The Bluebell Girls

The Bluebell Girls by Barbara Josselsohn brings us the story of three generations of women and one summer that will change each of their lives. Jenna needs to reboot her life after the breakup of her marriage so when her mother Sweet suffers a serious fall, she packs a suitcase, and together with her teenage daughter Sophie, retreats to her childhood home of Lake Summers to care for her. But it isn't only the fall that is bothering Sweet. She's also having memory issues, reliving events from her past which may or may not be true. Through touching passages, the author weaves together all three women's stories in an intelligent and heartfelt way as we delve into the family's history, complete with buried secrets, as well as events in the current day which will bond them together in ways they never imagined. Extra points for a believable romance with the first boy Jenna ever kissed who still lives in the town and the underlying message that yes, it's possible to begin life again in a new and more authentic way. As in her first Lake Summers' book, The Lilac House, Josselsohn's writing style is lyrical, intelligent, and touching and her small-town setting is a place I'd dearly love to visit.

My thanks to the author for providing me with an early reader copy in exchange for an honest review.