An outstanding first novel! The story is sweet in its narrative of childhood friendships and innocence. In this sense, the details of the abundant, simple, pleasures of family, friendships, home and hearth remind me of my beloved Anne of Green Gables. I was thoroughly engaged by the complexity of the characters and with the joyfulness of life that flowed through the authors narratives. The author also did well in bringing to life the charm of the small, simple world of a southern farm community from a bygone time. The fine detail about everything from the making of meals and clothing, working the fields, and joyous childhood games touched and delighted me. But the relationships of the characters and their complexity moved the story forward to be most meaningful.
The story is also laced with the bitterness of ignorance that is racism and that feeds a certain human meanness of hearts. Even before the greatest secret of Silent Ties is exposed, the author illuminates the horrific cruelties and monumental injustices of violent and passive bigotries that dissolve innocence and disfigure or destroy lives. It may even be that Silent Ties’ most significant value (for readers of all age) is the opportunity it presents for reflection and sharing of personal stories about the unfair biases of family and friends and the social constructs that impact relationships, lives, opportunities, and their loss.
I hope the author will continue to write and explore the themes she’s mined in this first novel. Silent Ties will surely spark conversations and prompt the sharing of personal experiences and reflections that can advance understanding and healing in the context of contemporary lives warped by biases and bigotries. I believe the ending of the story is exactly as it should be for leveraging exactly such opportunity.
Nicely done, Dawn Day-Quinn!! Thank you! (Amazon Review)