In the last few weeks I’ve read so many wonderful books, and now I can add This I Know by Eldonna Edwards to the list. From the very first page, when Grace and her twin brother Isaac are about to be born, I knew that Grace would be a memorable character...she was that and so much more. Grace was resilient and honest and loving, traits she needs to navigate adolescence without a healthy mother to guide her. Grace has a gift, what she calls the Knowing, but her gift causes her own family, especially her preacher father, to mistrust her. Through it all, Grace remains steadfast and loyal, despite her own confusion, her fears, her embarrassment. Eldonna Edwards has written this touching, poignant story laced with humor and nostalgia. I laughed and I wept throughout this story of acceptance and faith and love. Grace wrapped herself around my heart, and I won’t ever be able to let her go. This book will be released April 24.

I really enjoyed this book, written from an innocent child’s point of view, even if Grace’s clairvoyance is sometimes hardly credible. Though she was always considered a freak, Grace chooses to listen to people’s good thoughts mostly. For example, when two girls disappear, she knows that her hobo friend, Lyle, is innocent, but she is not aware of or doesn’t want to acknowledge Mr. Weaver’s predatory nature, even after their close encounter. She is used to not to be trusted. Whereas her preacher father tries to make her ‘embrace God’ and disdain her gift of Knowing (although she is convinced that her gift comes from God) by sending her to Bible camp and even trying to exorcise her, her older, materialistic sister tries to take advantage of her organizing some hilarious fortune-telling sessions for 25 cents. But, in general, she uses her gift to help people and not for personal gain.
The happy ending confirms all Grace’s predictions (Lyle dies like a hero, saving her sister, her mother comes out of coma) and makes this novel a well-written, enjoyable story of the ordinary life of a wonderful, insightful gifted child.

This I Know is about a young girl named Grace who has the gift of prophecy. The daughter of an Evangelical Pastor she is demonized by her community and admonished by her father for her sight. Despite his attempts to stifle her visions and her will to please him, her abilities gain strength as she ages. Will he ever accept her as she is? Must she quench her fire to appease him?

This I Know is so endearing. There is so much depth to this novel. It is about resilience and hope in the face of atrocity. It is about opening up your heart to people who are different than you and not being so quick to judge a book by it's cover. Most of all it's about loving people for who they are.

I loved this story so much! I am officially an Eldonna Edwards fan! The main character of this story is Grace.....she is such a sweetheart and I was rooting for her to be heard and seen.
I loved everything about this book, it was a breath of fresh air!
I am so grateful that Netgalley provided me with an advanced copy of this book.
Can I give it more than 5 stars...

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive a free digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is going to be hard to review. This is not a book you can literally critique, this is a book that you feel. Grace is one of 4 daughters of a pastor's family living in the 70s. She had a twin brother who died during birth. Her mother is suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her last baby. Aside from the previously mentioned hardships, Grace's life is pretty normal except for one important thing. Grace has what she calls "The Knowing". Grace believes that she can still hear her dead brother talk to her. She can see things about people that other people would not know. She can touch objects of a missing person and know what has happened to him. Some people would call what Grace has a gift from God and others think it's of the devil. Her father's opinion is the latter. There is a real struggle throughout the whole book between Grace, who only uses her "gift" for good, and her father's opposition to it. The reader is left pondering his own beliefs about "The Knowing".

As I said before, this is a book that you feel. You feel for Grace as she grows up with practically no mother to guide her through her teenage struggles. You feel for Grace as she desperately wants her father's approval, but feels like she will never get it. There are also many tragedies throughout the book that tug at the heartstrings. There is a missing girl at one point in the story, a girl who was raped, a missing son in Vietnam, and a homeless man who was wrongly accused. The reader sees all of these tragedies through Grace's eyes. As a Christian, I really don't know where I stand on such things as clairvoyance or ESP. God is a big God and it certainly would be within His power to allow certain people to be able to sense things more than others. I do believe such matters are very sensitive matters because such powers could definitely be evil as well.

I would have rated this book as a 5, but there were a few scenes in the book that I would have rather not read (I actually skipped over them) due to their graphic nature. All in all, this was a great book that will make the reader really think - which I believe is the highest qualification of a good book!

