The Warmest December

The Warmest December

"Vivid" hailed the <i>New York Times Book Review</i> of <i>Sugar</i>, Bernice L. McFadden's bestselling debut novel. This beloved new writer returns to the Brooklyn of her childhood in <i>The Warmest December</i>, a triumphant coming-of-age novel.<br><br>Childhood can be rough, but for Kenzie growing up in the Lowe home means opening the bottom drawer of her father's dresser to choose which of the three belts coiled, waiting like snakes, she wants to get whipped with; trips to Bee Hive Liquor for her father's vodka; and dreaming of the day she can escape apartment A5. Buoyed by the graceful voice that has become McFadden's trademark, <i>The Warmest December</i> is the incredibly moving story of one family and the alcoholism, that determined years of their lives. Narrated by a young woman reminiscent of Jamaica Kincaid's <i>Annie John</i>, and moving from the Brooklyn of the 1970's to 90's, Kenzie Lowe discovers as she visits her dying father that choices she once thought beyond her control are very much hers to make.<br><br>Praise for Bernice L. McFadden's bestselling debut, <i>Sugar</i>:<br><br>"She's a writer on the caliber of Toni Morrison. Very rich, very woven, and very layered."-<i>The Dallas Morning News</i>