At Home in Covington (Ladies of Covington) (Paperback)

~ Joan Medlicott (Author) "The wind moaned as it skirted the white clapboard wall of Cove Road Church and snaked between the headstones in the small cemetery, tweaking women's..." (more)
Key Phrases: Cove Road, Granny Grace, Pastor Johnson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Grace, Hannah, and Amelia are back in the fifth installment of the Covington series: The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love (2000), The Gardens of Covington (2001), From the Heart of Covington (2002), The Spirit of Covington [BKL S 1 03]. These three open-minded older ladies have a strong following, and readers who avidly await their newest trials and successes will not be disappointed. Included are all the small soap-opera traumas readers expect. Grace's son's partner dies from AIDS. Hannah is haunted by her past and has a spiritual revelation. Amelia leaves for a photography workshop in Maine. Hannah and Amelia continue to bicker, and Grace continues to battle diabetes. At times the friends seem estranged, but, as in the previous books, all ends well and their friendships remain strong. The truth is, the writing is stilted and the plot underdeveloped, but readers are so enamored with the world of Covinginton they simply do not care because they find Medlicott's books cozy and comforting. Neal Wyatt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

In this acclaimed addition to Joan Medlicott's USA TODAY bestselling series, new joys overcome new troubles as the unforgettable Ladies of Covington embrace life in their small North Carolina mountain town.

A dark cloud is hovering over the usually cheery farmhouse that Grace, Hannah, and Amelia share. Grace has lost someone dear to her, and the mysterious diary from the past has turned Hannah's life upside down. To raise their spirits, the three ladies take an exotic Caribbean cruise and return with many wonderful stories. But sharing such close quarters while traveling has stirred up confilict, and Amelia and Hannah are suddenly questioning whether they want to continue living in the farmhouse together. Meanwhile, Grace faces her own challenges: the young girl she mentors unknowingly becomes involved with an Internet predator, and Grace's diabetes worsens. Yet new joy enters their lives when Hannah's daughter has a baby boy -- and when Hannah finally lays her past to rest, she may just be ready to set a wedding date with Max!

With warmth and charm, this celebration of female friendship will inspire and delight readers, whether they're meeting these wonderful women for the first time or visiting Covington once more!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (June 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743470419
• ISBN-13: 978-0743470414
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #137,203 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 5 in The Ladies of Covington Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes! The Covington Ladies Return!, October 14, 2004

By	Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At Home in Covington (Ladies of Covington) (Hardcover)

Joy upon joy! They are here again! I cannot even begin to explain how happy I was to see this book. Grace, Hannah, and Amelia step gracefully back into our lives with this fifth installment of the Covington series. Our Ladies are now aging a bit, but that is part of what makes the Covington stories so realistic. It allows us to identify with The Ladies more as old friends than as characters in a novel. Amelia, the youngest of the trio, is now 70-years old. Grace, our loving grandmother figure, is 71-years old, and Hannah, the most robust of the three, is 75-years old. If you read the first book of this series, you will surely remember that they ran away from a nursing home to establish a life with each other in Covington. Hey, that is true intestinal fortitude!

As the story begins, Charles (Grace's son Roger's longtime companion) has recently died from AIDS. The graveside funeral service is being held in December with the Ladies and a small party of mourners in attendance. Although most of their friends and neighbors had not really known Charles, they gathered at the graveside out of love and respect for Grace.

Joan Medlicott's descriptive first lines set the scene:

"The wind moaned as it skirted the white clapboard wall of Cove Road Church and snaked between the headstones in the small cemetery, tweaking women's coats and burrowing with stealthy fingers between men's gloves and wrists."

Hannah Parrish's friend, Max, is pressing her to set a wedding date. This would be a marriage between friends for convenience only, and something about that rubs our Hannah the wrong way. Then, unexpectedly, Hannah received a mysterious diary from her past in the mail. This diary's contents have the power to turn Hannah's life upside down. It was written by a woman whose husband had been madly in love with Hannah many years ago, and with whom Hannah had a lengthy affair. Hannah had not realized that the wife even knew about the long ago affair, and her heart is tortured by the woman's entries in that diary.

