The Lights of Sugarberry Cove

by Heather Webber

To begin with I did not like the physical book – small font, tight spacing on the pages – and the synopsis on the flap of the cover gave me the impression of contention in a family.  So I put it aside.  Then, when I finished the previous book and didn’t have another in line to read, I went back to this one.  I’m glad I did.  I loved it!

The main characters are 26-year-old Sadie Way Scott; her sister Leala, 4 years older and married with a 2-year-old son; and their mother Susannah.  Sadie hasn’t been back to Sugarberry Cove since she was 18 when she drowned in the lake and was revived.  The girls' mother, Susannah, owns a B & B, the dream of her deceased husband and father of the girls.  Both girls return home when their mother suffers a heart attack, prompting a reunion and some healing.  Excellent.

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The Promise Girls

by Marie Bostwick

The book opens with the Promise girls (Joanie, about 16; Meg, about 14; and Avery, about 5) and their mom, Minerva, on the set of a TV talk show.  Minerva explains that she chose three sperm donors of outstanding quality with characteristics she wanted her daughters to have and had in vitro fertilization.  She has groomed her daughters as prodigies, driven them to success, and presented them as exceptional.  Joanie is the pianist; Meg, the artist; and Avery, the writer/story teller. 

Joanie is tired of it all and purposefully flubs the piece on live TV.  Minerva explodes and the daughters are removed from her care.  The story picks up 20 years later with Joanie sewing re-enactment costumes for a living, Meg working as a bookkeeper and secretary for her husband’s business, and Avery working in a coffee shop and sidelining as a mermaid.  They have little contact with Minerva, but lots to learn about their situation, their past, and their parents.

The author says this is one book with which she is completely happy.  Me, too.

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At Home on Ladybug Farm

by Donna Ball

Three retired women, Lindsey, Bridget, and Cici, purchased an old mansion which they are trying to restore.  One is a teacher-turned-painter and foster mom; one is a realtor who should have been a baker; and the other’s strength is carpentry/building.  Lori, one of their daughters lives with them, and Noah, the 15-year-old foster son.  It’s a story of family, challenges, and growing to independence.  There’s some humor similar to that in Eat Cake.  There are a few chapters that flash back to earlier times.  I enjoyed it.

Quotes

“‘Always observe the amenities,’ her Grandma Addie had told her.  ‘No matter how low life knocks you, you can hold your head up high if you observe the amenities.’
  “... Now, as a mature young bride and mother-to-be, she understood exactly what the amenities were, and how important it was to observe them. The amenities were gestures of civility performed in this big, often very uncivilized world, small acts of kindness to let others know that their lives were noticed, and their presence valued.”    p. 179  paragraph 1

“‘Motherhood isn’t something that just happens to you,’ Cici said.  ‘It’s a choice you make every day, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is . . . and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.’”    p. 255  paragraph 4

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