Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
The Ballantine Publishing Group
2001
Format: Paperback, 269 pages

First Line: This will be a good weekend for reading.

From the back cover: Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town’s self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five-year-old pharmacist with a “mountain girl’s body and a flat behind.” She lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in 1978 when she suddenly discovers that she’s not who she always thought she was. Before she can blink, Ave’s fielding marriage proposals, fighting off greedy family members, organizing a celebration for visiting celebrities, and planning the trip of a lifetime- a trip that could change her view of the world and her own place in it forever. Brimming with humor and wise notions of small-town life, Big Stone Gap is a gem of a book with a giant heart.

My Thoughts: Big Stone Gap is the first book in the Big Stone Gap Series. I have come to love Trigiani’s books because they are so warm and inviting. This book was no exception. It was a bit slow at first, but towards the middle I found that I couldn’t put it down. I loved Ave Maria (the main character) with her stubborn, ‘independent woman’ mentality, and all of the quirky townsfolk. The characters really make this book.

Ave Maria takes us on her journey through the passing of her mother, finding love, and finding her long lost family. On this journey she learns more about herself and her Italian heritage while defining who she is as a person. She discovers that she is no longer alone and is worthy of love and a happy ending.

Overall, this book is a light and enjoyable read. I definitely look forward to reading the other books in the series. I gave this book 4 stars.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
St. Martin’s Griffin
2008
Format: Paperback, 479 pages

First Line: They used to be called the Firefly Lane girls.

From the back cover: In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-place social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all- beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.

So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship – jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart…and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.

My Thoughts: This is a novel about a beautiful friendship. It follows Kate Mularkey, a somewhat shy girl who’s dream is to simply be a stay-at-home mom, and Tully Hart, an ambitious, spitfire who wants nothing short of fame and wealth. Their friendship starts at age 14. Kate has been raised in a Catholic family who has loved her unconditionally while Tully was raised by her Grandmother after being abandoned (several times) by her hippie, drug-addicted mother. They grow into beautiful, smart and ambitious women but take separate paths when Kate decides to quite her job and make a family. They’re secretly jealous of each others lives and separate a few times, but their friendship always outweighs their differences.  Through their ups and downs their friendship never fails.

If you’ve ever had a best friend, you will be able to relate to this story. Sometimes friends go their separate ways, but in the end, they are always a phone call away. The message I took from this book is that true friendship never fades. This book made me laugh and made me cry. Overall it was a good read. I give it 4 1/2 stars.

(I purchased this book)

Happy Reading!

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Washington Square Press
February, 2010
Format: Paperback, 549 pages

First Line: It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she’d been told.

From the back cover: A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. One her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, “Nell” sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.

My thoughts: This was my first time reading Kate Morton and she did not disappoint. As soon as I read “fairy tales” on the back cover while standing in the book store, I knew I had to read this novel. When I was a child, my grandmother always read fairy tales to me. Because of this, I have always loved them and the memories they created. This was a book that I had a hard time putting down, so I recommend that you only start it when you have time to read for a while.

Nell takes us on her journey to England where she learns of her ancestors but, sadly, does not complete the mystery. It is not until her death that the secrets of Blackhurst Manor and the Mountrachet family are uncovered by her granddaughter, Cassandra. Cassandra has been through a lot in her life – being abandoned by her mother and the loss of her husband and son. Will she find peace and maybe even happiness while searching for the answers she seeks?

If you like mystery novels or fairy tales, this book is definitely for you. It took be back to my childhood (not that this book is in any way meant for a child) but it reminded me of why I fell in love with fairy tales and why ancestry is so important. I give this book 5 stars.

(I purchased this book)

Happy reading!

-LC