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Sweet Mercy
When Eve discovers her uncle's bootlegging operation, she knows it's against Prohibition law. But can she really condemn the only thing supporting her family?
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2013
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1225 people want to read
About the author
Ann Tatlock
37 books298 followersAnn Tatlock is a novelist and children’s book author. Her books have received numerous awards, including the Christy Award, the Midwest Book Award and the Silver Angel Award for Excellence in Media. She also serves as managing editor of Heritage Beacon, the historical fiction imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She lives with her family in Western North Carolina.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
February 8, 2018
This is a touching, sweet, wholesome coming of age story about a 17-year-old girl who is innocent, kind and gives everyone a chance. She gets hurt by some and is pleasantly surprised by others. It takes place in the 1930s, an era when people made do with what they had and what they had was not much. It is also the time of prohibition and there is an interesting story and, I believe, a little-known fact involving Al Capone. The heroine's struggles with the way she (and all of us) sees and judges events and people, i/e. black and white, good or evil, right and wrong, the laws and the lawless. But the author shares the message that ONE thing is certain, ONE thing is never changing: God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
September 25, 2022
Eve and her family have left St. Paul Minnesota where crime during prohibition is running rampant, and they have headed back to her dad's hometown of Mercy, Ohio. They would be staying and working with her dad's brother, Uncle Charlie, at the family lodge that he had inherited. Would Eve and her Dad, both strong Christians, escape the prohibition they hated or would they find it had followed them.
Interesting story with a theme of choices, beliefs, and family. When facing illegal activities within your own family, do you close your eyes or stand by your beliefs? Love the surprise ending that brought Eve the happiness she sought.
Interesting story with a theme of choices, beliefs, and family. When facing illegal activities within your own family, do you close your eyes or stand by your beliefs? Love the surprise ending that brought Eve the happiness she sought.
September 21, 2023
I am delighted to have discovered Ann Tatlock and after reading a second book by her, I've put several others on my to-read list. I thought the setting of this book was intriguing -- I don't think I've ever read a novel set during the Prohibition before. I also appreciate the way it's not a neat and tidy package. It leaves me asking questions like what I would have done or even what the characters should have done. I'm dropping a star because in my opinion the main character's parents felt underdeveloped and because I wasn't quite satisfied by the ending. (Except I loved the epiloge! So sweet.)
July 20, 2014
Eve Marryat is happy and relieved to be leaving a rough neighbourhood with her parents, to live at her uncle's lodge and guest house. She is idealistic bordering on judgmental. No, she's crossed that border without being aware. She sees life as a no-brainer. Good people do good things, bad people do bad things. If she tends to look down her nose at certain people, it's because their wrong decisions stand out so clearly to her.
Her lofty attitude makes this story even more intriguing, when she finds out about the bootlegging business being run practically under her nose. It's hard for her to admit that the motives of some people for choosing to be involved are not only easy to understand but pretty hard to refuse. Could doing the wrong thing actually seem the more noble, no-brainer choice in some circumstances? Most shocking of all to Eve is the question of whether she herself could be convinced to turn a blind eye.
The time period is a perfect choice for examining moral dilemmas. The Great Depression was driving honest people to be desperate, while at the same time, many longed for a simple drink to drown their problems but the Prohibition prevented them. A 'silly' law brings out the best and worst in people.
I like the ups and downs in Eve's conscience, as she yo-yos between self-righteousness and overwhelming guilt. Although she hates to think her moral standards are failing her, the story makes us wonder whether she is, in fact, becoming a kinder and stronger person than she used to be when she thought she was a paragon. The town is aptly named Mercy, and the implicit question is whether Eve is behaving closer to God's heart when she lets mercy guide her instead of judgment.
I loved Eve's relationship with her parents, and the love and trust she knew she'd receive from them. Her father, Drew Marryat, was dyslexic, although that term wasn't used back then, and he felt over-shadowed by his two outwardly successful older brothers. He was a sympathetic character and I was surprised when it was revealed why the relationship wasn't as rosy in Eve's mind as it came across on paper. It gets us wondering whether our hang-ups may be based on reality or in our own heads.
What I liked least was the unsatisfactory wrap-up for my favourite character. Without revealing plot spoilers by naming him, he was the one person whose story I found even more compelling than Eve's. Having my heart touched so deeply by this character, I hated being left to wonder about his future from the vague hints we were given. It made me groan, because I wanted so much more for him, as his part of the story was pivotal to the plot.
However, it was a quick and compelling read which made me think.
Her lofty attitude makes this story even more intriguing, when she finds out about the bootlegging business being run practically under her nose. It's hard for her to admit that the motives of some people for choosing to be involved are not only easy to understand but pretty hard to refuse. Could doing the wrong thing actually seem the more noble, no-brainer choice in some circumstances? Most shocking of all to Eve is the question of whether she herself could be convinced to turn a blind eye.
The time period is a perfect choice for examining moral dilemmas. The Great Depression was driving honest people to be desperate, while at the same time, many longed for a simple drink to drown their problems but the Prohibition prevented them. A 'silly' law brings out the best and worst in people.
I like the ups and downs in Eve's conscience, as she yo-yos between self-righteousness and overwhelming guilt. Although she hates to think her moral standards are failing her, the story makes us wonder whether she is, in fact, becoming a kinder and stronger person than she used to be when she thought she was a paragon. The town is aptly named Mercy, and the implicit question is whether Eve is behaving closer to God's heart when she lets mercy guide her instead of judgment.
I loved Eve's relationship with her parents, and the love and trust she knew she'd receive from them. Her father, Drew Marryat, was dyslexic, although that term wasn't used back then, and he felt over-shadowed by his two outwardly successful older brothers. He was a sympathetic character and I was surprised when it was revealed why the relationship wasn't as rosy in Eve's mind as it came across on paper. It gets us wondering whether our hang-ups may be based on reality or in our own heads.
What I liked least was the unsatisfactory wrap-up for my favourite character. Without revealing plot spoilers by naming him, he was the one person whose story I found even more compelling than Eve's. Having my heart touched so deeply by this character, I hated being left to wonder about his future from the vague hints we were given. It made me groan, because I wanted so much more for him, as his part of the story was pivotal to the plot.
