This is a beautiful, soft, sad, and sweet story told by Clover Lee Hill, a ten-year-old black girl living in South Carolina. It reads almost like a diary. Clover's mom was no longer alive. Her dad, Gaten Hill, dies suddenly in an automobile accident just hours after marrying Sara Kate, a white woman. That leaves Clover in the care of a stepmother she hardly knows.

In the first half of the novel, we meet Gaten’s extended family and see their reaction to his dating a white woman. Most of the family at first seems skeptical. Later most remain unhappy with his choice to marry Sara Kate, but they were not downright hateful so this novel at least starts out with a glimmer of hope and on an upbeat note. Gaten’s sister Everleen did tell Clover, “People need to be accepted and judged by the kind of person they are inside, not on the basis of the color of their skin.”

As the novel progresses, we see family and friends interact and bonds tighten. It's really lovely how this happens and is reflected in Clover's words. Of all of the qualities of this novel, I think its gentleness is what moves me the most. ( )

When I requested this book I thought it was right up my alley it sounded like something I should love I have been trying to read this little book for weeks, it just didn't grab me and was very easy to put down and try something else. The writing is sparse and I wanted more, I wish there had been more background on Gaten and Sara Kate instead of jumping right in with his death , it was hard to tell just how long Gaten and Sara Kate had been dating before they married. There were also times it was hard to tell if it was past or present.

I liked the last 50 or so pages the best it gave me the most insight into the main characters before that I just didn't feel much of a connection with the characters.

From the afterward we see this is somewhat autobiographical, but without the white step mother and maybe this would have been more interesting if she had just told her family's story.

I wanted to know more about the characters and by the time I started to the book was over. This one just didn't do it for me.

2 1/2 stars

I received this book from Librarything and the publisher for a fair and honest review. ( )

Gaten was killed in a car accident just a few minutes after marrying Sara Kate. Gaten left behind a 10 year old daughter named Clover. Gaten was black, Sara Kate was white. This really had very little to do with the story, which actually could be a good thing. Instead of focusing on the differences between the colors the author just focused on what was going on with the 10 year old, who was left to be raised by Sara Kate, a woman she barely knew. Clover is a nice little story about compassion, kindness and love. It's an easy read. ( )

I have conflicting thoughts about this young adult fiction novel. I like the fact that it deals with race relations - in the family and community in the 1980's - and from the innocent eyes of a ten-year-old child. Yet, Clover, the child-narrator, has been through so much in her young life that her emotions do not adequately reflect her recent traumas. Intellectually her pain is stated, but emotionally, that deep raw ache such an age and experience would normally elicit, is not palpable.

Likewise, Sander's characters, with the exception of Everleen, lack dimension. Ironically, they have colorful backgrounds, yet their expression, formed by the author's writing style, lacks depth. The author may have tried to convey that somewhat murky experience we interpret from the eyes of a child, but the intensity of this experience falls short.

Sanders novel also struggles with fluency. Weaving back and forth through time is not a problematic technique. However, Saunders method is choppy. It takes away from the novel's sense of continuity, feeling more like interruptions than reflections.

Now comes the irony. Despite all of the above, Sander's has written a sweet and charming book. Maybe it is because of Clover 's innocent soliloquies. The reader cannot help but love her and feel deeply for her. Maybe it is the circumstances. As an adult you want to protect her and hope, with the love of her family (despite their contradictions), she will turn out all right.

Overall, Dori Sanders has written a good book and story line. Her characters are interesting; they are simply not developed as much as they could have been considering the intensity of the subject matter. It is unfortunate, improvement of these qualities would have resulted in an exceptional work of literary fiction. ( )

Clover Hill is a ten-year old girl headed to her father's funeral. He mother has already passed. She has no tears. Her new stepmother doesn't either.

Gaten Hill has been raising his daughter as a bachelor for the past few years with the help of his father, brother, sister-in-law, and the community. Gaten also happens to be Clover's principal. They are finally settling into their life together after much tragedy. Another "unsettling" is on the horizon and this one does not result in a quick recovery.

Clover is familiar with death. She has had to adjust to death all her life. Clover's family unit surrounds her with so much love so quickly that her transitions are less rocky. Sara Kate her new step mom doesn't have this luxury. Her transition is rocky to say the least. Sara Kate's perseverance and sheer determination brought forth the healing that everyone needed.

What I appreciated the most about the book is the depicting of the unity and flaws of family. The southern imagery was amazing which is always a delight for me. This would be a great book for young readers in general but especially those that are trying to cope with the death of a loved one. ( )