Sweetgrass

by Mary Alice Monroe

Sweetgrass is a historic tract of land in South Carolina that has been home to the Blakely family for eight generations. But Sweetgrass--named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area--is in trouble. Taxes are skyrocketing. Bulldozers are leveling the surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together.

In this poignant novel of hope, acceptance and the powerful gift of forgiveness, Mary Alice Monroe paints an intimate portrait of a family that must learn to unravel old patterns and weave together a new future.

Genres: Fiction, Southern, Romance, Chick Lit, Book Club, Womens Fiction, Summer Reads

395 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2005

About the author

Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 30 books, including her new novel, Where the Rivers Merge, the first book in a duology and her historical debut. The second book is titled The Rivers End. Release date has not been set yet.

Monroe has also published children’s books, which complement the environmental themes she is known for in her adult novels. Monroe’s middle grade series, written with Angela May, The Islanders, debuted #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers List in 2021. The second book in the series, Search for Treasure, debuted #3 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. And the third book in the series, Shipwrecked, is available everywhere books are sold.

Nearly eight million copies of her books have been published worldwide.

Mary Alice has earned numerous accolades and awards including induction into the South Carolina Academy of Authors’ Hall of Fame; South Carolina Center for the Book Award for Writing; the South Carolina Award for Literary Excellence; the SW Florida Author of Distinction Award; the RT Lifetime Achievement Award; the International Book Award for Green Fiction; the Henry Bergh Award for Children’s Fiction; and her novel A Lowcountry Christmas won the prestigious Southern Prize for Fiction.

Mary Alice is also the co-founder of the popular weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction.

The Beach House is a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, starring Andie McDowell. Several of her novels are optioned for film.

Mary Alice has championed the fragility of the earth’s wild habitat. The coastal southern landscape in particular is a strong and important focus of many of her novels. For her writing, Monroe immerses herself in academic research, works with wildlife experts, and does hands-on volunteering with animals. She then uses the knowledge and experiences to craft captivating stories that identify important parallels between nature and human nature. Sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, monarch butterflies, shorebirds are among the species she has worked with and woven into her novels.

Mary Alice is also an active conservationist and serves on several boards including the South Carolina Aquarium board emeritus, the Pat Conroy Literary Center Honorary Board, and the Leatherback Trust, which she received the Leatherback Trust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. She is especially proud to be a state-certified volunteer with the Island Turtle Team for more than twenty years.

Mary Alice splits her time between her home on the South Carolina coast and her home in the North Carolina mountains. When she’s not writing a novel, she is with her family or busy working with wildlife somewhere in the world.

Reviews

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was on a recommendation list for chicklit I was trying. I have been finding this isn't a genre to my liking, but I had hopes for this one given the blurb on the cover from Pat Conroy, a first rate writer of literary fiction about the South Carolina lowcountry in which this is set. From the beginning though, this struck me as wretchedly written. Clumsy dialogue with people dumping information already known to both of them and melodramatic in tone. It also features a plot device I find irritating--the eeeeeevil developer. I found it all the more irritating given what I was supposed to root for as worth preserving: Sweetgrass Plantation--in the Blakely family 300 years complete with a colonial mansion and a family crest. Tara ho! The book isn't even consistent about how long the place has been in the family. Supposedly for only 8 generations and with the founding matriarch supposedly in "nineteenth century" dress in her portrait. How does that go with three centuries? The utter last straw though is when the current family matriarch goes to see the old black housekeeper, Nona. Nona then talks to her daughter, Maize, of her pride that their family has served the Blakelys for generations going back to the days of slavery. At least poor Maize seems as bewildered as I was at the sentiment. But no, just no. Believe me, I'm far from politically correct. I love Gone With the Wind. Truly I do! But it was all more than my lil' Yankee heart could stand.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light read with a typical Lowcountry story. Good vacation book. The great thing about Mary Alice Monroe's books is learning about Lowcountry history and nature. From the obvious sweetgrass lesson you will learn about sweetgrass basket sewing, the local bottle nose dolphins and a bit of Charleston history. Monroe centers her stories around the real Lowcountry. She lives it, loves it and it shows in her books.

[Tabitha Garmire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was more of a 4.5. I loved this book!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweetgrass is an historical tract of land that the Blakely family has called home for the past eight generations. But Sweetgrass - so named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area - is in trouble. Bulldozers are leveling the surrounding properties, and the Blakelys may be forced to sell the only thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together. For some of Blakelys, the prospect of selling Sweetgrass is bittersweet - for others, it is completely unimaginable. But as the family finds the strength to stay and fight for their home, they slowly begin to realize that their bond as a family is truly all they need to stay together.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The story captured my attention from the very first page, drew me in and held me until the very end. I give this book a definite A+! and have already placed several of Ms. Monroe's other books on my Wish List.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the best part of this book was the sweet grass baskets. I'm afraid that I could not stand that the main character was named Mama June. I just could not get the image of Honey Boo Boo's Mama June out of my head, and it spoiled the book for me.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story about family and the secrets they have.

[Nancy Mulvany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all her books.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Morgan returns home after many years away when his father has a stroke. Home where he grew up was a small southern plantation called Sweetgrass; a place he had never returned to because of the bad memories of his brother's death.
Now he has to try to find a way to keep the plantation in his family.
A good book...light reading.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow to get into, but once I did it was a great book

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A down to earth story with strong character development and interesting southern traditions. A really enjoyable read...

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I always learn a lot about the Lowcountry.

[Yves V.H. [Slow reading] · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story and the tone is a bit too serious for my liking.

[Dianna Conder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bittersweet story of love, hardship, forgiveness and coming together for the same goal. I am a huge fan of this author’s writings. I loved this story!