However, it was a quick and compelling read which made me think.
August 4, 2019
Eve Marryat is thrilled to be leaving crime laden St. Paul, Minnesota, when her father loses his job working for the Ford Motor Company during the Great Depression, and headed for her Uncle Cy's vacation resort in Ohio to work. She quickly makes friends among the people who work for her uncle or live on the island, unaware that her new home might now be the safe haven she believes it to be.
Eve considers herself a good and moral person, she likes to see things in black and white, she find herself challenged by what she sees and learns on the island. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, as well as a compassionate heart for her step-cousin Jones, and other newfound friends.
Eve's parents are people who live their faith, and have instilled their values in their daughter. Her father is dyslexic and has always struggled with feeling like a failure in comparison to his more successful brothers, he has strong convictions and makes choices that are good for him family.
Overall, a compelling coming-of-age tale set during the Great Depression and the height of Prohibition. I like how Eve is challenged by what she sees, and is forced to re-examine her beliefs. Link and Jones challenge her to see that things aren't always what they seem, and that "good people" do bad things. A well-written read, the desperation of the Depression, as well as the glamour of the gangster era, well worth the read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Eve considers herself a good and moral person, she likes to see things in black and white, she find herself challenged by what she sees and learns on the island. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, as well as a compassionate heart for her step-cousin Jones, and other newfound friends.
Eve's parents are people who live their faith, and have instilled their values in their daughter. Her father is dyslexic and has always struggled with feeling like a failure in comparison to his more successful brothers, he has strong convictions and makes choices that are good for him family.
Overall, a compelling coming-of-age tale set during the Great Depression and the height of Prohibition. I like how Eve is challenged by what she sees, and is forced to re-examine her beliefs. Link and Jones challenge her to see that things aren't always what they seem, and that "good people" do bad things. A well-written read, the desperation of the Depression, as well as the glamour of the gangster era, well worth the read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
April 22, 2013
This was a really enjoyable read! I loved Tatlock's writing style. It flowed nicely and I liked the whole feel of retelling a childhood story. It was somewhat of a simpler time and place. Descriptions of lazy summer days, good old-fashioned work and values, first love, and growing up.
This is the first book that I have read about prohibition. Eve and her father are very strong supporters of prohibition and the law. They have their reasons for being so. I struggled a little with Eve's black and white view and how she thought of those who sold alcohol as serious criminals and evil men, when many of them are just trying to support their families and, to me, it's just alcohol. However, we definitely live in a different time and she had seen the corruption and crime that came with bootleggers, as well as someone shot to death with her own eyes right down the street. It's hard for me to really imagine that and all the gangsters and their organizations. It was really interesting learning more about St. Paul and the bootleggers. I didn't realize that there were prohibition officers and had never thought about the risks and difficulties of enforcing prohibition.
Eve is a little naive in some ways, but she was a great character. She was super passionate about some things, such as her family, prohibition, and the island. Things change so much for her during this summer. She finds that no place is perfect and that you can find sadness and happiness anywhere. She also starts to realize that everything isn't as black and white as she would like to believe. She falls in love and has her heart broken for the first time. It was such sweet love too.
I really liked all the supporting characters. Jones, who is an albino and her cousin, is really interesting. Marlene and Jimmy, her friends who are young and in love, but who definitely don't have easy lives. Marcus, who Eve is sweet on. Morris and his wife, Annie, who work at the lodge. Eve's family, who felt like a genuine American family in many ways. Link was one of my favorite characters. I figured out something about him fairly early on, but I enjoyed seeing his role play out.
If you enjoy historical fiction, with sweet romance, and coming-of-age stories then I would definitely recommend this one!
Content: Some brief non-descriptive violence - clean
Source: NetGalley, tour host and author, which did not affect my review in any way.
This is the first book that I have read about prohibition. Eve and her father are very strong supporters of prohibition and the law. They have their reasons for being so. I struggled a little with Eve's black and white view and how she thought of those who sold alcohol as serious criminals and evil men, when many of them are just trying to support their families and, to me, it's just alcohol. However, we definitely live in a different time and she had seen the corruption and crime that came with bootleggers, as well as someone shot to death with her own eyes right down the street. It's hard for me to really imagine that and all the gangsters and their organizations. It was really interesting learning more about St. Paul and the bootleggers. I didn't realize that there were prohibition officers and had never thought about the risks and difficulties of enforcing prohibition.
Eve is a little naive in some ways, but she was a great character. She was super passionate about some things, such as her family, prohibition, and the island. Things change so much for her during this summer. She finds that no place is perfect and that you can find sadness and happiness anywhere. She also starts to realize that everything isn't as black and white as she would like to believe. She falls in love and has her heart broken for the first time. It was such sweet love too.
I really liked all the supporting characters. Jones, who is an albino and her cousin, is really interesting. Marlene and Jimmy, her friends who are young and in love, but who definitely don't have easy lives. Marcus, who Eve is sweet on. Morris and his wife, Annie, who work at the lodge. Eve's family, who felt like a genuine American family in many ways. Link was one of my favorite characters. I figured out something about him fairly early on, but I enjoyed seeing his role play out.
If you enjoy historical fiction, with sweet romance, and coming-of-age stories then I would definitely recommend this one!
Content: Some brief non-descriptive violence - clean
Source: NetGalley, tour host and author, which did not affect my review in any way.
March 7, 2021
Such a good book! I knew nothing about gangsters in St. Paul, nor a lot about prohibition, but this historical fiction book taught me a lot. Plus it was a very sweet story.
Eve, a 16 year old girl was uprooted from her life in Minnesota when, in the early thirties, her father's job and finances suffered. They left their crime-ridden city relocating to a lakeside beach resort owned by her uncle. Thinking she's getting away from the gangsters, she soon realized lazy, backwater resorts could also have crime, right under her nose.
Eve learned about first loves that summer. And as she matured over the following months learning acceptance, befriending a number of people very unlike herself: a boy crazy girl, an albino, and a bum. It also meant facing hard decisions with hard results.
But she was such a good kid, always wanting to do the right thing, even when it's not popular.
