occurs in both of them. Clover will learn to accept her new stepmother and Sara Kate will learn to love Clover as her daughter. Learning to accept differences is a reccuring theme throughout the story. Dori Sanders manages to capture these differences with a great deal of humor. Her description of each character makes them come alive, even with Clover's dad, Gaten. Clover is a book that touches the heart, soul, and mind, and will affect all ages, young or old.

Clover

"Well you can take your food and shove it!" Clover exclaimed.
Clover hates her stepmother's cooking. In her defense, Sara Kate honestly can't cook. Their crazy relationship becomes very clear as the story progresses. Clover is a ten year-old girl from Round Hill, South Carolina, who now lives with just her nagging stepmother. This is because Clover's father Gaten died in a tragic car accident a couple of days after he married Sara Kate. Sara Kate barely knows Clover and has to get used to living with her, just as Clover does.
Clover needs to move on in life and get comfortable with the fact that she has to live with Sara Kate. Clover is not used to living with another woman in the house, since her mother died when she was young too. I guess I would feel extremely uncomfortable if my mother and father died and I was left living with someone I didn't know. How would you feel?
Dori Sanders, the author of Clover is actually from York Town, South Carolina. Her father was an author and a principal just like Cover's father was in the story. After reading this book I became connected to Dori Sanders' writing and now she has become my favorite author. Dori Sanders might just become your favorite author too. While reading Clover I felt that this book was very suspenseful because it had me wanting to read on and on. This reminds me of another book I read called A Gathering of Days by Joan Blos. I think the reason why these books remind me of one another is because both of the main characters in each book have a new stepmother that they don't like in the beginning. I would recommend Clover to anyone, particularly to females. I think this book will seem more interesting to females because it focuses on the relationship between a stepmother and daughter. I would also recommend it to anyone that has stepparents and likes to read realistic fiction stories.

Dori Sanders delivers to her readers a compelling story about change, toleration, and true undying love, told through the eyes of a ten year old. Clover, a gifted, talented, and witty young girl experiences a loss like no other when her father is suddenly killed in an accident, which leaves Clover under the supervision of his new wife. To add to the madness and frustration, Clover faces another challenge, her stepmother. Clover is black, while her stepmother, Sara-Kate is white. It seems that the color of their skin is not the only thing they do not share in common. Thus, the journey begins for young Clover. Through this journey, she will learn to accept her newly found stepmother, and her stepmother too will learn to accept her. Learning to deal with differences whatever they may be, is a reoccurring theme in this story, and througout the book, Dori Sanders manages to capture these differences between the two with a great deal of humor. Although this book is very humorous at times, there are other points and places that will prick even the hardest of hearts causing a tear to fall here and there. Clover is a book that touches the heart, soul, and mind, and is definitely a book for all ages. It presents problems that everyone at some point in their lives has or will face. This story presents problems of childhood, change, death, and differences, while producing a positive remedy, which is love and understanding.

There are many books with African-American girls as narrators, so this book is not unique in any way. The Color Purple and the Bluest Eye have more tension, while the characters in Clover are all either good at heart or able to be redeemed. Even though the first person narrative is believable, it is not as impressive as Morrison's. This is a short and easy book, so it's a good appetizer before moving on to the more sophisticated novels.

I had the pleasure of meeting Dori Sanders when she was invited to read from "Clover" at USC. I found her so witting and delightful that I visited her at her family fruit stand. Frequently I have given this book to my friends for their birthdays. The thank you notes sing the praises of her writing style.