Plot/Summary:
The Moses clan meets every summer on the family's hundred- acre farm in Arkansas. When preacher Samuel Lake, his wife Willadee (Moses) and their three children drive in for the festivities, they are unaware that Samuel will soon lose his preaching job and the farm will be their new home. Willadee has been looking forward to spending more time with her parents Calla and John, but John's sudden suicide throws the whole clan into a tailspin. Swan Lake, the oldest of the children, is a precocious eleven-year old, who takes an abused, young neighbor boy, Blade Ballenger, under her wing, and resolves to protect him from his violent father. When Swan falls prey to the spiteful father's vengeance, Samuel forgets he is a preacher. It is a summer of tragedy and crisis when the loyalty of the Moses family is tested to its limits.  

Comments:
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake reveals human nature at its best and worst. Jenny Wingfield has created a cast of characters that are vivid and engaging, illuminated by the sacrificial love of a family thrown together in crisis. This sumptuous, southern tale of sin and grace, love and redemption is similar in scope and style to South of Broad by Pat Conroy and Mudbound by Hillary Jordan.

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Reviewed by cc, 06/12. Other reviews by cc. Have you read this book? Tell us what you think!