The writing! Well I couldn’t have been happier? I intend to find more books by Ann Tatlock!
I wholeheartedly recommend Sweet Mercy!!
Eve, a 16 year old girl was uprooted from her life in Minnesota when, in the early thirties, her father's job and finances suffered. They left their crime-ridden city relocating to a lakeside beach resort owned by her uncle. Thinking she's getting away from the gangsters, she soon realized lazy, backwater resorts could also have crime, right under her nose.
Eve learned about first loves that summer. And as she matured over the following months learning acceptance, befriending a number of people very unlike herself: a boy crazy girl, an albino, and a bum. It also meant facing hard decisions with hard results.
But she was such a good kid, always wanting to do the right thing, even when it's not popular.
The writing! Well I couldn’t have been happier? I intend to find more books by Ann Tatlock!
I wholeheartedly recommend Sweet Mercy!!
August 7, 2018
One of my most favorite books of all time. Loved it!!
May 28, 2020
Eve Marryat has a strong sense of right and wrong, honed during her brief years in St Paul, a haven for gangsters during prohibition. She has even seen a man gunned down in cold blood, and the image haunts her continually. So when her father loses his job and takes the family back to Ohio to join his brother at the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge, she is relieved and happy to be leaving the city for this wonderful place of which she has happy memories from childhood.
Unfortunately, Prohibition has changed the moral landscape everywhere. Bootleggers abound and suddenly it's difficult to know who to trust and what people are really up to. Eve is surrounded by questions and secrets and has to make difficult decisions, while growing from childhood into adulthood.
This author does a good job of presenting her characters with moral dilemmas that are not easily solved and helping them see many angles of each situation, but have the moral courage to make the right decisions.
Unfortunately, Prohibition has changed the moral landscape everywhere. Bootleggers abound and suddenly it's difficult to know who to trust and what people are really up to. Eve is surrounded by questions and secrets and has to make difficult decisions, while growing from childhood into adulthood.
This author does a good job of presenting her characters with moral dilemmas that are not easily solved and helping them see many angles of each situation, but have the moral courage to make the right decisions.
May 16, 2013
The book starts off with Eve taking her ten year old grandson to the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge. She sits down with her Grandson to tell him about her time there at the lodge back in 1931.
In 1931, and the Ford Motor Company in St Paul Minnesota just closed down, leaving her father out of work. Eve did not like where she lived anyway because there were to many gangsters and she witnessed a murder. They get a call from relative in Ohio who owns and runs the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge telling them if they want work to move there and they can work at the Lodge. The decision was made. Eve was very happy.
It is in Ohio that Eve, at seventeen, learns that what is right in life doesn't always follow the law. Her naive eyes are opened wide to a lot of things that happen, but life happens. People need to make money, and people come from many different backgrounds, too. Sometimes breaking the law, such as during this era of Prohibition is the only way for families to put food on their table. She knew there were bad things that went on, such as when they lived in St Paul, Minnesota, where she was so glad they moved away from but it was different here and she believed nothing like Minnesota. Although, here in Ohio she had her eyes opened by so many different types of things.
Prohibition played a central role in Eve's story. At first what she thought was going to float down the river, like Castor Oil, was so strange until she finds out it was moonshine. She knew she could not report it to the authorities, yet she was challenged to, but did not or else her whole family would be broken up. This is where she starts learning that life and living life can be two separate things, but not necessarily wrong after all. Sometimes you have to do whatever you can to survive. Her naive eyes started to open.
This book was a very enjoyable Christian Historical Fiction story. You could relate to the characters very well. It depicted that era of time exactly as it was. (I happen to have photos of my own Grandfather, other family members, and friends drinking moonshine and being drunker than a skunk. They are seen drinking out of the same, clear, large bottles without labels, and most of them were passed out every which way, some with their faces planted right on the floor.) Moonshine was the only way in which to put food on the table, or, when found, it was grabbed up because of the no liquor laws.) Were the men who had to do this proud? No, but it worked and they made a lot of money. It was something they 'had to do' and was not talked about because of the law. People turned their heads. Eve's family was not the only family doing it, either, little does she know. It was called survival and there was great demand for it.
I believe Eve would have come to understand the 'why' of things over the time of her naivety.
I received this book for FREE from Bethany House Publisher in conjunction with Book Blast Promotions in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa...
In 1931, and the Ford Motor Company in St Paul Minnesota just closed down, leaving her father out of work. Eve did not like where she lived anyway because there were to many gangsters and she witnessed a murder. They get a call from relative in Ohio who owns and runs the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge telling them if they want work to move there and they can work at the Lodge. The decision was made. Eve was very happy.
It is in Ohio that Eve, at seventeen, learns that what is right in life doesn't always follow the law. Her naive eyes are opened wide to a lot of things that happen, but life happens. People need to make money, and people come from many different backgrounds, too. Sometimes breaking the law, such as during this era of Prohibition is the only way for families to put food on their table. She knew there were bad things that went on, such as when they lived in St Paul, Minnesota, where she was so glad they moved away from but it was different here and she believed nothing like Minnesota. Although, here in Ohio she had her eyes opened by so many different types of things.
Prohibition played a central role in Eve's story. At first what she thought was going to float down the river, like Castor Oil, was so strange until she finds out it was moonshine. She knew she could not report it to the authorities, yet she was challenged to, but did not or else her whole family would be broken up. This is where she starts learning that life and living life can be two separate things, but not necessarily wrong after all. Sometimes you have to do whatever you can to survive. Her naive eyes started to open.
This book was a very enjoyable Christian Historical Fiction story. You could relate to the characters very well. It depicted that era of time exactly as it was. (I happen to have photos of my own Grandfather, other family members, and friends drinking moonshine and being drunker than a skunk. They are seen drinking out of the same, clear, large bottles without labels, and most of them were passed out every which way, some with their faces planted right on the floor.) Moonshine was the only way in which to put food on the table, or, when found, it was grabbed up because of the no liquor laws.) Were the men who had to do this proud? No, but it worked and they made a lot of money. It was something they 'had to do' and was not talked about because of the law. People turned their heads. Eve's family was not the only family doing it, either, little does she know. It was called survival and there was great demand for it.