Pick this book up and read it!! You will be so glad you did. I have been hitting home runs on my books picked up from Net Galley lately and this one knocks it out of the ball park! The story is told by Grace, a twelve year girl with a gift, she calls it “The Knowing”. The author does a remarkable job of writing in first person as a young girl. There were times I thought to myself, oh wow, if I could write like this.
We follow on a journey with Grace as she lives in a family with a Preacher father, several sisters, Joy, Hope, Chasity, little Marilyn and her mother, whom has severe depression causing her to completely withdraw from them all. Grace is a twin, her twin brother died at birth but Grace carries on conversations with Isaac, much to her father’s chagrin. The writing is so believable and realistic that you grow up right next to Grace and feel like you are walking beside her. You can picture their home, the church across the street, the lake, the kitchen and especially the church services and the baptism.
The Knowing allows Grace to read thoughts, if welcomed, and then also having clairvoyance abilities. The book surrounds these gifts mildly and presents them in a most pleasant sort of way. Grace also is a gift from god, and is so kindhearted, loving and giving, but she most wants the respect and love of her father and misses her mother terribly. I laughed so many times, could hardly put the book down, read it in just a couple days, and absolutely broke down sobbing once with so much feeling. I will be remembering moments in this book for a long, long while. This is one of the most awesome books I have ever read putting it definitely in my top 5 of all time. The most thing I look for in a book is how it makes me feel, how I relate to the characters, and the storyline, this book has it all. It has heart, love, kindness, and most of all, God, a lot of praying goes on in this book.
I thank Net Galley and Kensington Books for allowing me the opportunity to read this for my review. If I could give above 5 stars, I would. This is an awesome, awesome book.

Grace Carter is one of those characters you love right from the very beginning. She is wise, and funny, and so very aware of the people and the world around her. Grace has a gift she calls the “Knowing,” although she can’t always say it is a gift she’s happy to have. It can be confusing for an 11 year old to know what is in the minds and hearts and futures of the people in her small town, and then there is her father, an Evangelical preacher, who deems her “gift” a curse from the devil.

Grace lost her twin brother at birth, but she has him tucked in a part of her heart that will not let him be forgotten, and when she needs him most, he is there to provide words of wisdom and comfort. This is the story of Grace’s wrestling with who she is, who she might become, and how to make peace with all that she knows. Her friendships take place mostly in secret because she is afraid of incurring any more disapproval, and at times it really does feel as if it is Grace against the world. Her fight to be heard and understood makes a story full of sorrow and joy, disappointment and triumph, as she searches for a way to make peace with herself and her place the world.

Grace and her story will stay with me for a long time. This is a beautifully written, heart-warming story of faith and love, of hope and struggle, of family, and ultimately, of what it takes to be uniquely one’s own true self.

This will be on my top 5 books of this year! You just can’t help to fall in love with Grace Carter and her special gifts! Highly recommend!,

'I make people nervous, even Daddy. Especially Daddy. I know this by how they look away, as if their darkest secrets will be exposed like tea leaves scattered in the snow.'

Midwest, 1960’s and Grace Carter seems too small for all the ‘Knowing’ she contains within’ her. Having an Evangelical pastor for a father who believes her gift shames God makes her hide the truth from the light. At times, she fears her father is right. It isn’t normal to be able to talk to your dead twin, nor know all the secrets brewing inside all the people in her small town. Her mother’s sadness is a force, a bottomless well where all of them are drowning. If it weren’t for Aunt Pearl’s love, she’d be lost.

People in their town are wary of her, children make fun but then she is bowled over by a girl named Lola, whose parents live the bohemian lifestyle her father believes breeds sin. Why, then, does she feel nothing but comfort and acceptance around Lola and her parents? What about the homeless man Lyle, why do people who put their faith in God see nothing wrong in turning their backs on a man so deeply in need? Her family has known grief, and her mother is spiraling into hers after bringing home a newborn baby. Why can’t she be more like her sisters, even spoiled Chastity? Grace’s premonitions that saved her sister Joy Ann are forbidden, surely it was angels, or God and has nothing to do with Grace’s witchery. Heck, she doesn’t even look like any of them with their blue eyes and soft blond hair, sticking out as she does with her red hair and green eyes as if her “knowing” doesn’t make her different enough!

She may not understand where her ‘knowing’ comes from, but she is not a witch! She is not evil!

Her knowing always leads to bigger stories, unravels secrets others feel are best kept hidden. When children are harmed, it is up to her to find the strength in herself to speak up. The adults seem to be no help, and everything at home is getting worse. Momma is half in this world, half in the other and nobody believes her but is it because the truth can be terrifying, even for grown ups? Surely her daddy isn’t scared of anything, is he? Scared of her?

Will Grace ever be free to be herself, to use her knowing, or is she just crazy or evil like so many make her feel? This is an uplifting story full of hope just in time for Spring. I have to mention the cover, it’s simply lovely. Sometimes you just need a feel good novel, about a little girl finding her backbone and learning to embrace who she is.

