The Healing Spell by Kimber Griffths Little

 Twelve-year-old Livie is living with a secret and it's crushing her. She knows she is responsible for her mother's coma, but she can't tell anyone. It's up to her to find a way to wake her momma up.
Stuck in the middle of three sisters, hiding a forbidden pet alligator, and afraid to disappoint her daddy, whom she loves more than anyone else, Livie struggles to find her place within her own family as she learns about the powers of faith and redemption. Livie's powerful, emotional, and sometimes humorous story will stay with readers long after the last line is read.
Set in the lush bayou of Louisiana, Kimberley Griffiths Little brings Livie's story to life with power and grace.

I truly enjoyed this book and would buy the hard cover to add to my library. A story of hope, love and family.
Ms. Little is a master of descriptions in world setting and characters. I loved all the people in the book, even the bratty cousin and the baby alligator. Strange, I know but that is how well the author placed me in her story. And I felt like I had visited the bayou though I've never been.
My favorite part was the healing spell and what Livie was willing to do to heal her mamma. I found myself wanting to help her, soothe her and be a friend. Livie has a very strong voice.
I recommended this book to our library's mother/daughter book club. Well worth reading.

Rating: PG
S: None
V: None
L: None


Page 69 test:
"Aunt Colleen called out, "Thibodaux, take those newspapers out to the front porch and tie them down so they don't blow away."
"Did you see what he did?" I asked.
"See what?"
"Poking Mamma's legs."
"Oh, I'm sure you didn't see right. he'd never do something like that."
"I ain't blind."
"Don't get impertinent with me, young lady."
I let out a gasp just as Thibodaux slammed the front door, leaving the house as fast as he could. I wanted to shake the freckles right off his red face.
I knew I shouldn't have said what I did, but Aunt Colleen was starting to make me mad. I was getting in trouble for something her son had done! And he was the one that stormed out of the house like a brat.
Aunt Colleen changed the subject. "How long has Crickett been like that?"
I pushed my rag across the dirty linoleum, not looking at her, feeling sulky. "Like what?""