What I Came to Tell You

Since his mother died earlier this year, Grover Johnston (named after a character in Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward Angel) has watched his family fall to pieces as his father throws himself into his work rather than dealing with the pain. Left to care for his younger sister, Sudie, Grover finds solace in creating intricate weavings out of the natural materials found in the bamboo forest behind his North Carolina home, a pursuit that his father sees only as a waste of time. But as tensions mount between father and son, unlikely forces conspire to help the Johnstons find their way. The new tenants in the rental house across the street who have come from deep in the Carolina hills seem so different from the Johnstons, but become increasingly intertwined with them in unexpected ways. Classmates, neighbors, teachers, and coworkers band together, forming a community that can save a family from itself. In the spirit of such beloved novels as Newbery Medal-winning Missing May and Because of Winn-Dixie, What I Came to Tell You, the first middle-grade novel from critically acclaimed Asheville author Tommy Hays, is a story of grief, love, and hard-won redemption. Warm, evocative writing blends with an emotion-laden narrative that cuts to the heart of the reader.

About the Author :
Tommy Hays's first middle grade novel, What I Came to Tell You, is a VOYA Top Shelf Pick for Middle Grade Fiction 2014 and a Fall 2013 Okra Pick by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. His novel, The Pleasure Was Mine, was a Finalist for the SIBA Fiction Award and has been chosen for numerous community reads. His other novels are Sam's Crossing and In the Family Way, a Book of the Month Club selection and winner of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. He is Executive Director of the Great Smokies Writing Program at the University of North Carolina Asheville. For more information please visit www.tommyhays.com.

Review :
Two lovable, grief-stricken children try to find their footing after their mother's death in a senseless accident. Twelve-year-old Grover and his little sister, Sudie, have already lost their mother, and now their father, director of the Thomas Wolfe house in Asheville, N.C., has practically disappeared as well, throwing himself into his work. Grover and Sudie spend most of their time in the city's Bamboo Forest, where Grover creates intricate weavings from bamboo, leaves and grass. When kids Emma Lee and Clay move in next door from Roan Mountain, Grover and Sudie discover they have the loss of a parent in common; Emma Lee and Clay's father was killed in Iraq. In addition to grief, this ambitious offering explores the meanings and value of art, faith and destiny, and Appalachian mountain culture. In a scene related to the latter, a student throws the slur 'hillbilly' in Emma Lee's direction, and a boy named Daniel remarks that '"Hillbilly" is kind of like the N-word...except it's talking about mountain people.' In some instances, the text veers toward the didactic, but the compelling characters and engaging prose put it squarely in the win column. Readers will be quickly and surely drawn in by quirky siblings Grover and Sudie, rooting for them to find a measure of peace and happiness in the wake of tragedy." --Kirkus Reviews --Journal "When Grover's mom died in a terrible accident, it shattered his family. His sister, Sudie, cries all the time; his dad puts all his energy into his job as the director of the Thomas Wolfe house; and the only thing Grover wants to do is make beautiful weavings out of leaves, branches, and bamboo in the canebrake. As he spends more time there, creating bigger and bigger tapestries, his grades slip, his friends become distant, and his father understands him less and less. Luckily, when a new family--also missing a parent--moves in across the street, Grover and his father learn how to share their grief and help each other move forward. Hays' story is filled with touching honesty and youthful wisdom, all of which help undergird Grover's own discovery of the healing power of family, love, and art. Although the Thomas Wolfe references will likely be lost on its intended audience, the book's quiet story of a young boy experiencing a tragic loss and learning how to live life in spite of it is nonetheless moving." --Booklist --Journal "When his mother is hit by a car and killed, Grover blames himself and retreats into his art; he constructs frames from the bamboo stand next to his home and weaves branches and leaves into the frames in intricate and beautiful patterns. His father worries about this method of managing grief, especially as it becomes almost obsessive, but Grover's younger sister, Sudie, and his new friends Clay and Emma Lee see the beauty in what he is doing as well as its therapeutic value. Sudie, Clay, and Emma Lee are old souls, each helping Grover in a distinct way as his sharp edges are worn away by grief. Clay and Emma Lee lost their father twice, first to PTSD, which left him angry and abusive upon his return from Iraq, and then again when he was killed there after returning, so their prior experience with grief gives them insight into Grover's moods and wishes, while Sudie simply needs to be with her brother, anchoring them both in their loss. Hays is a gifted storyteller, offering up an effective balance of credible emotion, understated wisdom, and gentle humor as Grover seeks help and resists it, alternating between lashing out and reaching out to the people who love him. Grover's father is credible both as he retreats into his work upon the death of his wife and resurfaces when he realizes his son's needs and the possibility of a new life with Clay and Emma Lee's mother. A strong sense of community also pervades the novel, a community of open-hearted as well as selfish individuals who all work to keep each other in check and ultimately encourage both better behavior and humble acceptance of human failings in the face of life's tragedies." --starred, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books --Journal "Twelve-year-old Grover loves making weavings out of leaves and branches he finds in a nearby bamboo forest, but he has other things on his mind, too. Mostly his mother, who was recently killed in a car accident, but also his younger sister, his pretty new neighbor, and his difficult relationship with his father, who works all the time and doesn't even pretend to appreciate Grover's art. In his middle-grade debut, adult author and North Carolinian Hays makes good use of the novel's Asheville setting: Grover's father runs the strapped-for-cash Thomas Wolfe house, and Asheville comes across as a cosmopolitan place with a small-town feel. Indeed, even as Grover is keeping an eye on his sister and his new neighbors, a lot of people are watching over him. Though the book spans just a few months, it's packed with incident and complex connections between a range of characters. Hays is especially strong at depicting the network of people, old and young, who help Grover and his family move through their grief and, along the way, save his beloved forest." --starred, Publishers Weekly --Journal "Tommy Hays tells a story that rips open your heart. This is a novel about what it means to face loss at an early age, and how salvation comes through both the creation of art and acts of every day kindness. I loved this book."―Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7's and I'll Be There --Other Print "Tommy Hays has quietly but steadily established himself as one of the South's finest novelists, and now he has written his best book yet. What I Came to Tell You is a great-hearted novel filled with wisdom and truth."―Ron Rash, The New York Times best-selling author of Serena --Other Print "Devastated by the accidental death of his mother, 12-year-old Grover looks to his 10-year-old sister, Sudie; intriguing new neighbors; and his own artistic talents for relief from his anguish. This moving, but often heavy-handed novel describes Grover's journey through rage and pain to a peaceful state of acceptance. His father is a workaholic and his sister also struggles with her grief. Grover, at first withdrawn and sullen, soon falls for the girl next door, just as his father develops feelings for the girl's widowed mother. Set in Asheville, North Carolina, the story has a pleasing Southern flavor, and the author includes details about the city's most famous resident, novelist Thomas Wolfe. Grover's father doesn't appreciate his son's talent for creating pieces of art out of bamboo. However, when the bamboo forest is threatened, Grover's friends and family rally to save his artistic endeavors. A budding romance and an almost-fatal fire move the book along, as do other, quieter events. Grover finds out more about the accident that killed his mother and begins to stop blaming himself. The characters are sympathetic, especially Grover and Sudie, but the happily-ever-after ending stretches credibility, and the story is not especially subtle or unique in its treatment of death and loss. Nonetheless, this well-written novel will appeal to readers with artistic or literary leanings, or those with a fondness for Southern settings." --School Library Journal --Journal "This dramatic yet dreamy story of loss, love and forgiveness offers much to the thoughtful reader."―VOYA --Journal