The Warmest December

Rating:
Summary: Stunning !
Review: "The Warmest December" details the turbulent life of a family destroyed by abuse and alcoholism. Kenzie Lowe, the eldest child of the family narrates the story. A host of strong, believable characters carry the story as the author carries the reader from one traumatic event to the next. Throughout the novel, Kenzie struggles to free herself from a past of secrecy and cruelty that has her encased. This is a powerful story of survival and ultimately forgiveness. I read, I cried, I got angry, I laughed. I anxiously awaited the death of the father only to feel sadness and empathy for him when he died. This is my first read by McFadden and I'm greatly impressed by her near flawless writing and story telling ability. I'm looking forward to reading more of her work. Highly Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Truly a captivating read
Review: Bernice McFadden has the gift of providing imagery and provoking intense emotion. The memories that Kenzie recalls are so powerful and truly tug at the heart. It is a great example of how forgiveness is possible even in the worst of scenarios. Definately worth the purchase :)

Rating:
Summary: A Haunting, depressing tale that some people REALLY LIVE
Review: The Warmest December by Bernice L. McFadden is a very haunting, depressing tale of life in home with an abusive alcoholic father. This is the haunting, depressing tale of a mother who wants her kids to have a better childhood than she did even if it means she has to suffer physical and mental abuse. This is the haunting, depressing tale that some people live with every day of their life.

In The Warmest December, I met Kenzie (our narrator), Della (her timid mother), Malcolm (her younger brother) and Hyman Lowe better known as HyLo (the father, the alcohlic, the tormentor). The story starts out with Kenzie telling us that she almost forgot she hated her father. She forgot how the sound of her mother's crying ate holes inside of her and ripped a space open near her heart. Those words pulled me into the story the way the unknown forced pulled Kenzie to the death bed of HyLo the father she's hated since she was 5...the father she's wished would just die and let everyone be happy. As Kenzie sits and watches her father or at least the shell of the man she has hated for so long she reminisces about her childhood. She tries to remember happy times but all her memories are filled with hurt, pain, abuse, anger, hatred, and sheer sadness that no one should have to deal with. Kenzie remembers the shouting, the bruises, the banging on the walls, the trips to the liquor store for HyLo, and the smell of gin and vodka that was ever present on HyLo's breathe.

I know none of what I've written so far will make you run to the nearest store and pick up this book but I will be the first to tell you that you should do just that. Why would I tell you to go out and buy this book? I'm telling you that because this book contains two lessons that everyone should learn. The first lesson is that alcoholism exists and it's a disease that not only affects the alcoholic but everyone around them in more ways then they could ever know. There are times when alcoholism is passed from one generation to another unknowing to the original alcoholic. The second lesson is that you are responsible for how the story of your life ends. There is a passage in the book that says "some stories start out happy, go bad in the middle and end up happy at the end. Still others start out bad, get worse, and still end up happy at the end." This was not the case for HyLo his story "started out bad, curdled up and soured in the middle, and ended up worse" Well Kenzie didn't want her life story to be that of HyLo but she wasn't sure how to change the writing that already seem to be on the wall. She eventually found a way to erase that writing and part of it was going to visit HyLo. During those visits and after dealing with her own bouts of alcoholism she realizes that she needs to get rid of the pain and let some joy into her life.

I gladly give this book a rating of 5 because the writing is so vivid and real that I actually felt the blows and heard the screams from HyLo and Della...I too hated HyLo and wished he would just die so that everyone could find some happiness in the life that he had thus far ruined...I too sat next to that bed and felt chills go up my spine by just the sight of the man who turned my life upside down...and I too felt that change that came of Kenzie on that warm December day.