I believe Eve would have come to understand the 'why' of things over the time of her naivety.
I received this book for FREE from Bethany House Publisher in conjunction with Book Blast Promotions in exchange to read and write a review about it. It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but of my own honest opinion. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa...
September 17, 2013
Actually between 3 and 1/2 and four stars... if only there were half-stars!
Eve’s father is out of a job, like many others in the early 1930′s, and they move to her uncle’s home in Ohio. Uncle Cyrus owns a hotel, and Eve and her parents, in return for free room and board, become part of a hotel staff.
Like many families, Eve’s parents are struggling with finding ways to make ends meet and maintain some vestige of self-respect in a time when very few are well-off or even able to find employment steadily. Complicating the mix are the laws against buying or purchasing liquor. The author tells us Prohibition had already been in effect for ten years by 1930, but the rest of the novel relates how this law, although with the best intent from the start, complicated lives and even led to concealment, murder, and illegal trafficking.
Another complication in the story is Eve, seventeen, and how she adjusts to living in a new place, finding new friends (and discovering that some friendships last and some don’t), starting a new job, handling the relationship of a distant older sister… and then suddenly stumbling upon some hidden stashes of liquor. Eve also befriends a ‘drifter’ and has compassion on him and others in his situation, although Eve’s character has a believable mix of struggling with envy, loneliness, and self-condemnation.
“I want to take some food to the people in the shantytown. Can I?”
“You want to feed the people in the shantytown?”
“Yes, they need food more than anything.”
Eve does a lot of growing up in the novel and encounters the challenges of making adult decisions in a world that is no longer black and white. What about those who are smuggling liquor in order to feed their families? or pay the medical bills? how do we treat those who look differently than we do? what if someone who is physically challenged and looks different, is a relative, do we ignore them… or befriend them?
Eve finds that making decisions and keeping secrets, even among your own family, are much harder than she ever dreamed. The ending has some surprises and I sure didn’t see them coming. Although they might be a little dramatic compared to the rest of the book, I think they do fit the story.
“I stood tapping my foot, my hands behind my back. I didn’t want to leave the island to go back to St. Paul, bu neither did I want to stay. All I knew for sure was there wasn’t a place in the world that matched my dreams. For as long as I lived I would never stop pining for Paradise, but the gates had been shut and bolted long before I was born. I knew that now. The heartsickness of life outside of Eden was everyone’s lot, including mine.”
May 13, 2014
Source: Free copy from Bethany House/An Open Book.
Summary:
Seventeen year old Eve, and her parents, are moving from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Ohio. Eve's father, lost his job at the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant. He is able to secure a job working at his brother Cy's, Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge, located in Mercy, Ohio. Eve's, older sister Cassandra, and family, will remain living in St. Paul. Uncle Cy's wife is ill and living in a sanitarium in New York state. Her son Jones, continues to live at the Marryat, and work for Cy. Eve, meets a new friend named Marlene. Eve, is introduced to handsome Marcus. They have a few dates and Eve is smitten by his good looks. Eve, also meets a young man named Link, but because he is without a home and going nowhere in life, she is leery of him.
In the opening chapter, Eve, reminisces with her grandson, when she began telling the story of her life in Mercy, Ohio, the story backs up to 1931.
"Good and evil. Black and white. I wanted them to be separate. I didn't like gray." Page 122.
My Thoughts:
Eve, is a personality that places people and events in either a "good" box, or a "bad" box.
But, what happens when a bad person does a good deed, or a good person does a bad deed?
Is it ever okay to lie? Cheat? Steal? Break the law? Is turning a "blind-eye" to crime wrong?
At Eve's age, friends and boyfriends, are the most important aspect of life; however, the prohibition law, the economy, her father's job loss, and a major move, add additional angst in her life.
Eve is faced with not only the normal growing pains of adolescence, but in seeing people for who they are---imperfect people in need of God's grace and mercy, and this includes herself.
I loved this story for several reasons:
1. Eve is a divided character. She's a character torn between right and wrong, and this gave the book a theme which all readers relate to.
2. The 1930s is an era when people made do with what they had and what they had was not much.
3. The author weaved into the story: learning disabilities, prejudice, poverty, illness, disease, and abuse.
4. A story I'd not heard on Al Capone.
Summary:
Seventeen year old Eve, and her parents, are moving from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Ohio. Eve's father, lost his job at the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant. He is able to secure a job working at his brother Cy's, Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge, located in Mercy, Ohio. Eve's, older sister Cassandra, and family, will remain living in St. Paul. Uncle Cy's wife is ill and living in a sanitarium in New York state. Her son Jones, continues to live at the Marryat, and work for Cy. Eve, meets a new friend named Marlene. Eve, is introduced to handsome Marcus. They have a few dates and Eve is smitten by his good looks. Eve, also meets a young man named Link, but because he is without a home and going nowhere in life, she is leery of him.
In the opening chapter, Eve, reminisces with her grandson, when she began telling the story of her life in Mercy, Ohio, the story backs up to 1931.
"Good and evil. Black and white. I wanted them to be separate. I didn't like gray." Page 122.
My Thoughts:
Eve, is a personality that places people and events in either a "good" box, or a "bad" box.
But, what happens when a bad person does a good deed, or a good person does a bad deed?
Is it ever okay to lie? Cheat? Steal? Break the law? Is turning a "blind-eye" to crime wrong?
At Eve's age, friends and boyfriends, are the most important aspect of life; however, the prohibition law, the economy, her father's job loss, and a major move, add additional angst in her life.
Eve is faced with not only the normal growing pains of adolescence, but in seeing people for who they are---imperfect people in need of God's grace and mercy, and this includes herself.
I loved this story for several reasons:
1. Eve is a divided character. She's a character torn between right and wrong, and this gave the book a theme which all readers relate to.
2. The 1930s is an era when people made do with what they had and what they had was not much.
3. The author weaved into the story: learning disabilities, prejudice, poverty, illness, disease, and abuse.
4. A story I'd not heard on Al Capone.
May 6, 2013
We meet Eve in the Prologue. She's back at the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge with her grandson looking for something she stored in the attic before the Lodge gets torn down. She then tells him about her 17th summer...
