Ordinary Grace

From New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger, a brilliant new novel about a young man, a small town, and murder in the summer of 1961.

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Published Mar 4, 2014

336 pages

Average rating: 8.11

576 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

thenextgoodbook
Sep 04, 2025
10/10 stars
thenextgoodbook.com

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
307 pages

What's it about?
It is the summer of 1961 in a small town in Minnesota. Frank Drum is thirteen years old and his life is about to change. Forty years later, Frank looks back at this summer and tells us the events that transpire. While death plays a major role in the summer, so do family, faith, and forgiveness.

What did I think?
This was the best coming of age story I have read in years. I savored every page. Mr. Krueger captures what it must have felt to be a thirteen year old, coming to grips with hard realities, in that time and place. This book has a mystery to keep you turning the page, characters that make you care, and much wisdom to impart.

Should you read it?
Yes!!!!

Quote-
"It seems to me that when you look back at a life, yours or another's, what you see is a path that weaves into and out of deep shadow. So much is lost. What we use to construct the past is what has remained in the open, a hodgepodge of fleeting glimpses. Our histories, like my father's current body, are structures built of toothpicks. So what I recall of that summer in New Bremen is a construct both of what stands in the light and what I imagine in the dark where I cannot see."

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KikiStoneCreek
Jun 03, 2023
8/10 stars
Beautifully drawn characters and a story line that kept me glued to the pages until I reluctantly reached the last well-crafted paragraph.
Karen Marv
May 23, 2023
8/10 stars
June 2022 meeting selection
Rosebuds
Sep 12, 2025
8/10 stars
The book was truly a misery. It was very sad and painful to so many people. It reaches you in a ways that touches the spiritual heart and the emotional mind's Honesty is the most important thing in life and we saw how lying destroyed so many lives. Amazing book and its impact on me.
4gie
Jul 30, 2025
8/10 stars
Insightful

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