By Annie Barrows
The Dial Press, 2015. 491 pgs. Fiction
In 1938, Willa Romeyn is thirteen years old and just discovering how much of the world she doesn't understand. Through the hot summer months, she is on a mission to use her natural gift for stealth to discover the secrets kept by the adults in her life. This same summer finds Layla Beck, daughter of a distinguished senator, banished to Willa's hometown of Macedonia, West Virginia, on relief and employed to write a history of the tiny community. The lives of both Willa and Layla will never be the same as events during this pivotal summer bring to the light long kept secrets of both betrayal and love.
This is a new novel by the co-author of "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society". I admit to loving her first novel more than this one, but I still enjoyed it. It's longer and a little more meandering but takes place in a charming community filled with endearing characters. Barrows also includes several letters and correspondence between characters which I loved. I listened to the audio version, which was fantastic, and will surely be recommending this novel to readers who enjoyed "Guernsey" or are looking for light historical fiction.
CZ
1 comment:
I wonder if this might be a case of the audio version being better than the print. I personally did not really enjoy this book. I had very high hopes when I first started reading because I loved the authors first book, but I found this one slow and I didn't really connect with any of the characters.
This is an interesting look at a small West Virginia town. It also raises some interesting questions about the effect of lies kept over long periods of time, the bonds of love, and the power of forgiveness. There is some swearing and references to sex that may not be appropriate for all readers.
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