In February when the snow comes down hard, little globes of light are left along route 110, on the side of the road that slopes off when a driver least expects it. The lights are candles set inside paper bags, surrounded by sand, and they burn past midnight. They shouldn't last for that amount of time, but that's part of the miracle. On the second anniversary of the accident, a gang of boys creep out their windows and gather at two in the morning to see if Helen's mother, Diana Boyd, drives along the road replacing each melting pool of wax with a fresh candle. They're hoping to reveal a con in process and dispel the myth of a miracle, but after keeping watch for a while the boys all flee. In the early morning hours, safe in their beds, they wonder how much of the world can never be understood or explained.
***
Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl growing up on Long Island until one night a terrible road accident brings her life to a halt. While her best friend Helene suffers life-changing injuries, Shelby becomes overwhelmed with guilt and is suddenly unable to see the possibility of a future she’d once taken for granted.
But as time passes, and Helene becomes an almost otherworldly figure within the town, seen by its inhabitants as a source of healing, Shelby finds herself attended to by her own guardian angel. A mysterious figure she half-glimpsed the night of the car crash, he now sends Shelby brief but beautiful messages imploring her to take charge of her life once more . . .
What happens when a life is turned inside out? When you lose all hope and sense of worth? Shelby, a fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookshops, and men she should stay away from, captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding oneself at last. From the bestselling author of The Dovekeepers comes this spellbinding, poignant and life-affirming story of one woman’s journey towards happiness – and the power of love, family and fate.
***
It is not often I award a book with a five star review on my Good Reads page, and this is the first time I have done so this year. It wholeheartedly deserved it and is the best book that I have read in quite a while, and it earned it's five bright and shiny stars.
The main character, Shelby, is a multi-faceted and complex figure. We glimpse her life through flashbacks to a time when she had her whole life ahead of her before the car accident. Survival came at a huge cost for her and she sets out on a journey of self destruction and punishment. Never have I so empathised with a character and felt her pain. I rooted her on from the very beginning and it was sometimes difficult to witness her pain.
My heart went out not only to Shelby but to her mother also. I can only imagine what it must have been like to watch your child on the journey of self-destruction that Shelby was on. It demonstrates the authors skill in that she is able to elicit such a response from her reader regarding a minor character.
I sincerely hope that I have not made this sound a dark and depressing book because it is so much more. Whilst it does deal with the topics of grief and self-loathing, it is ultimately a story of hope, love and self-acceptance.
I borrowed this book from the library but I think I will be purchasing a copy. I am certain that I will want to re-read this at some point. Not only to re-visit Shelby's story but to be enveloped within the great storytelling skill that Ms Hoffman has in abundance.
Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic, The World That We Knew, The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Book of Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers.
She was born in New York City on March 16, 1952, and grew up on Long Island. She now lives near Boston.
(author photo and bio info from the author's own website: https://alicehoffman.com/about/)
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