Book Review: The Warmest December - Bernice L. McFadden

This book spoke to us. We all raved about how each of the characters came to life as if we sat in the middle of their apartment watching their lives unfold. We felt the pain Kenzie felt as she grappled with the demons of her past and then watched in horror as past came to life and the demon was present and his name was Hy-Lo.

Kenzie’s story is one of pain, alcoholism, abuse, guilt, sorrow, and ultimately forgiveness. This novel was not an easy one to read, but we still could not sit our books down. We hated Hy-Lo, felt sorry for both Kenzie and her brother, and at times resented her mother for not leaving. This book is gritty, there is no way to tell a story about alcoholism without things getting ugly, and boy does it get ugly. I mean, without giving away all the details I’ll just say, the abuse doesn’t end with family members.

Although thankfully many of us haven’t personally experienced alcoholism or abuse in the degree conveyed by the novel, many of us felt that we knew of someone who had. This book poignantly illustrates the horrors and cyclic nature of alcohol abuse. The trickle-down effect is brilliantly displayed when we see both Kenzie and her mother follow the footsteps of their abuser to cope with the abuse.

In this novel, McFadden weaves together vivid imagery with a heart wrenching narrative in order to take us on this journey. We thought the book was engaging, at times overly graphic, but necessarily so. Over all we thought the book was well written and moving. We definitely will look into incorporating other novels by Bernice L. McFadden as a club read.