Customer Reviews

Tender Graces (Center Point Premier Fiction (Large Print))

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In a world of rushed 30-day novels, brooding teenage vampires and prepubescence riding broomsticks....Kathryn Magendie shines through as a beacon of hope for those who require character development and descriptive literature to place them inside the story. Tender Graces is a literary work of art that will quickly find a sanctuary on your bookshelf.

Virginia Kate Carey received a phone call from her uncle with news her mother died. Two weeks prior, she'd received her grandmother's journal in the mail along with a letter from her mother to come home. Little did Virginia know when she sent back a reply back, refusing to come home, it would be the last.

Filled with remorse, Virginia is heading back with her grandmother's journal. Through this journal and her mother's notes in the margins, she will be carried back in time.

Kathryn Magendie's poetic voice will tug at your heart as she paints a realistic picture of a time gone by. Fans of Southern Literature will cherish TENDER GRACES.

When I ordered this book, all 17 reviewers on Amazon gave this book 5 stars, so I was expecting a fantastic read. I was disappointed. If you haven't read Connie May Fowler's Before Women Had Wings, Rebecca Wells' Little Altars Everywhere, and Rick Bragg's All over But the Shoutin, I suggest reading these wonderful books instead. Tender Graces shares the "troubled childhood in the South" theme, but I found it less engaging, and I did not enjoy the writing style. In my opinion, there are so many better books with similar plot lines.

"No matter what, we care about our mommas and we always will." This single statement, by her Aunt Billie, defines the life of Virginia Kate Carey and her brothers as told with care and total believability by Kathryn Magendie in TENDER GRACES. Rarely have the effects of adult neglect and cruelty to children been presented with such grace and clarity. We applaud the resilience of the children, but see the scars that linger forever and can find little sympathy for the perpetrators, regardless of the reasons for their actions.

Virginia Kate's Mother, Katie Ivene, is a cruel, alcoholic, promiscuous, narcissistic beauty who is hard to love. Her father isn't perfect by a long shot, but he does his best to provide stability for his children and it is fortunate for everyone that he finds a true saint in his new wife, Rebekha. We find ourselves rooting for Rebekha and becoming impatient with Virginia Kate's guilty reluctance to love her. Although we want to believe a sliver of goodness motivates Katie Ivene, it is too slippery to grasp.

Despite its overarching theme, Virginia Kate's story is filled with beauty, mystery, and the joys of life. Transcending the genre of women's literature, it is reminiscent of such classics as TOM SAWYER and HUCKLEBERRY FINN.

Tender Graces is a story told in such powerfully lyrical language, every page unfolds before the reader as poetry. Virginia Kate, the woman whose life this book chronicles, is so true and compelling, I found myself forgetting that she was a character in a story and not a real person. I still think about her at odd moments of my days, and wonder how she's doing. She speaks to me much in the same way that her dead grandmother spoke to her. While terrible things happen to Virginia Kate as a child, the tender graces that carry her safely into adulthood create a unique and loving woman whose spirit and courage are inspirational. I cried, and laughed, and raged - sometimes all in the same page.

Virginia Kate could not have chosen a better writer to tell her story than Kathryn Magendie. Anyone who gives themselves the gift of this book, and time immersed in this beautifully told story, will be much richer for the experience. Surely all our lives are bound by such tender graces. This book was a lovely reminder of that.

...because you'll need a guestroom in which Kathryn Magendie's characters can take up permanent residence.

I'm a devoted lifelong reader, and have only read a few novels that have the ability to move me and then stay with me. TENDER GRACES is one of those, along with To Kill a Mockingbird, The Poisonwood Bible and a rare few others.

Echoing the opinions of others here, Magendie's book goes beyond genre classification to give readers something they may not even know they've been missing.

Then there's the postpartum that descends after you've finished TENDER GRACES...a longing for the scenery, the smells, the knotting and untangling of complicated human emotions and relationships, the wondering what's happening to the new friends (or is it family members?) you've just met on the pages. The K.M. Fan Club can.not wait for the next book in the Virginia Kate saga to be published!

If I ever win the lottery, copies of TENDER GRACES will be in every library in America.

Look, I could write about Magendie's debut novel until my fingers fall off and still not cover all its goodies. I'll just say it's like the best meal you ever had, followed by the perfect dessert. No Rolaids needed.

If you're hungry, treat yourself.

How did I love it? Let me count the ways:
1. Poetic
2. Imaginative
3. Clever
4. Unique
5. Exciting
6. Haunting
7. It made me laugh/it made me cry
8. It's one I'll never forget


The story is beautifully written, haunting, profound, and develops the characters in a way that makes the reader feel personally connected. It should be in Oprah's book club. I hope she reads it!

Katherine Magendie's TENDER GRACES is a powerful, moving and beautifully written debut. With rich detail, vivid imagery and finely drawn characters who leap off the page, drag you into their lives and make you root for them, this book will command your attention all the way to the final page...and leave you wishing for more.

I am not as eloquent as the other reviewers but I know what I like and this book is IT! It reminds me of an Appalachian Ellen Foster but stands well on its own. With her whirly-world and her mountain singing to her from near and far Virgina Kate is a force to be reckoned with. Virginia Kate Carey is the little mountain girl in many of us: moving toward a more worldy future yet yearning to return to our simple, homey and sometimes painful roots. This work of beauty will stay in my heart and bookshelf a long time...when it is not being shared with friends.

Great character developement. Sit on the porch with your sweet tea and enjoy this great coming of age saga.