In 1956, when divorced working-mom Ava Lark rents a house
with her twelve-year-old son, Lewis, in a Boston suburb, the
neighborhood is less than welcoming.
Lewis yearns for his absent father, befriending the
only other fatherless kids: Jimmy and Rose. One afternoon, Jimmy goes
missing. The neighborhood – in the era of the Cold War, bomb scares,
and paranoia – seizes the opportunity to further ostracize Ava and her
son.
Lewis never recovers from the disappearance of his childhood friend.
By the time he reaches his twenties, he’s living a directionless life, a
failure in love, estranged from his mother. Rose is now a
schoolteacher in another city, watching over children as she was never
able to watch over her own brother. Ava is building a new life for
herself in a new decade. When the mystery of Jimmy’s disappearance is
unexpectedly solved, all three must try to reclaim what they have lost.
Watch the book trailer HERE (sorry, Blogger wouldn't let us load it directly.)
Jackie says:
"Warning: this woman's writing is addictive. Her characters are so vivid
you feel like you know them, and you go through their horrible times
with them, feeling each and every one of their emotions.
Eva is a
very modern woman for the year, 1956, when this story begins. She's
divorced from a cheating husband and trying to raise her brilliant son,
12 years old at the start of the book, under a microscope for all of
that AND because she is Jewish, making ends meet as a overworked,
underpaid secretary. Lewis, her son, only has two friends, a brother
and sister from across the street. Eva is like their second mother.
Then a mystery changes the neighborhood forever, and all 4 of their
lives change with it. (Wow, it's hard not to reveal any spoilers for
this book!). This is a wonderful period peace that is nevertheless very
familiar to us today. This is a fantastic read and I highly recommend
it."
Save The Date!!!
Caroline Leavitt will be at our Colfax Avenue Store on June 26, 2013 at 7:30 pm as part of the Algonquin Book Club Night. You don't want to miss this, so write on the calendar right now!