publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
pgs: 400
source: library
blurb from goodreads:
Jenny Lucas swore she’d never go home again. But being told you’re dying has a way of changing things. Years after she left, she and her five-year-old daughter, Isabella, must return to her sleepy North Carolina town to face the ghosts she left behind. They welcome her in the form of her oxygen tank–toting grandmother, her stoic and distant father, and David, Isabella’s dad . . . who doesn’t yet know he has a daughter. As Jenny navigates the rough and unknown waters of her new reality, the unforgettable story that unfolds is a testament to the power of love and its ability to change everything—to heal old hurts, bring new beginnings . . . even overcome the impossible. A stunning debut about love and loss from a talented new voice.
A looooong intro to my review:
Definitely not a YA book. It's not totally unheard of for me to read outside of my favorite section of the library, but it doesn't happen often. Just when the mood hits.
Last night my mood was for an adult, realistic, tearjerker. I'm not sure why. I do not deal well with death in books. Mockingjay pushed me into a depression-coma for over a week. Things I know about Love and The Summer of Skinny Dipping were great books--until someone important died at the end. I was so sad and upset! And of course I cried, especially with Things I Know. (Sorry if I ruined that for you, but I kind of wish someone had ruined it for me--so then I would not have read them!). But at least with this book I knew that Jenny was going to die at the end. Somehow I thought that made it okay. Ha!
Last night I told myself I would only read for 30 minutes. Ha! Ha! Totally laughable last words. They always backfire on me and after all this time I think I should know better.
So as I'm reading it's of course an hour later, I'm still awake, and I think, just one more chapter. Then four chapters later I realize I didnt' stop...so why not another one? And a few more after that? It's getting later and later and then it hits midnight and by that time I'm already two-thirds through the book, I can't stop now! I must plow ahead to the end. Yeah, so it's 1:20 in the morn, I've finished the book, I'm bawling like a booby and I think, "why didn't I just go to bed at 10:30 like I'd planned? Then Jenny would still be alive!"
my actual review (which is surprisingly short after that long intro):
This is a wonderful novel. Beautiful, heart wrenching, heartwarming, sad, hopeful. Jenny is so full of life and love, her emotions and struggles are so real. All the characters in this book, especially Jenny's family, are great. I wish I knew them! They are definitely not perfect, very true to life with flaws and struggles and deep emotions (with scarring).
This is the kind of book that sucks me in and doesn't let me go. The kind of book that speeds time up, while I just want to slow it down. The kind of book that makes me feel deeply for the characters and reminds me to be grateful for what I have in my own life. I LOVED this book.
If you don't have a problem with the (adult) main character, who you will grow to love, dying at the end of a book, I highly recommend you read Crossing Oceans!
Delicious!
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