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In 1951 Tidewater, VA ten-year-old Gracie sits, tears streaming, clutching her dog. Her daddy is sending her and Brown Hound to Grandma Emily for the summer. They are too rowdy for her high-strung mother.
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On the North Carolina farm Gracie meets her family. Great Granny Jane smokes a pipe and is fast with her cane, Grandma Emily is loving but firm, and cousin Jane has a swashbuckler's heart. It is a wild and heady freedom, away from her mother's scorn and her father's indifference. The girls explore ancient cemeteries, brave the conjure woman, fight, make up, and sleep tangled like puppies. But Marcell looms.
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With unreadable eyes, dark skin that holds a tragic history and a deep hatred of dogs, the solitary housekeeper's power lies in concealing family secrets. Can she send Brown Hound away? With reckless courage born of fear and hope, the girls resolve to save Brown Hound, smash through shuttered layers of yesteryears secrets and reveal the families' truth.
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"Karen Jones gives us an authentic coming-of-age Southern story in The Summer of Grace. At once, funny, touching, tender, and infuriating through characters that you will remember long after you finish reading this terrific novel. And did I mention the twists? Yeah. There are twists. Highly recommend."
–Kathleen Brehony, Ph.D, author Awakening at Midlife, Ordinary
Grace, and After the Darkest Hour: How Suffering Begins the Journey to Wisdom
“With the turn of every page, Jones had me running through the fields with Gracie and Brown Hound, feeling the damp air upon my face, the summer grasses across my shins, and the swell of courage in every step. Beautifully written and woven together, this multi-generational story follows the thread of one endearingly brave and clever girl as she learns that family is made from those that choose one another, in spite of a divisive past trying its best to not be left behind. What a sincere pleasure it was to spend time with these characters, brilliantly portrayed by such a skilled and talented writer.”
–Carine McCandless, Author of The Wild Truth, the
New York Times best selling follow-up to Into the Wild.