Promises to Keep

I received Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock free for my honest review from Bethany House Publishers. I have not read anything by this author and was very impressed by this book. This was one "sweet story".
I liked that the story was told in the first person of Roz who at age 11 is struggling with so many family issues. The story takes place back in the late 60's when the Vietnam war, free love, drugs and craziness was happening. Roz's mother flees from Minnesota and an abusive husband along with her three kids to her hometown. Her dad helps her buy a house but the owner Tillie keeps coming back wanting to live there. She wants to die in that house since she and her husband built it. Tillie is finally allowed to live there with the Monroes' to help the family with cooking and babysitting. Tillie's character was crafted masterfully along with Roz and Mara's character. Mara is a Negro and she and Roz become friends and share a secret with a "cross my heart and hope to die " pledge. This story took me back to a place of innocence, childhood friendships that I experienced in that era . Also a husband and father wants to reunite his family and will stop at nothing to accomplish that. The storyline takes so many turns and that kept me reading and trying to figure out where the author was going and how the story would end.
I absolutely loved everything about this book and highly recommend it. I am off to the library to pick up more books by this author.