Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich

 

My thoughts

What a story this is. Set in Alabama, my home state. Filled with so much reality. Such depth. Such feelings. This author took some realities and brought them to light in a story that will take your breath away. The love between a group of strangers and a daughter and father. Kinfolk. The perfect title for this book. I literally didn't want to put this book down. I read it in one day... 

This book is about a few people. Nub, Benny, Minnie, Emily, and Shug. Also Leigh Ann. And we can't forget Bun.. lol I loved that name. Nub and Minnie become friends after a horrible meeting in the hospital where Nub was basically horrible to Minnie. Benny is Nub's best friend and cousin. Emily is Nub's daughter. Shug is Minnie's biological father but Minnie doesn't know that. Leigh Ann is the bartender. 

Each of these characters play a very pivotal role in this story. Each have their own problems. Some more stressful than others. Each of these people will become someone you will enjoy reading about. You will root for them all. For some to live. 

There is a lot going on and then a big happening in the hospital of all places. A part that made me cry. Hold my breath. Cringe. And the big finish. It was great. I love how this author pulled everything together and even how he handled Shug. I found myself hoping that everything would work out for Minnie. Her ability to be who she was meant to be. They said she had the voice of an angel. Sounded like to me from what I read. 

Thank you #NetGalley, #SeanDietrich, #HarperMuse for this ARC. 

FIVE huge stars and I highly recommend this book. I will be looking for more by this author. I can't wait to dive into Stars Of Alabama. 

Synopsis

Sometimes it’s the most unlikely meetings that give us life’s greatest gifts.

1970s, Southern Alabama. Sixty-two-year-old Jeremiah Lewis Taylor, or “Nub,” has spent his whole life listening to those he loves tell him he’s no good—first his ex-wife, now his always-disapproving daughter. Sure, his escapades have made him, along with his cousin and perennial sidekick, Benny, just a smidge too familiar with small-town law enforcement, but he’s never harmed anyone—except perhaps himself.

Nub never meant to change his ways, but when he and fifteen-year-old Waffle House waitress Minnie form an unlikely friendship, he realizes for the first time that there may be some good in him after all. Six-foot-five Minnie has been dealt a full deck of bad luck—her father is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence, her mother is dead and buried, and she has a Grand Ole Opry–worthy singing voice with no place to perform. Oh, and there’s the small fact that she’s unexpectedly pregnant, courtesy of a no-good high-school boy.

Gradually, Nub realizes the gift he’s been a second chance to make a difference.

Beloved Southern writer Sean Dietrich, also known as Sean of the South, once again brings people and places to life in this lyrical song-turned-story about found family, second chances, country music, and the poignant power of love and forgiveness.

Heartwarming Southern fiction from Sean of the SouthStand-alone novelIncludes discussion questions for book clubsAlso by Sean  The Incredible Winston Browne, Stars of Alabama, and You Are My Sunshine