She left Minnesota with her parents and they went to Mercy, Ohio. Her parents didn't want to go but her dad got laid off due to the poor economy and there wasn't any other work to be found. His brother, Cyrus, called him to come live and work at the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge so that's where they were heading.
She becomes friends with Marlene, who warns her about the red-eyed devil, who she meets later and is surprised she wasn't already told about him. Marlene has a serious boyfriend, Jimmy, and she sets Eve up with his friend, Marcus. She enjoys his company and they quickly become an item. She also becomes friends with the handsome homeless guy, Link, who is just currently down on his luck. Then there's her wild sister, Cassandra, who is now married with two children and they come to visit later in the summer. The two sisters have never gotten along very well so will they be able to mend their relationship?
Prohibition is a big issue and Eve finds out some secrets about bootlegging that she's not happy to know and causes some grief and drama between her and the people she cares about.
I devoured this book! I loved Eve. She's a regular teenager trying to fit in and figure out where she fits in her family's new situation. She is innocent and kind and gives everyone a chance. She gets hurt by some and is pleasantly surprised by others. This is a well written book that I highly recommend!
Mel's Shelves
She left Minnesota with her parents and they went to Mercy, Ohio. Her parents didn't want to go but her dad got laid off due to the poor economy and there wasn't any other work to be found. His brother, Cyrus, called him to come live and work at the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge so that's where they were heading.
She becomes friends with Marlene, who warns her about the red-eyed devil, who she meets later and is surprised she wasn't already told about him. Marlene has a serious boyfriend, Jimmy, and she sets Eve up with his friend, Marcus. She enjoys his company and they quickly become an item. She also becomes friends with the handsome homeless guy, Link, who is just currently down on his luck. Then there's her wild sister, Cassandra, who is now married with two children and they come to visit later in the summer. The two sisters have never gotten along very well so will they be able to mend their relationship?
Prohibition is a big issue and Eve finds out some secrets about bootlegging that she's not happy to know and causes some grief and drama between her and the people she cares about.
I devoured this book! I loved Eve. She's a regular teenager trying to fit in and figure out where she fits in her family's new situation. She is innocent and kind and gives everyone a chance. She gets hurt by some and is pleasantly surprised by others. This is a well written book that I highly recommend!
Mel's Shelves
May 8, 2013
3.5 stars rounding up
I'm happy to be a part of this blog tour today for Sweet Mercy. I love books that give me a bit of a history lesson without seeming exactly like a history lesson. When I get to learn about parts of history with the fictional elements of characters it really helps me to have an idea of what people must have been thinking and feeling at the time.
Sweet Mercy was a gentle flowing book that followed Eve and her family through a summer never to be forgotten. Eve is pretty idealistic and perhaps even a bit "holier than thou" in her thoughts. She cannot understand what would lead a person to break the law or struggle with her clearly defined ideas right and wrong. It was interesting to watch her become aware that there is always more to a story than what meets the eye. I guess that's just part of growing up.
I really enjoyed reading Sweet Mercy. It wasn't a fast paced, suck you in kind of story but it was interesting and well put together. It gave me some food for thought and some simple reminders that I should not be too quick to judge another because I probably don't know their story or understand their heart fully.
I'm happy to be a part of this blog tour today for Sweet Mercy. I love books that give me a bit of a history lesson without seeming exactly like a history lesson. When I get to learn about parts of history with the fictional elements of characters it really helps me to have an idea of what people must have been thinking and feeling at the time.
Sweet Mercy was a gentle flowing book that followed Eve and her family through a summer never to be forgotten. Eve is pretty idealistic and perhaps even a bit "holier than thou" in her thoughts. She cannot understand what would lead a person to break the law or struggle with her clearly defined ideas right and wrong. It was interesting to watch her become aware that there is always more to a story than what meets the eye. I guess that's just part of growing up.
I really enjoyed reading Sweet Mercy. It wasn't a fast paced, suck you in kind of story but it was interesting and well put together. It gave me some food for thought and some simple reminders that I should not be too quick to judge another because I probably don't know their story or understand their heart fully.
May 16, 2013
I love when a story starts in present time and then takes you back to relive a memory! Eve tells the story of what happened when she lived at the family lodge on the lake in Mercy, Ohio during prohibition. I have never really thought about how many people were bootleggers during those years! It was amazing to hear a story recalled by someone who was a teenagers during those years. I loved Eve and her innocence! When she meet Link I knew there was something different about him and I was thrilled with the way to story ended! It was a very intriguing time during the 1930's! I will have to make sure and ask my Grandmother about a few things mentioned in the book! I give the book 4 stars!
November 16, 2013
This was an interesting coming of age story, sort of. It took me a while to get into the idea of a story set in the prohibition era since we now live in such an alcohol saturated society. I thought the novel was well conceived and developed. it certainly helped me get a feel for that era, and the bit of romance was good too. I want to say that Eve was very naive but I think was probably the thinking for young people of the day.
March 7, 2021
This was a well-written and interesting inspirational coming-of-age novel set during the Prohibition era. I really liked Eve's development as a character, especially her realizations that rule-following and perfectionism just doesn't cut it and that she can't "be good." There was no precise conversion, but it was easy to see her gradual spiritual growth into having a relationship with God. This is definitely another addition to my "favorites" shelf.
August 8, 2014
This was the first book of Ann Tatlock that I've read. It reminds me of Julie Cantrell's book,"Into the Free", (another book I enjoyed by the way), it keep me up all night til I read every page!! It was really that good!!!
July 15, 2013
cloying Christian romance. only finished it because it was all I had.
October 6, 2016
A quick read about an idealistic 17 yr old girl during Prohibition who is very black and white about issues.
April 10, 2021
The story has little depth, the writing is vapid and simplistic, the characters have little dimension to them. Overall, ho-hum.
November 18, 2019
In the novel Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock, seventeen-year-old Eve Marryat is glad her family has to leave St. Paul, Minnesota in 1931. The city had become a haven for gangsters and crime: Eve had even witnessed a man being killed.
