Where Wild Peaches Grow
by Cade Bentley
In a deeply emotional novel of family, cultural heritage, and forgiveness, estranged sisters wrestle with the choices they’ve made and confront circumstances beyond their control.
Nona “Peaches” Davenport, abandoned by the man she loved and betrayed by family, left her Natchez, Mississippi, home fifteen years ago and never looked back. She’s forged a promising future in Chicago as a professor of African American Studies. Nona even finds her once-closed heart persuaded by a new love. But that’s all shaken when her father’s death forces her to return to everything she’s tried to forget.
Julia Curtis hasn’t forgiven her sister for deserting the family. Just like their mother, Nona walked away from Julia when she needed her most. And Julia doesn’t feel guilty for turning to Nona’s old flame, Marcus, for comfort. He helped Julia build a new life. She has a child, a career, and a determination to move on from old family wounds.
Upon Nona’s return to Natchez, a cautious reunion unfolds, and everything Nona and Julia thought they knew—about themselves, each other, and those they loved—will be tested. Unpacking the truth about why Nona left may finally heal their frayed bond—or tear it apart again, forever.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
And she wondered why she’d never thought about this day would come. Or stopped to realize how much it would hurt when it did.
Sanganette Gautier-Preston. White. Prim. She incorrectly, by most accounts, considered her size twelve, five-foot-four-inch frame to be petite and her thinking progressive. An aficionado of designer heels and designer purses, she was always overdressed in the classroom full of sixth graders at Harris-Harper Elementary School where she taught. Her hair was blonde and curly, her eyes blue and heavily mascaraed, and her nose, straight, delicate, and usually in the air.
“I don’t think that man knows what he’s saying to you,” Sanganette quipped. “Telling you he’d give you anything you need.” Sanganette let loose a sinister little laugh. “You been single a long time. He might not be able to live through what you can put on him.”
… she was surprised that the service was in a church. Nona hadn’t known her father to be a religious man. She’d only heard him call on the Lord when he wanted the dice to roll his way or when the level in his whiskey bottle was low.
In her time away, Nona had accomplished so much and done nothing. Coming home, she found that things rarely work out like they were supposed to, but it didn’t mean things didn’t turn out right.
My Review:
I struggled with this one while reading, although I consistently appreciated the excellence of the author’s craft. This family and town were comprised of characters who were realistically, deeply, and uncomfortably flawed and often were rather awful, yet truthfully, nearly every family I know of has issues and history just as heinous. Each one was completely knowable, and I was intrigued and annoyed by them in equal measure.
The storylines were perceptively written with provocative and heart-squeezing insights and profound observations that go far beneath the skin, this author must either have Superman’s x-ray vision or magical goggles. While their culture, latitude, and longitude are far different from mine, the characters were exposed and laid bare. Ms. Bentley sucked me in and hit a nerve, I was right there with them.
After I finished reading, I tried and failed to write a review, I couldn’t determine my overall rating or derive an opinion. I ruminated, stalled, and mulled for several days, which is highly unusual. In looking over my highlighted notes, I have concluded that Cade Bentley/Abby L. Vandiver/Abby Colette is an exceptionally talented, brilliantly observant, and perceptive human being.
About the Author
