Cathy Marie Buchanan
Blurb: 1915. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era in Niagara Falls. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath has led a sheltered existence as the youngest daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company. After graduation day at her boarding school, she is impatient to return to her picturesque family home near Niagara Falls. But when she arrives, nothing is as she had left it. Her father has lost his job at the power company, her mother is reduced to taking in sewing from the society ladies she once entertained, and Isabel, her vivacious older sister, is a shadow of her former self. She has shut herself in her bedroom, barely eating--and harboring a secret. The night of her return, Bess meets Tom Cole by chance on a trolley platform. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him--against her family's strong objections. He is not from their world. Rough-hewn and fearless, he lives off what the river provides and has an uncanny ability to predict the whims of the falls. His daring river rescues render him a local hero and cast him as a threat to the power companies that seek to harness the power of the falls for themselves. As their lives become more fully entwined, Bess is forced to make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family and her future. (From Goodreads)
Opening Sentence: "The stone walls of Loretto Academy are so thick I can sit curled up on the windowsill, arms around knees tucked beneath my chin."
Length: Short - 298 pages
Notes: I loved this book. I can't really pin-point exactly why, but I felt so connected to the characters of this book. Maybe it's because it was so realistic, and so much of what I've been reading lately is not real life at all. But these characters are ones that stuck with me. It was one of those books that I was sad when it was over, because I just wanted to make it last. I only gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, (instead of 5), but only because there is a tiny amount of sexual material that might be offensive to some. But this is a book that I'm going to remember.
Random quote : "Tonight there was great comfort in his gaze lifting to meet mine when the barking began, in knowing his fear and later his relief matched my own. Yes, sorrow, misfortune, or worry split in two is more easily borne."
Recommend: yes
Have you read this book? Share your feelings!
No comments:
Post a Comment