Her father, newly laid-off from the Ford Motor Company, is taking the family back to where he grew up in Mercy, Ohio. His family owns the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge right on the beach, and Eve and her parents will help out in various capacities. Eve has idyllic memories of her family’s previous visits to the hotel and beach.
Before long, Eve learns that things and people aren’t always what they seem. She learns she has an albino cousin she never knew of before. At first he seems curmudgeonly, she assumes because of what he looks like and how other treat him. She soon finds out he harbors deep pain. She’s surprised to find that a bum who comes for an occasional handout meal has attended college and has ambitions. A boy she meets and starts a relationship with seems good and kind, until she finds out he’s a part of a crime network. And then she learns of nefarious goings-on right there in her uncle’s hotel.
Eve has a hard time with everyone else’s wrongdoing until she’s put into a position she has to cover up.
When I first read the description of this book, I thought the gangster side of it an odd topic. But I loved the way Ann showed us Eve’s character and opened her eyes as well as ours. I enjoyed Ann’s creative phrasing, like “A small steel bridge, humped like the back of a frightened cat” and “The day hobbled along on wounded feet.” I loved the many layers of the title’s meaning. This is another winner.
Her father, newly laid-off from the Ford Motor Company, is taking the family back to where he grew up in Mercy, Ohio. His family owns the Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge right on the beach, and Eve and her parents will help out in various capacities. Eve has idyllic memories of her family’s previous visits to the hotel and beach.
Before long, Eve learns that things and people aren’t always what they seem. She learns she has an albino cousin she never knew of before. At first he seems curmudgeonly, she assumes because of what he looks like and how other treat him. She soon finds out he harbors deep pain. She’s surprised to find that a bum who comes for an occasional handout meal has attended college and has ambitions. A boy she meets and starts a relationship with seems good and kind, until she finds out he’s a part of a crime network. And then she learns of nefarious goings-on right there in her uncle’s hotel.
Eve has a hard time with everyone else’s wrongdoing until she’s put into a position she has to cover up.
All I knew for sure was there wasn’t a place in the world that matched my dreams. For as long as I lived I would never stop pining for Paradise, but the gates had been shut and bolted long before I was born. I knew that now. The heartsickness of life outside of Eden was everyone’s lot, including mine
Her guilt and need for mercy open her eyes to her judgmentalness and everyone else’s need for mercy as well.
When I first read the description of this book, I thought the gangster side of it an odd topic. But I loved the way Ann showed us Eve’s character and opened her eyes as well as ours. I enjoyed Ann’s creative phrasing, like “A small steel bridge, humped like the back of a frightened cat” and “The day hobbled along on wounded feet.” I loved the many layers of the title’s meaning. This is another winner.
September 12, 2021
MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK
Eve welcomes the chance to leave their home in Minnesota and move back to Ohio. Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge sounds like just the fun place to be, with working there with the uncle. But what will they find when they get there.
With characters that play their parts so well in Sweet Mercy, Ann Tatlock gives readers an intriguing read that will stay with them for a while. I like Eve, her personality is fun and she wants to make sure everything is OK with their uncle and his running his company. I admire her for wanting to expose the people she loved for not doing the right thing. Sometimes that has to happen. Eve just wants to be away from illegal things like moonshinning, bootlegging and other things that are on the wrong side of the law. She has a decision to make, but what will happen with her decision. That’s what you will find out in this book by Ann Tatlock. It has been a few years since this book was written but it’s just as good today as it was then. I encourage you to check this book out.
A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Eve welcomes the chance to leave their home in Minnesota and move back to Ohio. Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge sounds like just the fun place to be, with working there with the uncle. But what will they find when they get there.
With characters that play their parts so well in Sweet Mercy, Ann Tatlock gives readers an intriguing read that will stay with them for a while. I like Eve, her personality is fun and she wants to make sure everything is OK with their uncle and his running his company. I admire her for wanting to expose the people she loved for not doing the right thing. Sometimes that has to happen. Eve just wants to be away from illegal things like moonshinning, bootlegging and other things that are on the wrong side of the law. She has a decision to make, but what will happen with her decision. That’s what you will find out in this book by Ann Tatlock. It has been a few years since this book was written but it’s just as good today as it was then. I encourage you to check this book out.
A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
April 26, 2013
Story Description:
Baker Publishing Group|May 1, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-7642-1046-4
When Eve Marryat’s father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve’s uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.
St. Paul seemed like a haven for gangsters, and Eve had grown fearful of living there. At seventeen, she considers her family to be “good people.” They aren’t lawbreakers and criminals like so many people in her old neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a “safe haven”, Eve is blissfully unaware that her Uncle’s lodge is a transfer station for illegal liquor smuggled from Canada.
Eve settles in to work and makes new friends, including an enigmatic but affecting young man. But when the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. How can she ignore what is happening right under their very noses? Yet can she risk everything by condemning the man whose love and generosity is keeping her and her family from ruin?
My Review:
Seventeen-year-old Eve Marryat left St. Paul, Minnesota on May 30, 1931 with her family. They were moving to Mercy, Ohio to live with her Uncle Cyrus. Her father was laid off from the Ford Motor Company and Uncle Cyrus had offered him a job at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge. After a three day drive they arrived at the lodge. Uncle Cy’s wife, Cora, wasn’t there as she as convalescing in a tuberculosis sanitarium. This would also be the first time Eve’s father and his brother, Cy have seen each other in a number of years. They had had some type of argument back then but Eve didn’t know what it was about.
Cassandra Marryat was Eve’s sister who was now twenty-five-years-old but she didn’t make the move with the family. She was married now and her home was back in St. Paul. Cassandra and Eve were not close as a lot of sisters are. Eve saw Cassandra as “silly and shallow”, a party girl tailor-made for the twenties. The years were to prove her right when Cassandra ended up pregnant without a husband, and wasn’t even sure who the father was.
