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Sep 10, 2016goddessbeth rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
As a debut novel, this is fantastic. It's a gut punch of emotions that somehow never comes across as overwrought or unbelievable. It touches on the Italian Internment camps in the U.S. during WWII (which I didn't realize had happened, and is another mark in the tragedy that is 'a country priding itself on freedom and allowing fear to win'). It touches on the relationships we have with family, both blood relations and heart relations, and how those can lift us up and hurt us- even at the same time. It touches on regret, love, and most of all, parenthood. If this sounds like a powerful book, it is. If this sounds like a depressing book, it is. Not hopeless, but it will give you the feels (especially if you have ever been a parent, step-parent, or foster parent, which I was for a time). Every character in here is realistic. No one is 'the bad guy', and actions with terrible consequences come from an (understandable) place of fear. But there's also hope, new beginnings, compromise, and the transformative power of accepting your fear instead of letting it dictate your actions. And that kept it from being too sorrowful or stressful a read. Overall, I recommend it for fans of women's fiction (even though I absolutely hate that term- it implies women are defined by emotional reads and men don't want emotional reads), especially book clubs as there's a lot to discuss. I will definitely be picking up any future books by this author (whether or not they're set along the Russian River in northern California, which is a spot I love).