cover image Finding Grace

Finding Grace

Mary Saracino. Spinsters Ink Books, $12 (240pp) ISBN 978-1-883523-33-6

Eleven-year-old Regina Giovanni, nicknamed Peanut, narrates Saracino's emotionally heavy sequel to No Matter What, continuing the disturbing story of a fractured family. In 1967, Peanut's mother, Marie, decides to run away with her long-time lover, former priest Patrick Shaughnessy, leaving her husband and two teenage sons in upstate New York, while taking her three daughters--Peanut, six-year-old Rosa and toddler Winnie. Peanut misses her religious dad; her brothers, Joey and Danny; and her beloved dog, Zoomer. She's also figured out why Patrick dotes on Winnie and virtually ignores Rosa and herself: Patrick is Winnie's father. The runaway family relocates to Madison, Wis., where emotional turmoil ensues. ""Sometimes things happen and you can't stop them, 'cuz everyone else is bigger and louder and madder than you are,'' Peanut muses. Marie is miserable with guilt, and the news of Joey's suicide pushes her over the edge. The girls' father joins a monastery, which adds to their sense of defeat. And Patrick--who had promised that Madison would be ""Happy Town""--becomes increasingly hostile, critical and abusive. After he beats up Rosa, the two girls flee. Hoping to panhandle enough money to buy bus tickets back to their father, they get caught in a rainstorm, almost penniless. Freezing, wet and hungry, they are rescued by Grace, an elderly woman whose kindness and compassion teaches them valuable lessons and gives Peanut the chance to recognize and celebrate her own worth. Discovering her inner resources, she decides to resume her given name of Regina, because she is ""a fighter."" Though many supporting characters remain sketchy and offstage, the headstrong protagonist's valiant innocence, her heartbreaking loyalty and vulnerability and her clear, unassailable voice give this plainspoken story an affecting poignancy. Author tour. (Nov.)