Forgiveness Road

February 15, 2019
In 1970s Mississippi, 16-year-old Cissy thought she and her daddy had a deal. But when she discovered one of her younger sisters was alone with him in a bedroom one summer morning, she decided the time had come to act, and shot him in the back. The gun's report kicked off a cascade of terrible revelations for the family, as it was uncovered that Cissy's father, a well-regarded lawyer in their Mississippi community, had been sexually abusing Cissy for years. While her mother is shattered by the news and can barely bring herself to occasionally visit Cissy in a mental hospital, her grandmother, no less shocked, is spurred into action. Wealthy and used to getting her way, Janelle musters all the authority she can against the unthinkable situation her family faces, even as new truths come to light. Mikulencak tackles the complex ramifications of abuse, from unwanted notoriety to complex questions of who is responsible, with grace and empathy. From the courtroom to a mental hospital and, finally, to an unlikely trip for grandmother and granddaughter, Forgiveness Road is haunting and poignant.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)