Publication Date: April 24, 2018

A John Scognamiglio Book

Kensington Books

THIS I KNOW, Eldonna Edwards’ debut novel, will be published by Kensington Books/John Scognamiglio Book on April 24, 2018. It is a coming of age novel about an extraordinary teenage girl named Grace Carter. The novel is set in the late 1960s, early 1970s in a small town in Michigan.
On the outside, Grace appears to be like all of the other little girls in her small town. She lives with her parents, and is the middle child of five daughters. On the inside, Grace is very different not only from her sisters, but from just about everyone else. Grace has a very special ability that she calls The Knowing. This intuition allows her to read other people’s thoughts (but only if they allow it) and see things that others cannot. It also allows her to speak with Isaac, her twin brother who died at birth. Grace believes that The Knowing is a gift from God. Her family is aware of her ability, but they are not accepting. Her sisters mock her, and her father repeatedly tries to convince her that this is the work of the Devil and that she must stop using her ability. The only family member who really accepts Grace’s ability is her Aunt Pearl. Pearl urges Grace to continue to use her gift regardless of who accepts it and who doesn’t. Unfortunately, only a few of the people in the small town accept Grace – coming to her only when they want something. Throughout the novel, Grace battles with herself (and her family) over whether she should ignore or gift or if she should use her gift to help people.
THIS I KNOW is a very interesting novel. Grace is a likeable protagonist, and it’s interesting to watch her grow and mature throughout the novel. She is a kind and caring girl, and it’s sad that so few accept her and her special ability. That being said, Grace lives in a small town where just about everyone is deeply religious. Grace’s father is an Evangelical preacher, and she spends a lot of time in the church. Unfortunately for Grace, her father has never bonded with her in the way that he has bonded with his other children. Henry Carter blames Grace for not being a boy, and also for her living while her twin, Isaac, died at birth. In my opinion, Henry Carter is a despicable, unredeemable character. Rarely have I hated a character as much as him. And he sure doesn’t practice what he preaches. Henry is judgmental and unaccepting not only of his daughter, but of just about anyone who doesn’t belong to his church. Henry is so unaccepting of Grace’s gift that punishes her, frequently accuses her of practicing witchcraft, tells her she mocking God by using her intuition, and then forces Grace to suffer through an exorcism in a scene that almost made me stop reading the novel. Perhaps because I’ve known people like Henry, and been friends with people who grew up in households similar to Grace’s, that played a role in shaping my thoroughly negative opinion of him.
Overall, I did enjoy THIS I KNOW. It’s a well written novel with intriguing characters. Throughout the novel, I was cheering for Grace. I wanted her to overcome all of her doubts and the people who refused to accept her gift. I wanted Grace to continue using The Knowing to help her family and the other people in her small town. Aside from my dislike of Henry Carter, I felt that some of the storylines just petered out without any real resolution.

I read the first chapter in buzzbooks and knew I wanted to read more. Grace and her twin Isaac are born into a very religious family, only her brother doesn’t survive his birth. Not only that but Grace has “ the knowing” which allows her to see the past, future, and present in peoples minds and events. Her very religious father as well as her other sisters think this is the work of the devil and don’t understand her. Only her mother who once had the sight herself understands but she becomes terribly depressed after the birth of her last daughter and is no help to grace or her family. This book is about accepting others who are different than ourselves, and seeing how Grace understands and grows into her gift.

"The Knowing comes from a good place. A God place."
I loved this book! Grace is a young girl who has a heart of gold, a love for life and for making things right. She has help from "Knowing" what people think and feel at times and seeing things that others cannot see. She friends the people others shun.
"Sorrow is the good Lord's toll for love" as said by Grace's favorite Aunt Pearl.
It's a story of hope and belief! Well Done!

Eldonna Edwards’s new book, THIS I KNOW is a remarkable story about clairvoyance, faith, and self-acceptance. Grace Carter has the Knowing, a type of clairvoyance which allows her to talk to her twin brother who died at birth, and to visit her mother when she goes into a coma after a suicide attempt. At various times, Grace predicts the future, finds lost objects, and sees into the past. Born into a family headed by an Evangelical preacher father who sees her gifts as being nigh onto witchcraft, Grace is forced to hide her talents. Her father resents her on some level because she survived, adding to his household full of girls, and her brother didn’t.

I was immediately carried into this book by Grace’s childish voice as she recognizes her missing half, her dead brother, from a photograph of her mother when she was pregnant with the twins. Her voices matures as she matures, and as she learns to accept herself and her Knowing despite her father’s antipathy.

Set in the hippie era, lesbian love, free-love, and Jesus Freaks play counterpoint to Evangelical Christian beliefs.

I read this book in one sitting.

From the first paragraph, Grace Carter’s lyrical voice, expanded awareness, and deep wisdom sucked me in. The writing is GORGEOUS, the characters wonderfully drawn, and the themes universally appealing.

Grace has The Knowing, which her flower-child friend Lola eventually identifies as clairvoyance.