Too excited to sleep on her first night at the lodge, Eve wanders down the stairs and into the ballroom. She sees a record player and begins dancing and twirling until she stumbles and falls down. She backed into someone or something but couldn’t imagine what. Suddenly a hand extended into her vision. When she looked up, she fell back and stifled a scream. They guy withdrew his hand and said: “All right then…you can just get yourself up.” Eve knew what he was but had never seen one before – he was an albino. He had pale skin, stark white hair and two crimson eyes that glowed like rubies. Eve asked his name and he said it was, Jones which was his mother’s maiden name. It suddenly dawned on Eve that he was Cora’s son. When she asked Jones if Cora was his mother he responded yes. Eve asked why he wasn’t at Uncle Cy and Cora’s wedding and Jones said he had pneumonia so had to stay in Chicago with other relatives. Eve asked him why she had never heard about him before considering he’d lived there five years now and Uncle Cy have never told them either. Jones’s only response was: “It’s no secret, just because you don’t mention someone.” Eve was speechless, then felt bad at the way she acted and offered to start over. She reintroduced herself, told Jones it was nice to meet him but his features stiffened into a sneer, took one step back and said: “Yeah, I bet.” With that he turned and walked away.
Eve was sitting in a rowboat one morning thinking when Jones appeared on the dock. He wanted to go out rowing in the boat Eve was sitting in. She was about to climb out when Jones told her she didn’t have to, but “just move up to the front seat” he said. Jones began to row and Eve watched the water dripping off the oars as they came up from the water. A couple of boats passed them carrying boxes marked “castor oil”. Eve asked Jones where the men would be going with castor oil and he began to laugh and shake his head. Jones informed her it was “moonshine!” Eve was astounded and started into a speech about Prohibition and how moonshine was illegal. Jones saw it as a way for the men to feed their families and told Eve there were a lot of people around the area that made moonshine.
Later that evening, back in her room, Eve suddenly realized she didn’t feel safe and secure anymore. She was so happy to leave St. Paul where there were a lot of robberies, shootings, and stabbings. Eve and her family actually witnessed a man being shot which Eve still dreams about. She thought she’d feel so very safe at Marryat Lodge and was so elated to be there but this whole moonshine business burst her bubble of happiness and security.
One day a man about twenty showed up at the lodge for a meal. He was basically homeless and lived in a shantytown up the river near the railroad. Uncle Cy was a kind man, he fed anyone who showed up looking for food. He never turned anyone away. When Annie, the cook, had the plate of stew with some bread and lemonade ready, Eve took it out to the man. He told her his name was Link. Soon, Eve would have more to do with Link that she thought. Right now she views him as nothing more than a bum.
The whole idea of bootlegging is still very present in Eve’s mind and she wants absolutely nothing to do with it. However, it is much closer to her than she could ever have imagined and makes her lose faith in everything she believed. How is Eve possibly going to handle the devastating secret that is about to be exposed?
The stunning conclusion to this story will knock your socks off and make your heart race. It was unbelievably well-done! Ann Tatlock has written a masterpiece in Sweet Mercy and I would highly recommend this book to everyone. Great writing!
"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".
Baker Publishing Group|May 1, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-7642-1046-4
When Eve Marryat’s father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve’s uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.
St. Paul seemed like a haven for gangsters, and Eve had grown fearful of living there. At seventeen, she considers her family to be “good people.” They aren’t lawbreakers and criminals like so many people in her old neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a “safe haven”, Eve is blissfully unaware that her Uncle’s lodge is a transfer station for illegal liquor smuggled from Canada.
Eve settles in to work and makes new friends, including an enigmatic but affecting young man. But when the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. How can she ignore what is happening right under their very noses? Yet can she risk everything by condemning the man whose love and generosity is keeping her and her family from ruin?
My Review:
Seventeen-year-old Eve Marryat left St. Paul, Minnesota on May 30, 1931 with her family. They were moving to Mercy, Ohio to live with her Uncle Cyrus. Her father was laid off from the Ford Motor Company and Uncle Cyrus had offered him a job at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge. After a three day drive they arrived at the lodge. Uncle Cy’s wife, Cora, wasn’t there as she as convalescing in a tuberculosis sanitarium. This would also be the first time Eve’s father and his brother, Cy have seen each other in a number of years. They had had some type of argument back then but Eve didn’t know what it was about.
Cassandra Marryat was Eve’s sister who was now twenty-five-years-old but she didn’t make the move with the family. She was married now and her home was back in St. Paul. Cassandra and Eve were not close as a lot of sisters are. Eve saw Cassandra as “silly and shallow”, a party girl tailor-made for the twenties. The years were to prove her right when Cassandra ended up pregnant without a husband, and wasn’t even sure who the father was.
Too excited to sleep on her first night at the lodge, Eve wanders down the stairs and into the ballroom. She sees a record player and begins dancing and twirling until she stumbles and falls down. She backed into someone or something but couldn’t imagine what. Suddenly a hand extended into her vision. When she looked up, she fell back and stifled a scream. They guy withdrew his hand and said: “All right then…you can just get yourself up.” Eve knew what he was but had never seen one before – he was an albino. He had pale skin, stark white hair and two crimson eyes that glowed like rubies. Eve asked his name and he said it was, Jones which was his mother’s maiden name. It suddenly dawned on Eve that he was Cora’s son. When she asked Jones if Cora was his mother he responded yes. Eve asked why he wasn’t at Uncle Cy and Cora’s wedding and Jones said he had pneumonia so had to stay in Chicago with other relatives. Eve asked him why she had never heard about him before considering he’d lived there five years now and Uncle Cy have never told them either. Jones’s only response was: “It’s no secret, just because you don’t mention someone.” Eve was speechless, then felt bad at the way she acted and offered to start over. She reintroduced herself, told Jones it was nice to meet him but his features stiffened into a sneer, took one step back and said: “Yeah, I bet.” With that he turned and walked away.
Eve was sitting in a rowboat one morning thinking when Jones appeared on the dock. He wanted to go out rowing in the boat Eve was sitting in. She was about to climb out when Jones told her she didn’t have to, but “just move up to the front seat” he said. Jones began to row and Eve watched the water dripping off the oars as they came up from the water. A couple of boats passed them carrying boxes marked “castor oil”. Eve asked Jones where the men would be going with castor oil and he began to laugh and shake his head. Jones informed her it was “moonshine!” Eve was astounded and started into a speech about Prohibition and how moonshine was illegal. Jones saw it as a way for the men to feed their families and told Eve there were a lot of people around the area that made moonshine.
