Where Mercy Flows

Seven years after running away, 24-year-old Samantha Dodd returns to her small hometown in Washington with her 5-year-old mixed-race son, TJ, in tow. She is leery about the reaction of her stern father, who is a judge, to her single-mother status and her precarious health, but TJ proves to be the ideal icebreaker, anxious to examine his grandpa’s complicated fishing gear and impressive worm farm. When Sam discovers the full extent of her health problems–she needs a heart transplant–she begins to compare herself to her perfect sister and wallow in regret over her past mistakes, including cheating on her husband with a Mexican horse breaker. However, her old childhood friend Donnie invades her life and her heart, convincing her to rally and fight for survival. First-novelist Harter finds intriguing ways to deepen her prodigal-daughter story, especially through Sam’s heightened sense of place. But it’s the familial relationships that drive the novel home and may make it a popular choice for reading groups (a guide is appended). Joanne Wilkinson
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Christy Award Winner 2007