Last year, I read Amanda Cox's debut novel, The Edge of Belonging, and was completely enchanted. So when her new novel came up for review, I didn't even have to think about requesting it!
Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons--but she'll certainly never reveal the real one.
1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she's pregnant with her deceased fiancé's baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.
This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.
The Edge of Belonging is a beautiful, heartwarming, poignant novel about the Clearwater women - matriarch Glory Ann, her daughter Rosemary, and Rosemary's daughter Sarah. It's a timeslip novel set largely in the present but making stops in the 1960's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. Each of the women has a secret (or two or three), kept for a variety of reasons, that have impacted their relationships for decades. When Sarah returns home following her husband's death, she begins working with her mother and grandmother at their old grocery store ... and she eventually decides that some secrets need to see the light of day.
I really enjoyed this novel, especially the parts centered around Sarah and Glory Ann. Rosemary was a bit more difficult for me to care about, and I can't say that I ever really liked her, though I came to understand her viewpoint. Still, her story was vital to Sarah's and Glory Ann's, so I did appreciate her presence, and I loved the way everything turned out for all three women.
This is a lovely novel, perfect for fans of multi-generational family stories. 4-1/2 stars.
Buy the book (Amazon ad).
Read my review of Cox's The Edge of Belonging (5 stars).
Amanda Cox is a blogger and a curriculum developer for a national nonprofit youth leadership organization, but her first love is communicating through story. She holds a bachelor's degree in Bible and theology and a master's degree in professional counseling. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell through the Revell Reads program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click the link and make a purchase, I will get a small commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
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