First published 1985
John Grimes awakens on his fourteenth birthday in a Harlem tenement, already dreading another day under his stepfather Gabriel's harsh rule. The boy moves through the cramped apartment where his family lives surrounded by poverty and religious fervor during the Great Depression. Gabriel Grimes preaches salvation at the storefront church but brings only anger and violence home to his wife Elizabeth and her son. John feels trapped between his stepfather's brutal expectations and his own awakening desires that seem to damn him in Gabriel's eyes. As the family gathers for evening service, old secrets surface about Gabriel's past sins and Elizabeth's first love. The church becomes a battleground where three generations of the Grimes family confront their pain, their faith, and their need for redemption in a world that offers them little mercy.
Genres: family, christian, christian-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, african-american, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, family-drama, religious-conflict
Setting: Harlem, New York
Period: Great Depression
256 pages · Paperback · Laure Leaf
Content warnings: abuse, violence