Samantha Edgerton was a troubled seventeen year old. She had made a lot of bad choices during her junior year in high school. When her great grandmother, who she affectionately called Grandy Dee, invited her to come and spend the summer with her, her parents thought it would be a great way to get her away from her current environment. She reluctantly agreed to go, but wasn't thrilled about the prospects of spending the next three months with someone who was close to a hundred years old. Shortly after she arrived, her great grandmother began to share stories of her life in the past century over a series of afternoon teas. Between her stories, and Samantha's vivid dreams of life in the past she had while she was there, she learned what it was like to face the trials and tribulations, as well as the triumphs of the spirit that comes from living through wars, heartaches, tragedies, injustices, dysfunctional family situations and, of course, forgiveness and redemption. She also learned something else that summer. She learned respect for her family and a sense of history that went back for the past century, and was in awe of a woman who lived through it all. Something else also happened that summer that would change her life forever. Something she didn't expect. She learned what it was like to fall in love.
Samantha was causing all kinds of problems for her parents. They decided to send her to her grandmother, Gandy Dee, who lived on a farm. Samantha was very upset over this, but wasn't given a choice. Gandy Dee had electricity, but no tv or internet. Samantha was given chores to do outside as well jobs to do inside. Gandy Dee would make tea and serve this and dessert each day, while telling her stories about life when she was a child. Samantha and her grandmother decided to have a big family reunion. The book is full of all kinds of adventures, some good and some not so good. Have a Kleenex handy!
They put together a family reunion before she was to leave for home, including all her grandmother's children and their children.
I started reading this book but decided I couldn't get into it so I set it aside. I decided to try it again. I loved it and am so glad I took the time to read it. It's a sweet story about families and how even after family brokenness, relationships can be mended. Everyone should have a Grandy Dee in their family!
This story is so delightful I could not put it down. Each chapter added to the the life story of a family over a one hundred years time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.
This book is full of family and history. A girl goes to visit her great great grandmother and learns all about her family. They sip tea and tell stories and get to know each other. It's a very sweet book.
Nice read! Samantha is sent to her grandmother's house for the summer with a dread that only a teenager could hold. She expects to miss her friends and all the fun of what summer is suppose to hold...what a pleasant surprise she experiences during her visit. One that will change the way she thinks of faith, family and friends. The rich history of events and of the characters was fabulous. This book was a great read.
The author magnificently blended family history and relationships via young Samantha and Grandy Dee's "tea-times." I loved the way Grandy Dee shared her life-long stories with Samantha who was inspired to compile precious scrapbooks. The way the tea cups represented special family events was fascinating. Samantha's dreams added a lot of details to the family's history. Recommended as a very enriching novel.
A great book about coming of age, getting your attitude checked, and learning how to love the family you've never met. Very well written, I can't wait to read the next book in the series to see how the author has taken her well formed characters and found them a new love and a new life.
I absolutely loved this book. D.L. Stalnaker made the characters just come to life. There was nothing I disliked about it. I will recommend this book to everyone that wants a comforting good book to read. But that's all I am going to say I don't want to ruin the story line for those that haven't v read it.
Wonderful story about a teenage girl spending the summer at her great grandmother's farm and learning about her grandmother's life. I would love to have had that with my great grandmother but she died when I was five. Would have given this 5 stars, but needs better editing.
This book was a real sleeper. I read a lot and end up not finishing 80% of them. In this case, I was happy to read for an hour every night and savor every page. I really loved the story and the characters. It was a real joy.
I think I could safely say this has been my favorite book of '16 so far! I enjoyed this book so much...I loved the way the story was told in journal form.... I loved the history tidbits....I'm a tea fanatic so the describing of the tea cups was awesome!
I Loved hearing the stories from Grandy Dee and seeing how Samantha "weaved" them into her life. This book shows that "older people" can "fit" into a teenagers life. I would definitely recommend this book as I totally enjoyed it.