Book Review: "Boy from the North Country" by Sam Sussman

“…who you are will change, Evan. That’s what time does to all of us. You will face difficulty. You will need your own resilience. And you will need love. You’ve always been intelligent, but it’s your heart that makes you special. Just don’t forget that, all right? Don’t turn your back on that part of who you are.”

Evan longed to get away from his hometown in upstate New York. He went to college abroad and lived in several different countries. His mother summons him home rather urgently, telling him that she has cancer and needs to have surgery, so she’ll need his help.

Arriving home, he is awash in memories of growing up and spending time with his mother. For a good deal of his childhood and teenage years it was just the two of them, undertaking creative pursuits, enjoying the arts, and believing Evan could be anything he dreamed of. His mother had a few relationships during his childhood, but they always turned bad.

Growing up, people always commented on how much Evan resembled Bob Dylan. He found out that his mother knew Dylan in the 1970s, but she refused to divulge whether he was Evan’s biological father. As his mother undergoes chemotherapy, she shares with Evan the story of her life, her dreams and the challenges that haunted her. And she tells him the full story of her relationship with Dylan.

The book shifts between the present and moments in the past, both in Evan’s childhood and his mother’s life. It’s so beautifully written and it’s tinged with sadness, but the power of a mother’s love runs through the book. For those who have lost a parent or experienced a loved one dealing with terminal illness, the book may be triggering.

Book Review: "Counting Miracles" by Nicholas Sparks

There’s just something about a Nicholas Sparks book that, well, sparks my emotions. Give me a headstrong and/or troubled FMC, a MMC who’s a handsome drifter, and throw in a crisis and I’m there, every time.

Raised by his grandparents, Tanner has been a military man for a while, and now does international relief work. He’s always been on the move, from place to place, country to country. But when he goes to be with his grandmother in her last days, she tells him to find his place, and then she gives Tanner the name of his father and his last known location—Asheboro, NC.

When his grandmother dies, Tanner heads to Asheboro, and lines up his next job in Cameroon. Within hours of his arrival, he meets Kaitlyn, a divorced doctor and mother of two. They definitely feel an instant connection, the first one either has felt in a long time. But Kaitlyn knows Tanner will be leaving the country, so why get involved with him?

Meanwhile, Jasper is an elderly man living in a cabin not far from Kaitlyn. He only has his elderly dog for company, and he bears the physical and emotional scars of a tragedy that happened years ago. But he is a kind man who Kaitlyn cares for, and he is teaching her young son how to whittle.

When a rare white deer is spotted in the nearby national forest, Jasper sees it as a sign of a miracle, and is desperate to protect the deer from poachers. But in his desperation, he puts himself at great risk. Can Tanner and Kaitlyn save him before it’s too late?

At its core, this is a story I really got into. But there were a lot of little subplots that really annoyed me and bogged the story down. I liked all three main characters, but Kaitlyn’s daughter was annoying and the whole subplot with the rich family seemed unnecessary. That being said, Sparks still made me cry.