A Smile, A Tear

Megan Chance never writes a traditional story, but I'm always willing to go wherever she takes me.

A Season in Eden by Megan Chance
(1999, American West) 6/6/06
Grade: 4.5

Four years after her marriage, Lora’s heart has grown cold, shuttered by tragedy. When her husband Eli announces that he’s going away to find work, she barely notices. But as she spends the summer on the farm with hired hand will, she begins to see the world again - and when Eli comes home injured, she has to find a way to live and love again.

An emotional, heartbreaking book that vividly depicts a time and place. Lora’s coldness is hard to understand at first, but as her secret is revealed, she becomes more understandable. The men aren’t developed as deeply, especially will, but Lora’s gradual return to life is well done. The pacing is a bit off - the section in the middle goes on a little too long, and the emotional scenes at the end a little too late - but that’s a minor quibble. The book ends with such heart (and a few tears), that it was well worth reading.

Sometimes a book has such a good ending, it makes the rest of the book seem better. I'd probably grade most of this book as a 4, but the last couple of chapters push it almost into keeper territory.