[Wendi Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was like a slow simmer that eventually reaches a boil. It took some time to get there, but the slow build ends in a pretty satisfying way.

[Madison Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

specifically picked this book thinking it would be boring and i could fall asleep listening to it. pleasantly surprised to have grown to love the characters.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragic family history check.Family secrets check. Hurt and betrayal check. Historic facts check. People think too little too late check. A protagonist to loath check.

[Katelijne Sommen · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can feel the love the author has for the area in which this story is set, but the characters are cardboard cut-outs and the writing is wooden and stiff.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read! I always like to read books that take place in and around Charleston, the low country.

[Anna Karras · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was asked to read something recent by Mary Alice Monroe to review for the Friends of the Library newsletter at my library. I probably wouldn't have picked this book up otherwise. It really wasn't that bad.

The story centers Sweetgrass, a former plantation on the South Caroline coast that has been in the Blakely family since the 1700's. Preston Blakely, the current patriarch has been scrabbling all his life to keep Sweetgrass together. He has lots of obstacles in his way - taxes that keep creeping higher, family that sell off their portions (his daugther, Nan, for instance), and a scheming sister who wants to sell the whole shebang to developers. So when Preston has a severe stroke, the fate of Sweetgrass and ultimately himself, rest in the hands of the rest of his family.

The rest of the family consists of his wife Mary June (called Mama June by all), who has never had to deal with the business end of their home. Morgan, his estranged son returns from Montana to help out, and Nona, the former housekeeper returns to lend a hand running the household.

What this whole story boils down to is this: keeping secrets and pain locked up inside you will tear you and your family apart. The book was hearfelt without being schmaltzy, and heart-wrenching without being depressing. I don't know if I would read another by her though. It seems more like a book for older women, or Oprah fans.

[Aspasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary June Blakely and Preston Blakely have been married for forty-seven years; they have spent their entire marriage at Sweetgrass, the Blakley's ancestral home. Unfortunately, their marriage is tested when Preston succumbs to a stroke and when Preston's greedy, developer-friendly, real estate agent sister pressures the family to sell Sweetgrass. As Preston undergoes therapy at home, the various members of the Blakely family finally come to grips with some personal demons and family secrets that have been buried for decades. Interwoven into the family drama is snippets of Lowcountry history and the sweetgrass basket industry that has sustained the African American community since the early days of slavery.


***You can read more of my book reviews at my blog: http://www.thesouthernbookworm.blogsp...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting a fluffy-- 'feel good' story when I picked up this book; however, what I got was better-- this story shows the pain and damage that a loss of a loved one can cause and how differently everyone handled their grief. A family tragedy brings them all together again after 20 years and they are forced to face the past and mistakes they've all made. In addition to the family's story, we learn about the art of sweet grass baskets made by the Gullah people in the Low Country-- and the serious issue that is the demise of Sweet Grass with all the development in the south. It's encouraging to know that measures are being taken to conserve this natural, beautiful resource and keep some of the Low Country's beautiful nature.

[Anne Arthurs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book because a co-worker gave it to me because she knows I'm a reader. I didn't care for it only because I'm a literature snob, and this book didn't do anything original. The characters weren't original, the story wasn't original, and the writing was full of cliches. There was no real growth or character development. Still, I read the whole thing to see what would happen next, so it wasn't a bad book. It's like the difference between watching Two and Half Men and Breaking Bad. It's not that Two and a Half Men is horrible, only that Breaking Bad is sooooo much better.

[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is like cotton candy- overly sweet, no nutritional value and totally lacking substance. It doesn't offer any thought-provoking ideas or philosophical insights. One dimensional characters, embarrassingly poor writing. Painfully predictable plot.
How much was Pat Conroy paid to praise this awful book?

[Maryellenmrphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good beach read-takes place in South Carolina-and not a bad family story. Plot follows a family struggling to maintain their homestead as their strained relationships are repaired or torn asunder.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strained family bonds are restored and painful memories are healed as a family comes together to offer post-stroke care for its patriarch and to save its family plantation from foreclosure. This domestic drama was predictably sweet. This is not my preferred reading material.

[Judy Churchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this picture of the low country. The messes families get themselves into are always interesting.

History and poignant family dynamics characterize this author’s beautifully written book.

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super disappointed with this book. The Beach House and The Summer Girl series by this author are two of my favorite series so I was super excited to read this book especially living in this area. All characters in this book were unlikable and the story line dragged on and on.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story centered around the Blakeley family and their land. It is a little too long and a bit too sweet of a story for my taste. All wrapped up in a bow, so to speak. I think there are probably many readers who would really enjoy this, just not me

[Beth Shorten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh....the problem is I didn't care about the characters. Nothing drew me in.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My local public library featured this book, among others, as suggestions for book clubs a few weeks ago. Published in 2005 by a prolific author writing about the Lowcountry, I wondered why the recommendation came at this time. The pages were yellowed; the binding was coming apart. A few pages in, I discovered pain and loss and anger fueled the characters, some of whom had been suffering for years, but I anticipated the strength of two women, Mama June Blakely and Nona Bennett, would prevail, would bring resolution, and not necessarily a happy ending.

Environmental concerns vs. development, preserving the land, history and culture vs. economic growth are underlying themes that the author reminds the reader of the issues that the south has wrestled with in the 21st century. Preservation has often left people land-poor. " But I do know we can't just give up on it. We're passing on tradition. Both of us. There's too much at stake for the future generations to just let it all go. There has to be a way to pass it down somehow. To keep the land safe, the sweetgrass safe. 'Cause once it's gone, it's gone forever."

So I think this novel was chosen to remind us at this time in our country's history that there are bigger things to hold more important than money and winning and ...oh, I feel so much better.