DAUGHTERS OF THE LAKE (Wendy Webb)

Wendy Webb is one of my favorite authors.  She isn't prolific yet, but you can always count on enjoying a fascinating, ghostly story. 

Kate Granger has recently ended her marriage and is visiting her parents at their house on the shores of Lake Superior.  The last thing she expects to is to become involved in a murder mystery, especially one where she realizes that she has been experiencing vivid, lifelike dreams about the victim, who died 100 years ago.

Kate's father is walking the dog along the beach when he discovers the body of a young woman dressed in an old-fashioned nightgown washed up on the shore.  Kate finds herself compelled to rush to the young woman's corpse and discovers the tiny body of a newborn folded into the woman's gown.  Somehow, she knew it would be there.  Thus begins the unfolding of a mystery 100 years in the making, the righting of old wrongs, new discoveries, and the tragic story of Addie Cassatt and her one true love, Jess Stewart. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in a good gothic mystery.

THE CHILD WHO NEVER GREW (Pearl Buck)

Pearl Buck's only natural child, Carol, was born with PKU, resulting in severe developmental disabilities.  This short, heartbreaking book is the story of Buck's journey of acceptance of her daughter's limitations and her quest to discover how to maximize her limited abilities and provide her with the happiest and most fulfilling life possible.  Buck consulted experts and explored every possibility, finally realizing that letting her go, at least on a day-to-day basis, was the best course of action to give Carol a life with some meaning and contentment.  Buck traveled all over the United States visiting and evaluating facilities and talking to authorities in the field, searching for the right placement for her daughter.  She offers excellent advice, still valid today, I think, on what to look for in a home for a special child.  In no way was Buck trying to rid herself of responsibility.  She recognized that in the "real" world occupied by people of normal intellect and a range of personalities and emotions her daughter would never find happiness and always feel "different."  Instead, she needed a kind and loving environment where she could pursue her interests and make friends under the care of people who were experts in dealing with her type of disabilities.  Buck found that in New Jersey, in a facility where the philosophy of the man in charge and the attitudes of the people who would care for carol on a day-to-day basis coincided with Buck's own.  She visited Carol often, heartbroken over missing her yet happy to see her well-adjusted and at home. 

Remember, this take place at a time when disabled children were hidden away and often warehoused.  The special ed programs and government aid available today were unheard of in the 1920's, so Buck had to deal with her child's future on her own.  her compassion and love for Carol shines through in every page of this book.  I would highly recommend it.

THE GOOD EARTH (Pearl Buck)

Buck's celebrated novel, the first in a trilogy, helped to win her the Nobel Prize for literature.  Her portrayal of rural Chinese culture is the result of half a lifetime spent in China.  Family life, marriage...

CHRISTMAS ON THE ISLAND (Jennie Colgan)

Flora is frantic.  She is pregnant and doesn't know how to tell Joel, the moody love of her life with a troubled past.  As always, family and friends figure prominently.  All I can say is, if you love Jennie Colgan you won't be disappointed.  I'm looking forward to the next installment in the lives of the people of the remote island of Muir, Scotland!

THREADING THE NEEDLE (Marie Bostwick)

Marie Bostwick writes about women, faith, renewal, and friendship.  The Cobbled Court Quilt series follows the lives of different women who forge a connection and deep friendships through Evelyn Dixon's Cobbled Court Quilt shop.

Tessa Woodruff and her husband Lee left the corporate world in Boston to follow their dreams of a simpler life, Lee as a farmer and Tessa as an herbalist who sells her lavender scented lotions and soaps in her own shop, Love of Lavender.  In New Bern, CT, where Tessa grew up, they hope to find contentment and success, but the poor economy threatens their idyllic world. 

Madelyn Beecher Baron, whose wildly successful husband has been convicted of running a Ponzi scheme, has lost everything in the world except for Beecher Cottage in New Bern, left to her reluctantly by the miserable grandmother who grudgingly raised her after the death of her son, Madelyn's father.  Madelyn and Tessa were best friends until their early teenage years when their relationship fell apart and they haven't seen each other in 40 years.  Each of them finds serenity and friendship through a quilting group at Cobbled Court Quilts.  They also find the friendship lost so many years ago.

In this political climate, we desperately need stories where people are kind and loving, patient and unselfish.  You can always find these characters in Bostwick's novels.  Knowing that we can survive bad times and that people care enough to just be there when we need them is a wonderful gift and Bostwick has a talent for creating characters that do just this.  I am looking forward to the next in this series.