The Sweet Gum Tree by Katherine Allred Is about a girl named Alix who comes from a rich and respected family and a boy named Nick who grew up in the poor side of the southern town they lived in. Alix was taught since she was little that she could not be associated with kids from the other side of the town. Everything changes when she goes to a church event where she befriends Nick who not only lives on a junkyard, but is known for being the son of an extremely abusive and alcoholic man. Nick starts looking for refuge at Alix house after he gets physically abused by his dad. It became a normal routine between them every night, until Alix’s family realizes what is truly happening, but instead of not allowing them to see each other again they welcome him and try to help him and everything seems fine from there on and seemed like a good ending. I read this book on my Nook and expected that to be the end, but I was extremely surprised when I turned the page and wasn’t even half way through the book. Nick went through a lot until that point in the book and was shocked that it wasn’t the end of his journey through hell.
This book is absolutely breathtaking; every quote said by the characters are worth re reading. I grew up watching soap operas that were packed with dramatic and suspenseful story lines and while reading this book I felt like I was part of one. It starts out with the main characters only being eight and ten years old and progress until they are adults which I really enjoyed because it gave me a better understanding of their relationship and also the story line before the main twist plot. The story is heart breaking, but it’s worth reading because it teaches a lot of valuable lessons throughout out the book like forgiveness, which becomes a huge theme throughout the story.