Book Review: A Simple Kindess in Flatsboro
Today, I’m participating in a book review tour for A Simple Kindness in Flatsboro, a southern novel by Heather Norman Smith from Kregel Publications.
Disclosure: I voluntarily received a complimentary copy from the publisher as part of JustRead publicity tours. All views expressed are my own. This post includes Amazon affiliate links.
My Review
Back porch reading season has arrived! What? That’s not a season where you live? Well, it is at my house. Arkansas summers are too hot to enjoy sitting outside to read, but the glorious, mild days of fall in the Ozarks are perfect for reading on the porch. (Or working, as the case may be. I just take my laptop out and spend the day enjoying the brilliant blue sky and sweet breezes.)
In any case, when you’re in the mood for a feel-good kind of book, you have to check out A Simple Kindness in Flatsboro. So many wonderful characters and an inspiring storyline.
Andy Clark is the main character. He’s a very thoughtful and generous man, but his neighbors don’t always treat him kindly because… well, to put it bluntly, he has an ugly face (an inoperable birth defect). Andy’s roommate is a loving and fun guy with Down Syndrome. Della Rose Miller is Andy’s former classmate who, along with her little girl, has recently moved into the same apartment building to escape an abusive marriage. And those are just the main characters. There are several other neighbors and townsfolk you need to get to know when you visit Flatsboro, North Carolina.
I absolutely loved this heartwarming story. I highly recommend it to everyone, but especially if you love small-town books.
From the Publisher
Andy Clark has always been different. But it isn’t just the tumorous mass covering half his face that sets him apart—it’s his quiet kindness. As an anonymous do-gooder in Flatsboro, North Carolina, Andy lives out what his mama taught him, even though she’s no longer there.
Della Rose Miller, a well-known former beauty queen, escapes her crumbling marriage to arrogant Wade Miller and moves back to her hometown in hopes of finding reprieve. She and her daughter settle into a little Flatsboro apartment and quickly learn that they’re in the same complex as a childhood classmate whose heart Della Rose broke in third grade.
With her life turned upside down, Della Rose is uneasy about starting fresh, but when unassuming Andy turns his generosity toward her daughter, an unlikely friendship rekindles. When a heroic act suddenly pushes Andy into the spotlight, he risks his anonymity and quiet day-to-day habits to stand up for what’s right.
As Della Rose navigates the end of her marriage and Andy continues his secret philanthropy, they navigate grief and trusting God. Heather Norman Smith weaves a charming and heartwarming Southern story to remind you of the power of simple kindness.
“Settle in for a story as sweetly delicious as lemonade on a summer afternoon.”
