SHELTER (FRANCES GREENSLADE)

Story Description: 

From an impressive new literary talent, a heartbreaking, lushly imagined novel that explores the deep bond between two very different sisters whose world is shattered when their mother mysteriously abandons them.  Before their father died, Maggie and Jenny’s life felt nearly perfect. Seasons in their tiny rural home were peppered with wilderness hikes, building makeshift shelters and telling stories by the fire with Patrick and Irene, their doting father and beautiful, quick-to-laugh mother. But not long after Maggie's tenth birthday, Patrick is killed in a logging accident—and a few months later, Irene abruptly drops the girls at a neighbour's house, promising to return in a few weeks. She never does.  

Left in the care of a childless couple, Maggie and Jenny learn to depend on one another, keeping alive the faith that their mother is coming back. Yet as years start to pass, and the girls go to school, fall in love, and begin to grow apart, Maggie struggles with the mystery of what could have happened to their once warm, loving mother to make her abandon her daughters. And when the girls find themselves facing a crisis too overwhelming to handle alone, Maggie finally decides it is time to heal their fractured family at any cost and she takes off to try to bring their mother home at last.  

Told in Maggie’s strong, plucky voice, Shelter celebrates the love between two sisters and the complicated bonds of family. It is an exquisitely written ode to sisters, mothers, daughters, and to a woman’s responsibility to herself and those she loves.  

My Review: 

It is very hard for me to give a proper review of this book as I couldn’t finish it.  The story was quite boring, didn’t have anything interesting to say, and was very slow paced. 

The story is set in beautiful British Columbia and some of the descriptive narrative was nice but too much just ruined it.  Perhaps someone else will have better luck than I did reading this.