Rating: 
Summary: It made me cry...
Review: Bernice McFadden is a gifted storyteller. If you enjoyed her previous book "Sugar", you won't be disappointed. Ms. McFadden's voice will be described as "classic literature" in years to come.
Rating:
Summary: A Lesson in Forgivness
Review: Bernice McFadden is a powerful writer! I picked up this book and was mesmerized by her writing. It is a tragic story but light and hope still came through. How does someone forgive a father who beat his wife and children so brutally that all that is left is hate? How young Kenzie grew up and was eventually forced to face the demons her father left in the wake of his living while he lay dying in a hospital bed made for one powerful book. I was able to understand why she forgave him and how that ability made her a stronger and healthier person. It is a remarkable book that will keep the reader on the edge until the last page is read.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting
Review: Bernice McFadden sweeps you up and flys you down to the depths of a household run by a manipulative husband/father, Hy-Lo. His moods, his alcohol, his anger, his agitation control every breath of his wife, daughter, and son. Bernice McFadden has taken a depressing subject (domestic abuse) and turn it into a story that you will not want to put down. If I could, I would buy and give this book to every woman I know who is living in an abusive situation. This is an eye-opening story for all the women who keep "going back" to manipulative/abusive men.
Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Tale
Review: Bernice McFadden's "The Warmest December" is by far the most touching of novel I've read in ages. This novel is about relentless pain,survival,and the meaning of forgiveness. McFadden attracts her readers from begininning until the very end. Written with thought and clarity it is one of the best books ever composed. "I was tired of losing this battle called life..." This haunthing story begins as storyteller Kenzie Lowe, recalls her past and is afraid for her future. As long as she could remember, her father was an abusive, unsympathetic alcoholic who dragged Kenzie and her family through relentless torture and "no mercy" which in most instances ended in disaster, psychological torment, and even death. But now her father is on his death bed waiting to take his final breath. Although throughout his heinous actions from the past, kenzie is faced with the most complex decision that can affect her future, forgiveness. Could she be unlike her family and forgive him for all those years of torment and anguish she and her family suffered? The decision will affect her life forever. I personally am fortunate to not have suffered such circumstances and hope that I will never have too in the future. But I know those who have and this story is truely genuine to those who've experienced similar events. I highly recommend this book for those who find it hard to forgive or to let go no matter what the circumstances because life is very unpredictable and we all want to live as burden free as possible.
Rating:
Summary: Proceed with Caution
Review: Do not pick this book up unless you have absolutely nothing else to do but read until you are finished. This book will grap you and hold on to you until there is nothing left in the existence but you and that book. Hy Lo becomes so real that in the process of reading this book, I accidently spilled some tomato sauce on the counter and found myself rushing to clean it up before "Hy Lo saw it". I actually thought I was going to get a beating. You feel the pain, hurt, anger and fear on every single page. I will never know how Bernice McFadden turned such a heart wenching subject into a work of art, where the words literally sing off the page. She is a supreme goddess of authors. I thought her former book Sugar was good (and it was), but The Warmest December is like nothing that I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Scary, haunting but a good story
Review: Everyone has met people like Kenzie, Malcolm, Della and Hy-Lo. This is the story a a little girl, who grows up, not understanding the reasons for her self abuse, her alcoholism and her never ending hatred for her father, Hy-Lo. As she watches him on his death bed, she recalls the beatings and name calling shared with her brother by their father. McFadden paints a vivid picture of abuse and alcoholism that remains with the reader long after you have finished the story. I crid with every page turned.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent writing, moving portrait of despair and healing.
Review: How anyone could overcome the horrible abuse meted out by their own father speaks of Kenzie's strength as a person. But the experience left the children and mother so damaged that they find it hard to release themselves of the father's viscious grasp even when they were physically away form him.
Kenzie's daily visits to Hi-Lo were as much torture for her as they are for the reader. You wait for something terrible to happen to him, for her to put the pillow over his face or set his bed on fire...something. But she can't bring herself near enough to harm him, yet she can't bear to stop visiting him. This is a tragic story that is excellently written.
I would love to read more by this author.
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Rating:
Summary: Splendid!
Review: Hy-Lo still haunts me in my sleep. I finished this book and knew that these characters would stay with me. The subject matter of alcoholism, spousal abuse and child abuse was laid out in plain sight making it difficult to ignore. I ached for the Lowe family, their pain and eventual healing. A standing ovation to Bernice Mcfadden.
Rating:
Summary: Oh My Goodness!!!!!!
Review: I don't even know where to begin. This story brought me to tears, not just the story line and the issues of abuse that it dealt with, but also because it was so beautifully written! This book was so good I was sneaking to read it at work and at the end I was shaking! Litterly shaking! I had to go to the bathroom to compose myself! Pick this book up and you will not be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: A good effort by a great worker
Review: I enjoyed this novel, but it was no Sugar. However, Alcoholism and Family Dynamics are superbly portrayed in this book. Here you had HyLo, who had a serious monkey on his back, in turn, he terrorized his family, who were scared of him. Yet, in turn, he was like a pussycat with his own mother Gwenyth, who we find out eventually is not who she seems to be. I was glad for Kenzie to face up to her own problems and find peace and give forgiveness in the end. And, I also felt for Della and understood her feelings on things. The only thing I wasn't happy about with this book is the fact that it switched back and forth to past events with seemingly no preparation. There was one section in the book that I grasped when she switched back to the past, but that was the only one i got. Overall, a good effort by a writer I look forward to hearing more from.
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