Sweet Forgiveness

April 15, 2015
Bullied in middle school, abandoned by her mother, and betrayed by her fiance, Hannah Farr has little interest in exposing her emotional vulnerabilities.But the new fad of Forgiveness Stones, the brainchild of poet and attorney Fiona Knowles, is impossible to escape. The concept is simple: send two stones to someone you've wronged. When they return a stone to you, you have been forgiven. When they send the remaining stone (with its new partner stone) on to a new person, the Circle of Forgiveness expands. Hannah wants nothing to do with the Forgiveness Stones. Her goal is security. Hannah's scrambled to the top of Louisiana's ladder for local television anchors, leaping from weekend anchor to evening news to host of her own show. But everything is jeopardized now that young, beautiful, conniving Claudia Campbell is jockeying for Hannah's job; now that her new boyfriend, mayor Michael Payne, has not only not proposed marriage, but actually encouraged her to seek a job 900 miles away in Chicago; now that Fiona has sent Hannah a velvet pouch of her own Forgiveness Stones, begging absolution for having bullied Hannah in middle school; now that even Dorothy, her best friend (and the mother of her ex-fiance), has embraced Fiona's scam. Hannah may scoff at the Circle of Forgiveness, but she's willing to use the fad to further her own career. Setting up an on-air Forgiveness Circle among Fiona, herself, and Dorothy (or maybe her own mother) seems like a great idea, but making amends with the past may prove costly. With quirky characters, Spielman (The Life List, 2013) spins an effervescent tale in which betrayals fizzle out into human weaknesses and grudges dissolve into mercy. Bright prose, a plucky heroine, and more than a few plot twists make for a delightful read.

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May 15, 2015

In Spielman's second novel (after The Life List), New Orleans morning show host Hannah Farr's life starts to unravel when her childhood bully Fiona Knowles becomes famous for her chain letter-style "forgiveness stones" and comes on Hannah's TV show. Fiona uses pebbles representing anger and shame to encourage everyone to ask for and grant forgiveness, and Hannah is pressured to do so in her own life. As the secret she has been hiding and her unresolved issues with her mother and stepfather start to surface, both her job and relationship with her boyfriend, a dismissive and noncommittal politician, are put at risk. Hannah will finally have to deal with the accusation she made as a young teenager, the consequences of which ripped her family apart. A sweet romantic interest adds warmth to the story, though his ultimate connection to Hannah's family is very coincidental. Soon, Hannah realizes that she can make powerful choices, fix her own life, and trust her instincts. VERDICT Spielman's heroine is both likable and relatable, and the power of confession, forgiveness, and love shines all the way through this touching novel. For all readers of contemporary women's fiction, especially fans of Cecelia Ahern and Sarah Jio.--Emily Byers, Tillamook Cty. Lib., OR

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2015
Broadcast journalist Hannah Farr has her own TV show in New Orleans and a boyfriend who happens to be the mayor. But her ratings are sinking, and the mayor is noncommittal about the future. One day Hannah receives a letter and two stones from Fiona Knowles, who bullied her in middle school in Michigan and who has written a hot book called The Forgiveness Stones. The idea behind the book is that the recipient of the stones accepts one as an apology from the sender for some past wrong and sends the other along to ask forgiveness from someone else. For Hannah, receiving the stones is the start of a journey in which she reconnects with her mother, from whom she has been estranged for 18 years, and learns some hard truths about her past. She also loses her job and her boyfriendbut meets RJ, the attractive owner of a Michigan vineyard. Spielman (The Life List, 2013) does a nice job in this busy, breezy novel of delineating one woman's bumpy ride to self-discovery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)