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For twelve-year-old Martha "Sonny" Creech, there is no place more beautiful than her family's cotton farm. She, her two brothers, and her parents work hard on their land—hoeing, planting, picking—but only Sonny loves the rich, dark earth the way her father does. When a tragic accident claims his life, her stricken family struggles to fend off ruin—until their rich, reclusive neighbor offers to help finance that year's cotton crop.
Sonny is dismayed when her mama accepts Frank Fowler's offer; even more so when Sonny's best friend, Daniel, points out that the man has ulterior motives. Sonny has a talent for divining water—an ability she shared with her father and earns her the hated nickname "water witch" in school. But uncanny as that skill may be, it won't be enough to offset Mr. Fowler's disturbing influence in her world. Even her bond with Daniel begins to collapse under the weight of Mr. Fowler's bigoted taunts. Though she tries to bury her misgivings for the sake of her mama's happiness, Sonny doesn't need a willow branch to divine that a reckoning is coming, bringing with it heartache, violence—and perhaps, a fitting and surprising measure of justice.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 29, 2019 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781496717016
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781496717016
- File size: 3682 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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December 1, 2018
Everhart's compelling third novel (after The Road to Bittersweet, 2018) follows 12-year-old Sonny as she struggles to maintain the life she has always known while everything around her changes. Sonny loves working with her family on their farm in 1950s North Carolina and exploring the land with her best friend, Daniel. It's Sonny's dad who knows her best, even revealing a little bit of magic in passing on his ability to divine water. When Sonny's father dies, unexpected help arrives in the form of next-door neighbor Frank Fowler. Sonny's mama is taken in by Fowler's charm and accepts his offer to fund their cotton crop for the season, but Sonny and Daniel suspect he is not the benevolent savior he appears to be. By picking on Daniel, who is still trying to understand how he is different from his friends, and aligning himself with known Klansmen, Fowler's true nature reveals itself, leading Sonny on an exploration of what kind of person she wants to be. Reminiscent of the novels of Lee Smith, Kaye Gibbons, and Sandra Dallas, Everhart builds a firm sense of place, portraying the tiredness and hope of a dry southern summer and voicing strong southern women.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
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