Move to the South, become a writer? Lately I've been wondering if there's a unique inspiration in the South that leads to the pen. I've noticed a new wave of authors in the southern states, including the Carolinas, although perhaps it's only my awareness of them which is new. At any rate, one of "my" southern authors, Steve Cushman, the author of Heart With Joy, wrote a review of another southerner's book, Tommy Hay's book, published in 2013, What I Came to Tell You. I enjoyed the review, and decided to share it with my readers. I've also linked it to Kid Konnection, as the book is geared toward children in middle school. I like that this book features a prominent, southern literary figure. You'll have to read the review to find out who I'm talking about!
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What I Came to Tell You by Tommy Hays:
A Guest Review by Steve Cushman
Asheville author Tommy Hays’ first middle grade novel, What I Came to Tell You is
sure to touch the hearts of readers young and old alike. The novel
follows Grover Johnston, a 12-year-old Asheville boy, as he tries to
come to terms with the loss of his mother 6 months earlier.
After her death, Grover retreats into the bamboo forest near his house
and creates beautiful weavings, or tapestries, out of bamboo and leaves
and branches and anything else he can find. While Grover retreats into
the woods, his father spends more and more time at work, managing the
failing Thomas Wolfe house and essentially leaving Grover and his
10-year-old sister, Sudie, to fend for themselves.
If things weren’t difficult enough for the Johnstons, it looks as
though one local man’s greed may take away the very things that are
keeping them going--the bamboo forest and the Thomas Wolfe house. But
over the course of a few months, the Asheville community along with new
neighbors, the Roundtrees, who are recovering from their own loss, help
put Grover and his family on the path to healing and loving each other
again.
The novel is set in Asheville, and Hays does a fine job of pulling in
the local feel of the town with its bookstores and coffee shops. The
town’s most famous literary figure, Thomas Wolfe, is also omnipresent
throughout. The cemetery where Grover’s mother is buried also contains
Wolfe’s family. And Grover and his sister are named after characters in
Wolfe’s most famous novel, Look Homeward, Angel.
Hays is the Executive Director of the Great Smokies Writing Program and teaches at UNC Asheville. His previous novel, The Pleasure was Mine,
was a wonderful story of loss and connection and the importance of
family, and was selected for several community-wide reading programs in
various cities and counties, including Greenville, SC, and Greensboro,
NC.
While What I Came To Tell You is
aimed at younger readers, it certainly will catch and keep the interest
of readers of all ages. Anyone who believes in the healing power of
art, and family and love, will find something here that will touch them
and make them glad they’d taken the time read this new gem of a novel by
one of North Carolina’s best writers, Tommy Hays.
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Thank you for this terrific review, Steve! Kid Konnection is hosted each Saturday by Booking Mama. Your comments are welcomed, as always.
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