GREAT READS

Sweetgrass

While trying to familiarize myself with different authors from different genres I gave "Sweetgrass" by Mary Alice Monroe a try as a CD Book. In this case the word sweetgrass refers to not only the indigenous grasses that grow along the coastal regions of the Carolinas but to the Blakely's eight generation hold on their ancestral property by the same name. This is a family saga in which a prodigal son returns to "Sweetgrass" to help sort things out for his family in the wake of his estranged father's stroke. It turns out that he needs to help preserve the property from encroaching development while confronting his family's secret past. As you may guess, this book contains a lively group of characters both in the past and present. In addition to that, there are elements of romance without being too provocative. In general I enjoyed this book and thought the slower pacing was intentional to coincide with the pace of daily life along the South Carolina coast.

Recommended by Cheryl Finnan