Where Wild Peaches Grow

A Novel

By: Cade Bentley

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

In a deeply emotional novel of family, cultural heritage, and forgiveness, estranged sisters wrestle with the choices they’ve made and confront circumstances beyond their control.

Nona “Peaches” Davenport, abandoned by the man she loved and betrayed by family, left her Natchez, Mississippi, home fifteen years ago and never looked back. She’s forged a promising future in Chicago as a professor of African American Studies. Nona even finds her once-closed heart persuaded by a new love. But that’s all shaken when her father’s death forces her to return to everything she’s tried to forget.

Julia Curtis hasn’t forgiven her sister for deserting the family. Just like their mother, Nona walked away from Julia when she needed her most. And Julia doesn’t feel guilty for turning to Nona’s old flame, Marcus, for comfort. He helped Julia build a new life. She has a child, a career, and a determination to move on from old family wounds.

Upon Nona’s return to Natchez, a cautious reunion unfolds, and everything Nona and Julia thought they knew—about themselves, each other, and those they loved—will be tested. Unpacking the truth about why Nona left may finally heal their frayed bond—or tear it apart again, forever.

©2022 Shondra C. Longino. (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Bahni Turpin gives a stunning performance as both Nona and Julia, two women who follow different paths but are, ultimately, alike. Turpin brings out the emotion in the story as both women work together to learn the truth about the past and work toward reconciliation. This novel is perfect for fans of The Vanishing Half or books by Edward Kelsey Moore and Kimberly Lawson Roby.”—Library Journal

“Bentley…has written a captivating story of miscommunication, secrets, lies, and forgiveness, beautifully told with rich descriptions of Black culture and history.”—Booklist (starred review)

It wanted to be good, but it wasn’t.

The ending left a lot to be desired. So disappointing that I wasted so many hours listening to this one.

I looked the idea better than the actual book

I really wanted to love this book. The premise is solid. A father dies, and his two estranged daughters reunite for his funeral. The themes were good- family is important, and it’s important to go to the source to find our histories (both personal and collective).

But the actual writing was just ok. The characters weren’t well developed. Their actions and reactions to things didn’t make sense. I found myself not rooting for them the way you usually do in a novel.

The best part of this audio book was the narrator performance. Bahni Turpin is an amazing audio actress whose talents added a lot to an otherwise unimpressive book.

Finding Herself

Good book. Nona had to leave and return to find herself and appreciate the family.

History mixed with family and feelings

It was interesting book , the characters were relatable , and easy to imagine. While there were ups and downs and exciting moments in the book I kept waiting for something more- I also was a bit lost at the end of the book.

Anticlimactic

I will agree and say I had high hopes for this book. The narration did have occasional odd pauses. The narrator was easy to follow. I was hoping for more in regards to the plot and wish that the outcome of the relationships had been elaborated on- definitely finished the book desiring more.

A beautiful story, the truth of slavery will be revealed regardless of all the obstacles placed in its path.

I loved the different version of each character’s interpretation of the same event. The length, duration that the individual family members were able to stay apart, was daunting

The wild peaches was interesting

The story the Wild Peaches was very interesting a big mixture or names,plot twist an at times confusing,,,, I really enjoyed it.

A bit anticlimactic

Overall, the book was okay, but it was pretty anticlimactic. It had all the makings of a pretty intriguing story, but in MY opinion, we learned all of the family’s “secrets” at the beginning and then pretty much watched at the sisters learned them. Even when they both learned of what was being kept from them, there was no real peak of the story that it was working up to. Bahni Turpin’s performance was great (per usual) but I did find myself listening on 1.5 because I felt she was narrating a bit slower than usual. Either that, or I was a bit bored. Again, not a bad story, I just think it gives away too much too early leaving little to work up toward.

Family Secrets

This story is a great example of the importance of family and the hardships that come from keeping secrets. There were secrets and secrets and more secrets that unfortunately were not revealed, uncovered, and some even found to be untrue until the death of a very important contributor to the misunderstandings. Well written and well read!

Really enjoyed the book

History is definitely a favorite of mine and I loved that the author honed in on the importance of getting correct fact about history. What the characters did to repair their past is an example of what we all should do in our life to move forward. Great read!!!