Later that evening, back in her room, Eve suddenly realized she didn’t feel safe and secure anymore. She was so happy to leave St. Paul where there were a lot of robberies, shootings, and stabbings. Eve and her family actually witnessed a man being shot which Eve still dreams about. She thought she’d feel so very safe at Marryat Lodge and was so elated to be there but this whole moonshine business burst her bubble of happiness and security.
One day a man about twenty showed up at the lodge for a meal. He was basically homeless and lived in a shantytown up the river near the railroad. Uncle Cy was a kind man, he fed anyone who showed up looking for food. He never turned anyone away. When Annie, the cook, had the plate of stew with some bread and lemonade ready, Eve took it out to the man. He told her his name was Link. Soon, Eve would have more to do with Link that she thought. Right now she views him as nothing more than a bum.
The whole idea of bootlegging is still very present in Eve’s mind and she wants absolutely nothing to do with it. However, it is much closer to her than she could ever have imagined and makes her lose faith in everything she believed. How is Eve possibly going to handle the devastating secret that is about to be exposed?
The stunning conclusion to this story will knock your socks off and make your heart race. It was unbelievably well-done! Ann Tatlock has written a masterpiece in Sweet Mercy and I would highly recommend this book to everyone. Great writing!
"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".
March 13, 2018
This is my second Ann Tatlock book and the second time I am giving her book five stars! The first book I rated five stars was Promises To Keep.
It’s 1931 and Eve was supposed to be enjoying her last summer in St Paul, Minnesota before her final year of high school. However, when her father gets laid off from Ford Motor Company, they move back to his roots in Ohio to live and work in a lakeside inn Eve’s uncle owns. This is a story based on Prohibition days when bootlegging was rampid and the economy was in despair after the stock market crash. Eve’s story is a heartwarming story of adventure, mystery, and new friendships. I loved every minute of this beautifully told story!
I listened to the audiobook while I was spring cleaning today and it made many unpleasant tasks quite tolerable and even pleasurable since it gave me the excuse to listen to this book! Morgan Hallett is the main narrator and I absolutely love her! She was phenomenal in Lisa Wingate’s book, “Wildwood Creek” and equally compelling in “Sweet Mercy.” Also, the secondary narrator is Barbara Caruso who also narrated Ann Tatlock’s book, “Promises to Keep.” She is absolutely amazing!! I highly recommend the audiobook!! I would give both of those narrators awards for performance!
It’s 1931 and Eve was supposed to be enjoying her last summer in St Paul, Minnesota before her final year of high school. However, when her father gets laid off from Ford Motor Company, they move back to his roots in Ohio to live and work in a lakeside inn Eve’s uncle owns. This is a story based on Prohibition days when bootlegging was rampid and the economy was in despair after the stock market crash. Eve’s story is a heartwarming story of adventure, mystery, and new friendships. I loved every minute of this beautifully told story!
I listened to the audiobook while I was spring cleaning today and it made many unpleasant tasks quite tolerable and even pleasurable since it gave me the excuse to listen to this book! Morgan Hallett is the main narrator and I absolutely love her! She was phenomenal in Lisa Wingate’s book, “Wildwood Creek” and equally compelling in “Sweet Mercy.” Also, the secondary narrator is Barbara Caruso who also narrated Ann Tatlock’s book, “Promises to Keep.” She is absolutely amazing!! I highly recommend the audiobook!! I would give both of those narrators awards for performance!
August 7, 2022
Seventeen-year-old Eve Marryat is an idealistic young woman growing up during The Depression. She has seen firsthand what rampant crime can do to a community. That's why she and her parents are moving from St. Paul, Minnesota to the small town of Mercy, Ohio. Eve naively believes that no one here breaks the law - especially the ones pertaining to Prohibition. She soon discovers that there is a blurry line between "good" people and "bad" people. Her eyes are opened to the harsh realities of life in these hard times when one will do whatever it takes to feed their family, even if they are breaking laws and risking imprisonment.
A lot happens in this book. In the beginning it seemed like the author went on excessively about all the crime in St. Paul. The church pastor's Sunday sermons focus on "mercy" which is also the name of their small town. Finally Eve comes to realize that it is easy to get caught up in a situation where someone will break the law, and that every one of us needs to find mercy in our daily life.
A lot happens in this book. In the beginning it seemed like the author went on excessively about all the crime in St. Paul. The church pastor's Sunday sermons focus on "mercy" which is also the name of their small town. Finally Eve comes to realize that it is easy to get caught up in a situation where someone will break the law, and that every one of us needs to find mercy in our daily life.
February 28, 2019
The Night of the Raid
Eve was almost seventeen when her life really changed. It was the time in her life when many things were changing. He Father lost his job in Chicago where they had lived all her life and he was offered a job in his brother's Lodge where things would be so different in another state starting a new life. This was the time of bootlegging, gangs and many other different things. You must read this book, find out who Link is, how she got a little ivory elephant from Al Capone, and how her life turned out.
Eve was almost seventeen when her life really changed. It was the time in her life when many things were changing. He Father lost his job in Chicago where they had lived all her life and he was offered a job in his brother's Lodge where things would be so different in another state starting a new life. This was the time of bootlegging, gangs and many other different things. You must read this book, find out who Link is, how she got a little ivory elephant from Al Capone, and how her life turned out.
October 28, 2019
Easy read, but really predictable. I get that it is a coming-of-age story, but the main character was just too overly sweet. Also, overuse of the word “daddy”. It’s a great word and I know 17 yr olds say it, but no one always says it. Just just once refer to “my father” or “my dad” instead of “my daddy”.
February 1, 2021
Eve's father looses his job and the family moves from Minnesota back to his home town in Ohio. Uncle Cyrus has invited them to live at his lodge and help out with the place. Minnesota had been full of gangs and shootings and illegal alcohol sales. They were hoping Ohio would be different, but they stumble on some illegal activity happening right under their noses
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