Saving Grace

by Priscilla Cummings

The year is 1932, and the McFarland family has been hit hard by the Great Depression. When they lose their home just before Christmas, Grace, eleven, and her two younger brothers are sent temporarily to a children's home. Grace tries to understand: Mama's new baby is due any day, and Grace's beloved older brother, Pete, is terribly sick. Her stay at the mission is cut short when she is invited to spend the holidays with the Hammonds, where they treat...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525471235
• ISBN13: 9780525471233
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Couldn't put it down

I read this book before giving it to my 8-year-old. I couldn't put it down. You will quickly come to care about the main character, Grace, and her family that has fallen on hard times. In this time when most kids have more stuff than they need and often feel entitled to more and more, this book really brings the Depression to life. Valuable lesson on what is truly important without being preachy.

Kelsey's review

There is a family: mama,papa,Pete,Grace,Iggy,and Owen. Pete is the oldest son and he is 13 or 14. Grace is only 11, and Iggy and Owen are still very young. Mama is expecting a baby soon, and the family has very little money to put food on the table. Pete and grace have to walk to the fire hydrant to get pails of water, every morning. Pete's left arm is not all there so he can not carry but one pail. One morning he starts coughing and breathing really hard, so his mom makes him dress extra warm. She tries to make him stay but he goes. It is the middle of winter outside. When they get to the hydrant the man opening it says he is going to have to move it to a different location, because it pours to much water into the grass or snow. The parents go poor and Pete gets really sick and they have to send all the kids away to a mission.They send Pete to a free hospital that won't cost them any money. The other three go to a mission near by. Grace makes a new friend while there, she also gets a chance to go to the Hammond's for Christmas. Grace,Iggy,and Owen go back home with their mom and baby sister.

Malori's Book Review of Saving Grace

Saving Grace was a really good book and probably one of my favorite books that I have read. Grace McFarland is a young girl who lived during the the Great Depression. At the begining of the story Grace played with an Ouija Board even though many times before her mother told her not to because the board was the work of the devil. The board predicted that Grace was going to start a new life. Grace has a terrible and a very rough life. She lives in an old and beaten up apartment building with her family. There are five people in her family. The people are Grace's mother and father, Owen who is four,Iggy who is around the age of one, and Pete who is 14. Grace's mom is also expecting a baby and they have no idea what they are going to do financially. They can barely feed themselves right now. It has gotten to the point that Grace and Pete take turns skipping meals. Pete and Grace are best-friens and they are very close. Pete is a great big brother and he loves to play marbles. The Great Depressin is at its' peak and jobs are almost impossible to find. The McFarland family keeps getting threatened to be evicted from their apartment. If it happens they wil probably have to live on the streets. Their dad is very upset and is doing any job he can get his hands on to keep the McFarlands from living on the street. He does construction jobs with railroad company evey once in a while to earn some extra cash. One night Pete and Grace decide to follow their dad. They end up finding out that he is brewing beer illegally. Grace and Pete's mom doesn't even know about so they have to keep it a secret from her too. They know that he is only doing it for their sake, but they are still upset with him. It gets to the point that Grace and Pete steal from other people and trade items to get money. One day Pete and Grave go down to get the water from outside at the fire hydrant and they find out they only have one or two more days until they get evicted from their home. When they go upstairs they tell their mother and she really begins to worry. Grace and Pete's stealing results in a list that has everything on it they have stolen. One day they agreed that they are going to repay everyone for what they stole from them. Grace keeps teh list in a little box that has all of her treasures in it. One day Grace's mother sent Grace and Pete to the alley store to get a few groceries for her. They used what little money they had earned from selling milk bottles to do so. On their way home a kid named Martin got in their way. He was with two other boys. Martin always teased Pete and he was a very unfriendly person to be around. One of the boys took the bag of groceries from Grace. They beat up Pete very badly. The boys and Martin finally ended up leaving.. No one was around to help Grace get Pete home. All of the groceies for supper were ruined along with breakfast for the next morning. On the way home they heard a small cry. The nightmare came

Wonderful! Inspiring! Magnificent!

Saving Grace, by Priscilla Cummings, is one of the best books that I have ever read! My mother always talked about going through the Great Depression and I would sit there and say, "Yeah yeah yeah..it's over now so drop it, ok?" But after reading this book, I see now what it was really like to go through the Great Depression. I found after finishing the book that I couldn't stop thinking about it! Very well written and incredibly real! I reccomend this novel to anybody who loves inspirational fiction! :-) !

Grandma Carol

I bought this book for my two grandaughters ages 9 & 13. I started to read it myself and becamewrapped up in it. I felt as if I were twelve againand going through what she was feeling. I grew upin the Washington, D.C. and Maryland area and canrelate to a lot of the areas mentioned. It will holdthe childs attention as well as a mom and grandma's attention.