Synopsis:
A father takes his son out to the woods–and takes aim, calling him a monster, and only the events of the previous year can explain how things went this far.

Review:
In Grace, T. Greenwood returns to Two Rivers for this intimate, gut-wrenching tale of a family gone so wrong that their troubles spiral out and affect everyone around them. Elsbeth is unhappy, her only pleasure in life her six-year-old daughter Gracy. Her husband Kurt is breaking his back in fear of a looming balloon payment, while trying to rescue his hoarder father from the garbage that’s destroying his house. Their son, Trevor, is in agony at school, victimized by both school bullies and the school administration for reacting in anger. They all make seemingly harmless choices in order to keep the peace and find some relief from their pain, but every action has a reaction.

The resulting story is so exquisitely harrowing to read that I couldn’t put it down. Greenwood is at the top of her game with this story, which reminded me a bit of We Need to Talk About Kevin, only written by someone with genuine love for her characters. Greenwood made me ache for her characters and she earned every minute of my attention.