Returning Home
Life stopped for Cora when her mother took her away from the only home she had ever known. The two had lived happily along with her grandparents at their lakefront lodge. Without an explanation, when she was seven, her mother abruptly moved them away.
Cora never got an answer about why they left, and never saw her grandparents again–although she begged to see them. One day, her mother said her grandparents died. Many years later she discovered it was a lie. After they left, the relationship between Cora and her mother was never good.
When her mother passed away, Cora was surprised to find her mother owned her grandparent’s lodge, and had left it to her. But there was one stipulation, she had to live in it for a year, or get nothing.
The lodge itself was in terrible shape, and it had not been occupied for years. Everything was rotten, or ready to fall apart. Sam, a friend of her grandparents, said he would help her with the lodge if she stayed. The main question is whether or not Cora will be able to stick it out for a year. Up to that point, if things got hard, Cora left.
This is a unique story because of its large number of unusual characters.
The faith message is confusing. Although some Christian beliefs can be picked out, there are just as many, if not more, of new age or universalist tenets. It almost implies that belief can be a mixture of it all. Because of this, I can only give it three stars.
Fans of stories about women making a life in a new place will enjoy this book.
Thank you, Revell Publishing, for providing Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, “On Moonberry Lake,” by Holly Varni for the purpose of review. I have not been compensated in any other manner. All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal.