Amelia senses unease among the Ladies, and suggests that they all take an exotic Caribbean cruise to raise their spirits. She has brochures at the ready, and the Ladies finally agree. What an amazing time the three ladies had on their cruise can best be explained by saying that it was everything they had dreamed it would be, and more, as each of our Ladies indulged in her favorite shipboard pastime - dancing, gambling, and introspection.

Upon returning from their cruise, the Ladies have wonderful adventures to tell, but there is a conflict brewing between Amelia and Hannah that has the ability to dissolve their living arrangements and disrupt their long-standing friendships.

This book is filled with everyday life, as it weaves itself around family members and the problems that are faced by young and old alike. For instance, Grace learns more than she wants to know about modern dangers, as her young protégé, Lucy, becomes the victim of an Internet predator at her middle school. Of course, our Ladies and their friends all rally to Lucy's rescue. When Grace continues to ignore her diet, she lands in the hospital and comes to realize that she must accept the reality of her diabetes and face that problem head on. Then we have Amelia, who must contend with jealousy as Roger begins to monopolize the time of her young photography companion. Finally, new happiness enters the Ladies' lives when Hannah's pregnant daughter has a beautiful baby boy, giving them all cause to rejoice as this child becomes part of their extended family. Then, when Hannah learns to accept her past for what it was, she is able to set a wedding date with Max.

Joan Medlicott is masterful with the art of creative writing. Her timely use of metaphors, similes, and personification enhances the reader's enjoyment of her stories. These tools deliver startlingly clear images to the reader, thereby making the text more enjoyable and comprehensible. Mental images can often transport readers to a place where they can grasp what the author's message truly is and more readily identify with the story's characters. This is Ms. Medlicott's forté.

*****At Home in Covington is very highly recommended reading. This book is not only for those people who like what some refer to as a "gentle read" (oh, how those words annoy me), but also for the many people who simply enjoy good literature and fascinating stories about human nature in everyday life. At Home in Covington, like the complete Covington Series, is a winner!*****

Reviewed by Ruth Wilson for Huntress Reviews.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Problems, Problems, Problems, October 23, 2004

By	Louise D. Patton "librarylou138" (Charleston, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: At Home in Covington (Ladies of Covington) (Hardcover)

This is a well written novel with our friends the "Ladies of Covington". It is very true to life but I found it too realistic! This isn't the "cozy " story the others in the series have been. When I read a book like this I read it to escape from my problems but in this book it's impossible to escape! The tender moments are few and hard to find!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine Covington tale, July 15, 2004

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: At Home in Covington (Ladies of Covington) (Hardcover)

Roger Singleton sadly calls his mother Grace to inform her that his long time companion Charles is dying. Grace always liked the kind Charles and immediately flies up from North Carolina to Pennsylvania to help her son cope and to say her good byes to his nice soul mate. He tells Mother Singleton to watch over her son, as he is worried about how Roger will be once he is gone.

When Charles dies, Grace's companion Bob Richardson and her two pals Amelia DeClose and Hannah Parrish arrive for the funeral. Grace has her own health problems as she suffers from diabetes, but as a southerner who loves sweet tea, only sugar counts. Hannah receives an old diary that provides her information about her deceased beloved Dan. Amelia suggests they need to get away and recommends a cruise to the Virgin Islands, which they do and enjoy. Now they must return to their home to get on with their lives.

The latest entry in the Covington series is a fine tale starring wonderful protagonists struggling with mortality that hits home to the three geriatric friends, but especially Grace. The story line reads like a gentle summer breeze in spite of the final days of the pleasant loving Charles. Fans of the series will enjoy this comforting tale that provides solace for those who do not need any action inside a placid story line.

Harriet Klausner