It’s been rehashed in the book descriptor but I have to outline the plot. A young girl named Mary Foster is unexpectantly uprooted from her childhood home in London and moved to to a seaside home far away. She comes home one day and the movers are packing things up. Her parents didn’t give her any warning. Imagine that….I would be extremely upset to lose my friends and suburban life without warning, that is from the point of view of a twelve year old.
The perspective jumps to Mary as an adult, taking care of her aging father and her mother who now has Alzheimer’s. Things her mother remembers sparks Mary to research her past a bit. It’s funny how some things we don’t understand as a child make perfect sense when you are an adult.
It’s a point of reference from the grown up experiences and how we remember something that suddenly fits like a puzzle. The “Oh, that’s what that meant!” kinda thing.
Without spoilers I can say the end leaves you to make up your own mind how life proceeds for Mary. Two clear and distinct choices are presented by Mary, taking her life in the direction she chooses. Which one did she pick? Hmmmm….The author depicts a normal group of characters with everyday flaws and problems.
Much thanks to NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review. Would I read more by Jude Hayland? Absolutely.
This book was published October 8, 2019.
Sharing with Joy for her British Isles Friday event.
Novel Meals 
Sounds like a nice slice of life type of book. Some writers really excel at portraying ordinary or even mundane lives in a way that pulls the reader in. I will admit though that I am sometimes frustrated by open endings.
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That sounds like one I would enjoy. Now that my parents are gone, I have more appreciation for the mysteries that I may never solve because I didn’t think to ask what some childhood incidents meant.
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