Claiming Georgia Tate

by Gigi Amateau

~Georgia Tate Jamison never knew her mother, and what she knows of her daddy from their one vacation together isn’t good. Her grandparents have raised her ever since she was a baby, but they would never, ever tell her the secret that her best friend, Ginger, finally lets spill. Could Georgia Tate be the last person in Ripley, Mississippi, to learn the truth about her own mama’s death? When Nana suddenly passes away, Georgia Tate’s beloved preacher granddaddy decides that a father and daughter belong together and sends her to live with hers in Jacksonville. The only problem is that some men, like Granddaddy Tate, were always meant to be fathers – and some men, like Rayford Jamison, were never meant to be. In Gigi Amateau’s extraordinary first novel, a betrayed and tragically abused young woman indomitably pulls toward joy – and in spite of it all, gives thanks for the good rains that cleanse the soul.~

At first I was put-off by how naive and child-like 12 year-old Georgia Tate is. Once I got over that, however, the book was a good read. I wanted to love it but I only liked it. The story is moving at times and well-written but, ultimately, I had a hard time believing it. Cindy Darling Codell says in her SLJ review, "Encompassing terrible things, this is still a story of faith and differing facets of individual spirituality. A moving first offering." I have to agree. This isn't really a story about a girl abused by her father. It's a story about faith, hope and spirituality. It's the feel-good incest book of the year. And for that reason, I have a have mixed feelings about it.