Tending Roses

Title: Tending Roses
Author: Lisa Wingate
Genre: Domestic fiction
Pages: 336
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***
Reviewed by: Jenn
Description: Katie, a new mom on her maternity leave, gets assigned to take her husband and baby to live with her grandmother who has recently had a stroke and is not safe to leave alone. At first Kate dreads the assignment to live with her blunt, seemingly harsh and nit-picky grandmother. She is also stressed out about money, and her marriage is suffering. But as Kate sneaks peeks into her grandmother's journal, she learns subtle lessons and eventually transforms her entire take on life, family, and priorities. The extended family, which was falling apart, is also benefitted and patched together, thanks to Grandma Rose's lessons.
Thoughts: Most of the members of my book club felt that Tending Roses, if nothing else, made them want to be a better person. While reading this book, I found myself avoiding harsh words, worrying less, appreciating what I have, and viewing my family as the most important part of my life. That should be reason alone to read it! Wingate brings out several themes that I agree are crucial in life, most importantly, "maybe you should start wanting less." The characters in this book are well-developed and easy to relate to. The only thing that bothered me was that in her attempt to teach life's great morals and lessons, Wingate gets pretty sentimental, if not preachy. But hey, sometimes it's a lot easier to let someone tell you flat-out what the moral of the story is!
Disclaimer: I personally didn't find this book offensive at all. There are a few "H" and "D" words, and a mention of a married couple's lovemaking, luckily with no details.