TENDER GRACES
Kathryn Magendie
Trade paperback, April 2009, Bell Bridge Books
Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Southern
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.
Rave reviews include:
"Kathryn 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."--Danielle Younge-Ullman, author of FALLING UNDER
“Kathryn Magendie's TENDER GRACES leaves a ghostly trail of broken hearts from by-God West Virginia to Texas to the shimmering seasons of Louisiana where real love and an unexpected home is found for a lost child. Reminiscent of early Lee Smith and Silas House, Magendie's Virginia Kate Carey is the steady beating pulse of this beautiful narrative that sweeps through a lifetime of loss, grief, and ultimately redemption and what it means to go home again.” – Kerry Madden, author, Gentle’s Holler
“Gifted” – Deborah LeBlanc, author
“Powerful” – Angie Ledbetter, author
“Arresting” – David Madden, author
“A poem to childhood” – Ed Cullen, NPR contributor
“Held me spellbound” – Cheryl’s Book Nook reviews
“Poetic” -- J. Kaye’s Book Blog
“Poignant and funny” – Booklove reviews
“Simply amazing” – Firestalker Reviews
“I truly couldn’t put it down” – Suburban Sanity Reviews
“Don’t miss this book”—The Serenity Room Reviews
“Highly recommended – Kaye’s Penguin Posts Reviews
“TENDER GRACES by Kathryn Magendie is the kind of book that sticks with you long after you finish it. I turned the last page this morning, and I still can't get the characters out of my head. . . I highly recommend Tender Graces, and I know it will make my list of favorite books for the year.” – Diary of an Eccentric Reviews
“This is supposed to be a review of Kathryn Magendie’s exquisite literary novel, not a general discussion of my father’s peculiarities, but maybe that’s my point. Tender Graces became part of my family. Virginia Kate could have been me. Her mother could have been my father’s mother. Her brother Micah could have been my Dad.
Maybe that’s the highest praise I could ever give a book anyway: I couldn’t separate my reality from Magendie’s fiction.”
– Katrina Stonoff, Let it Simmer Reviews
Kathryn Magendie
Trade paperback, April 2009, Bell Bridge Books
Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Southern
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.
Rave reviews include:
"Kathryn 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."--Danielle Younge-Ullman, author of FALLING UNDER
“Kathryn Magendie's TENDER GRACES leaves a ghostly trail of broken hearts from by-God West Virginia to Texas to the shimmering seasons of Louisiana where real love and an unexpected home is found for a lost child. Reminiscent of early Lee Smith and Silas House, Magendie's Virginia Kate Carey is the steady beating pulse of this beautiful narrative that sweeps through a lifetime of loss, grief, and ultimately redemption and what it means to go home again.” – Kerry Madden, author, Gentle’s Holler
“Gifted” – Deborah LeBlanc, author
“Powerful” – Angie Ledbetter, author
“Arresting” – David Madden, author
“A poem to childhood” – Ed Cullen, NPR contributor
“Held me spellbound” – Cheryl’s Book Nook reviews
“Poetic” -- J. Kaye’s Book Blog
“Poignant and funny” – Booklove reviews
“Simply amazing” – Firestalker Reviews
“I truly couldn’t put it down” – Suburban Sanity Reviews
“Don’t miss this book”—The Serenity Room Reviews
“Highly recommended – Kaye’s Penguin Posts Reviews
“TENDER GRACES by Kathryn Magendie is the kind of book that sticks with you long after you finish it. I turned the last page this morning, and I still can't get the characters out of my head. . . I highly recommend Tender Graces, and I know it will make my list of favorite books for the year.” – Diary of an Eccentric Reviews
“This is supposed to be a review of Kathryn Magendie’s exquisite literary novel, not a general discussion of my father’s peculiarities, but maybe that’s my point. Tender Graces became part of my family. Virginia Kate could have been me. Her mother could have been my father’s mother. Her brother Micah could have been my Dad.
Maybe that’s the highest praise I could ever give a book anyway: I couldn’t separate my reality from Magendie’s fiction.”
– Katrina Stonoff, Let it Simmer Reviews