“I love the soft flesh of Mama’s warm palm against my own even though sometimes I feel a deep sorrow through her skin.”

Her father is a preacher.

“Daddy gives me The Look when I mention things I’m not supposed to know without someone telling me.”

Grace can only be herself.

“I don’t think there’s a bushel big enough to hide the Knowing. It keeps getting bigger and stronger, like a storm cloud before it grows into a tornado. I’ve spent most of my life holding it by the tail.”

Her twin did not survive birth, but he continues to walk beside her in life.

“He told me that what’s true for one person isn’t always true for another, but that doesn’t make it a lie.”

“This I Know” is an exquisite dance between Grace and her father, mother, and sisters, Grace and the limited-sight world around her, and Grace and her Knowing. The prose took my breath away. The soft, gentle story stole my heart.

The book opens with Grace voicing her awareness of her twin, Isaac, curled against her: two interchangeable beings cocooned in their mother’s womb. It is the late 1960s, a small town in the Midwest and Grace is born into a family ruled by an Evangelical pastor – her father. Isaac her twin, did not survive and so from the start Grace is aware of ‘knowing’ something is missing, and knowing of sadness. Sadness she witnessed in her mother who slowly, over the years, withdrew from the family and eventually into a hospital where she had completely retreated into a coma.

At eleven years old Grace is surrounded by her sisters, Hope, Joy and Chastity who individually shine, whether through beauty or intelligence. But Grace is the oddity. No matter how she tries, and she really does, she cannot seem to get her father’s approval. She is aware that her gift of knowing, or intuition is deemed evil but she sees it as helpful, a gift from god and she seeks solace in talking to her dead brother Issac. She longs for her baptism, but three times is denied this by her father who deems her not ready, as yet.

Grace finds comfort in her friendship with Lola a new girl at school who has unconventional, hippy parents who offer Grace an outlet and support. She also befriends a homeless man who is accused when a young girl goes missing. All of her friendships live in the margins, as does Grace. When Grace’s mother produces another child she retreats into severe depression and the family dynamic changes.

I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this book is. I just cannot. When reading this I felt joyous. I felt a resounding echo in my soul. I probably also felt envy – for such beautiful writing; for creating a personality that is so uplifting. I wanted to literally shout about it – you must read this – you will not believe it. Instead I read on, savouring every particle, every revelation and felt that ‘yes, everything could be right in the world’ – if you could just see, hear, understand.

I have one negative comment, only a little one. I am not sure about the end – it felt too rushed for me. Sort of ‘that happened, then that, then that is it.’ Maybe that says more about me not really wanting to finish the book than anything else.

Sometimes, five stars don’t get it. Not for me, not this time. At least 7.5 for the way it made me feel - joyous.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Young Grace has Powers. That is, she can tell people's futures, and she knows when something important is happening somewhere else. She considers this a gift from God, but her fundamentalist pastor father disagrees. He tries to get her to stop it, but she can't. And therein lies the tale. I found this book to be delightful. I don't have Powers, but I grew up in a Southern Baptist family, and my dad would have reacted the same way as the father in this book if I had had them. The book is filled with heart, and I loved it. I would recommend it to anyone. I don't think of it as young adult, even though teenagers would like it. Grace is young, yes, but she has the wisdom of a timeless being. Adults will love it, too.

I found the story unlike anything I have read in the past. The main character Grace, although just a young girl at the beginning of the story, is such a strong character. Throughout the story she is forever trying to please her father who always appears so disappointed in her. The story takes place in the late 1960s in a small Midwest town. Grace, is the daughter of a strict Evangelic pastor father and a mother who loves her and has an understanding for Grace's gift. Grace is a clairvoyant, what Grace sees as helpful her father sees as evil. The struggles that Grace has with her father, her mother's battle with depression and her community shunning her makes her feel like an outcast. As the story develops and Grace grows from a little girl to a young women her gift of clairvoyance becomes stronger and has a bigger impact on Grace, her family and her community. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I would recommend this book.

Once in a while you read a book that just takes your breath away with its beauty and truth. This I Know is such a book. In the mid twentieth century midwest, 11-year-old Grace Carter tries to hide her gift from her father. The Evangelical preacher would believe that Grace’s gift for finding things, knowing things about a person’s past or future were akin to witchcraft. She certainly doesn’t want him to know that she’s able to speak to her twin, Issac, who died at birth. Luckily, Grace has her aunt Pearl who understands that Grace’s ability is a gift and who offers the only comfort the girl knows. As Grace’s own family becomes more distant, she finds friends in the community, other “throw away” people, who become her true family. This is one of the most beautiful coming of age stories I’ve ever read, and it will stay with me for a long, long time