The Sweetest Thing

by Elizabeth Musser
Hennepin County Library paperback 394 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction, relationships, mystery

Loved it! Can hardly wait 'til book club!
"Perri" Anne Perrin and Mary "Dobbs" Dillard do NOT hit it off on their first meeting. Set during the Great Depression (1933-39), Perri is a wealthy Atlanta socialite and Dobbs is a poor preacher's daughter who has come to stay with her Aunt Josie to go to school. When Perri's dad commits suicide, though, her world is turned inside out and Dobbs truly befriends her.
Suicide, depression, finances, status.
Faith, loss of faith, evangelism.
Theft, honesty, evidence, safety.
Family, love, truth, past.
Jackie, Frances, Coobie.
Mrs. Singleton, Barbara, Irvin.
Hank, Spalding, Andrew, Philip, Luke.
Parthenia, Cornelius, Anna, & Hosea.
Dellareen, Jimmy, & 5 kids.
Mr. Bill Robinson.
LOTS of other characters! Parthenia my favorite.

pg. 266 Mrs. Dillard:
"When you love, it will hurt. You have to choose to forgive, again and again. But it's worth it. That's the crux of human relationships, Dobbs. The sweetest thing. Loving deeply. And forgiving. Your father loves you so much. Talk to him. Ask him your questions. Don't be afraid of your anger and your hurt."

pg. 381 Parthenia:
" . . . I said to myse'f that once there's a bad weed in ya - well, apart from the Good Lawd ripping it out - it's gonna stay." (referring to Mr. Robinson.