The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee

Gracie Lee lives on a farm with her mother, father, little sister and their dog Lucky. She is a nervous worried child, always anxious over everything from whether she will drown during her baptism to how many beers her father has consumed, to what has become of the man from the "pretty gray house." Gracie's mom plays piano at their church. Gracie decides one day during the invitational hymn to go up and speak to Brother Brown about praying for her heavy drinking father with the nasty disposition. From that point on Brother Brown becomes somewhat of a confidante for Gracie as she struggles through a difficult home life. As a fan of historical fiction I enjoyed this story, set in the 70s, with references to Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Nixon. I did feel it started off a bit slowly but it was definitely worth sticking with to the end.

This book is somewhat of a slow burner, but what a gem. Set in the seventies in the Vietnam era, the book tells the tale of a year in the life of Gracie Lee. she lives on a cotton farm with her momma, dad and younger sister. I found Grace a wonderful character, and the author did a fantastic job of getting inside the head of a ten year old girl growing up with a somewhat dysfunctional family. My heart broke for her at times, yet I also felt her strength and way of looking at the world would see her through. A bittersweet ending that we know is coming, and yet which leaves the reader with a feeling of hope and optimism for Gracie Lee's future. Filled to the brim with wonderful small town characters, the author describes them and the rural setting so vividly you can picture it all. A wonderful tale, and one I highly recommend, I am now off to google a recipe for strawberry cake!

A compelling coming-of-age tale. Thought-provoking without becoming too heavy or unwieldy. A surprisingly enjoyable read!

"My two grown children are the best people I know. I hope to be like them someday."

Those words succeeded to fire up my mind. Whatever I simply love, will instantly hook me. Talya Tate Boerner, the architect of the above words, was also the author next in line on my shelf. It’s not that I lock up people, especially authors on my shelves. :) You got it, the book I intended to read after doing some research on the author, belonged to Talya.

When my curiosity was fully satisfied, I opened up the book. What did I find inside its pages?

Well… I found Gracie Lee Eudora Abbot, a ten-year-old girl who plans to liberate people on her path. The magic of combining struggles, coming of age, solitude and salvation with good humor, is sure to totally embrace the reader.

Inside the book, a mysterious music can be heard. Music combined with nature’s call, which ears cannot detect. You have to read it to fully sense what I am speaking about.

On the surface is a southern story set near the banks of the Mississippi River. In fact, it is much more. A distinctive fragrance touches your soul while the girl saves someone unexpectedly. Vibrant details written in a very personal way by Talya Tate Boerner, give a delicious taste to one of the most important steps each human must take; leaving the childhood behind while tiptoeing into adolescence.

You will not even believe that what you have in your hands is a debut novel. If this is Talya’s first published fictional book, her heart whispers that she has already written many other novels inside her soul.

The Accidental Salvation of Grace Lee is the book you should not miss in this lifetime.

If like me, you adore American fiction set in the south, then The Accidental Salvation of Gracie lee will please with its cast of strong characters and wonderful sense of place- this time, in Arkansas. This is Boerners first novel and she shows great promise.

It's the south and like a lot of locals,. ten year-old Gracie Lee Abbott attends church. But Gracie is a pragmatist, more concerned with what the church can do for her troubled father and she she walks up to a church pulpit and her pastor asks her if she’s there to be saved, she tells him, “No sir, I just came up to say hello and ask you to pray for my Daddy. He’s mean to Momma, he drinks too much beer, and I think he’s probably going to Hell.. Her father’s drinking has been exacerbated by the rains that threaten to drown her family cotton crop but this comment to the pastor prompts her year of accidental discoveries after she is baptised.

Gracie is forced to grow up faster than she would have liked, prompted by her preternatural curiosity and although this is not fast-paced prose, its gentle meandering is very much in line with the stories protagonist who, like all children, is not always adept at differentiating between the essential and the indulgent.

The sense of place extends to the historical and cultural too with the Vietnam War, Elvis, Nixon and Johnny Cash populating the pages and reflecting the every-day concerns and interests of Americans at the time. This ensures that Gracie Lee and her family retain a narrative authenticity.

Gracie Lee rocks! She has a mean, alcoholic father, a timid mother, and a copycat sister. They’re in Arkansas in the 70s, where the success of the cotton crop determines life or death, and the path to heaven is via the local Baptist church.

Gracie Lee cuts through as much baloney as she can. She plays with her Barbie and dumps beer down the drain when her daddy isn’t looking. She confides in the church pastor when she really needs an adult who will listen and guide. Best of all, Gracie Lee invents her own little mystery that allows her to feel like she’s needed and valued.

Gracie’s story is charming and poignant and smart. I laughed and cried. I also got pretty mad – which goes to show how invested I was. Why anger? Well…

Gracie Lee’s dad really ticked me off, especially when he asked her for a favor at the end of the book. Ugh, like she owed him ANYTHING, especially something that she would burden her. Selfish selfish man.

This book was a little slow, but really a wonderful story that I’m grateful to have experienced. In the end, I think Gracie Lee saved HERSELF with her cleverness and courage. And personally I believe she had some backup from the man upstairs.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1536137341

http://randombookmuses.com/2016/02/03/the-accidental-salvation-of-gracie-lee-by-talya-tate-boerner/

Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, this coming-of-age story has all the heart one could wish for. I hated for it to end! Highly recommended.

The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee is one of those books that slowly works it's way into your heart and leaves you feeling like one of the family. I read it in one sitting, unable to put it down.

Ten year old Grace Lee Eudora (how she hates that name!) Abbott, Gracie to friends and family, hates playing the piano and is fascinated by the French language. She knows a lot of things (some of them she wishes she didn't), but the things she doesn't know keep her awake at night. She worries about the soldiers in Vietnam and wonders why she couldn't have been born Lisa Marie Presley. She has long involved conversations with the father at her local Baptist church and asks him to pray for her Daddy, who surely must be one of the meanest men on earth. She prays for rain in the dry, and for it to stop raining in the wet, so that her Daddy will have a good cotton crop and maybe become nicer, not only to her but to her mother and sister.

She takes to hiding out in the lovely grey house down the road, where the unknown man shot himself, and where there is a whole lot of books, including a coveted set of encyclopaedias. She writes the man letters, telling him about her life and what is going on in the community, without knowing if he is alive or dead.

We follow Gracie through the school year, and long summer holidays. We watch her struggle with her relationship with her father, and try to understand her mother. We watch her cope with betrayal and bullying, and with death.

This is a delightful book, well written and evocative of both the era and it's setting. It is a book that I know I am going to read again.

Than you to NetGalley and Southern Yellow Pine Publishing for the gift of an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.