Review by Booklist Review
McCoy, author of the best-selling The Baker's Daughter (2012), presents another novel that shifts back and forth in time, in this case between 1859 and 2014. Sarah Brown, one of abolitionist John Brown's many children, aids her father's cause by drawing picture maps to help runaway slaves. Early in the novel, she, her mother, and several sisters journey from their home in New York to New Charlestown, West Virginia, where her father is to be executed, and they stay in a house that is a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 2014, that house is occupied by Eden Anderson, who has relocated to New Charlestown with her husband, Jack, in the hopes that a slower-paced life in a small town will help her conceive a child. Eden's guide to the community is her precocious 10-year-old neighbor, Cleo, and together they uncover the history of the house. Although either part of the novel would stand nicely on its own, the thematic and tonal links between Sarah and Eden arcs are tenuous. Still, McCoy is a skillful enough writer that readers will be drawn into her characters' lives.--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
McCoy's (The Baker's Daughter) latest is a journey into the past that reveals the hidden depths of the lives of two very different women separated by more than 150 years. Sarah Brown, one of the children of abolitionist John Brown, survives deadly dysentery only to learn that she will be barren from complications of the illness. Despite the devastating diagnosis, Sarah is determined to give meaning to her life. She assists in drawing maps for the runaway slaves her father is harboring in their Plattsburgh, N.Y., home. In present-day West Virginia, Eden and her husband, Jack, have left their life in Washington, D.C., behind to get a new start after Eden has a series of miscarriages. But Eden's depression over her loss and seeming inability to conceive has left her doubting the stability of her marriage. When Jack leaves on a business trip, Eden is forced to deal with the puppy he bought her as she adjusts to life in the small town and seeks to uncover the history behind her house. McCoy carefully juxtaposes the past and the present, highlighting the characters' true introspection, and slowly revealing the unusual similarities in the two woman's lives, which leads to a riveting conclusion. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Eden and Jack Anderson are settling uneasily into their historic home in New Charleston, WV, having brought the baggage of a fragile marriage with them. After finding an antique porcelain doll's head in a hidden pantry, Eden begins to suspect that the house contains more secrets. When Cleo, an inquisitive neighborhood preteen hired to walk the Andersons' dog, introduces Eden to local antique dealers and historians, the house's association with the Underground Railroad begins to emerge. Interspersed with Eden's contemporary tale are vignettes of the life of Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John Brown, beginning in 1859 with her father's failed rebellion and execution and proceeding through the Civil War and after with Sarah's move to California. Along the way, Sarah's struggles mirror Eden's as both women navigate loss, disappointment, and ultimately forgiveness and the forging of healthy family and community connections. VERDICT McCoy (The Baker's Daughter) moves deftly between past and present in this engaging examination of dark and hopeful times in our collective national history and in our lives. Fans of both well-researched historical fiction and contemporary tales of married life (and of authors such as Jennifer Chiaverini and Sue Monk Kidd) should be satisfied by this rich and textured depiction of characters possessing strength and grace. [See Prepub Alert, 11/17/14.]-Jennifer B. Stidham, Houston Community Coll. Northeast © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two women, living 150 years apart, struggle to define family and to find fulfillment in life when they realize they can't have children. Eden has been trying to conceive a child for years and, emotionally drained and depressed, must face the fact that it may never happen. A new dog, a precocious neighbor girl, and a broken doll's head in a hidden root cellar help her build a home that is different from the one she once imagined. McCoy (The Baker's Daughter, 2012, etc.) alternates between telling Eden's story and the story of true historical figure Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John, who served as an artist for the Underground Railroad. Strong, sensitive, and driven to make a difference in the world, Sarah, who is unable to bear children after a dire bout of dysentery, rejects the traditional path of wife to become an educator and, eventually, foster mother to two black children. Their narratives intersect in the end as Eden learns more about the history of her house. Though the novel is a bit slow to begin, the women's stories are engaging and emotionally charged. Sarah's tale is particularly interesting, as her life has not been the subject of much historical exploration, and reading about the Underground Railroad and the Civil War from a woman's perspective breathes new life into a familiar era. McCoy's descriptive writing catches the reader up in both time periods and even accomplishes the difficult task of conflating the two stories without being too heavy-handed. Eden's realization that "what fable and history could agree upon was that everyone was searching for their ever-after, whatever that may be" neatly sums up the novel's heartit's about the family and the life we create, not always the ones we imagine for ourselves. Though the conclusion doesn't surprise, it satisfies. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
