Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio was the final book of 2014 for me. I read most of it on New Years Eve and hurried up to finish it that night (DORK , I KNOW!) to bump up my stat ha. It felt like the right way to end the year since I began the year reading 2 of her other books. Now I think I have only two more to catch up on and I'll have read them all, but I do want to re-read The Violets of March. I know I gave it to someone to read and now I want to read it again, #bookproblems !
Blackberry Winter, flips between present day Seattle and 1933 Seattle. At first it gave me a tad bit of anxiety because it dealt with a three year old boy that had disappeared. But I reminded myself that her books while steeped in sadness would not have had a horrible end for that poor boy so I plowed on.
Like her other books I fell in love with the characters and loved the peek into the past that Vera's storyline offered. I loved reading about life in Seattle in the early 1930s and how she struggled to support her son. It was a unique insight into a time frame that really interests me.
I didn't feel as connected to Claire, who was the present day main character. Like many times in books I feel I looked at her character and her husband's character and wanted to shake them both because of idiot actions on both parts. That's the chick lit part of her books that sometimes nags at me.
Like her other books, I'd recommend this one in a heartbeat. However, be advised that if pregnancy loss or child kidnapping causes anxiety or are topics you need to avoid it may be best to stick to one of her others! I suggest starting with The Violets of March!
Description: In 2011, Sarah Jio burst onto the fiction scene with two sensational novels--The Violets of March and The Bungalow. With Blackberry Winter--taking its title from a late-season, cold-weather phenomenon--Jio continues her rich exploration of the ways personal connections can transcend the boundaries of time.
Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator's.
Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 "blackberry winter" storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways...
Did you read Blackberry Winter? What were your thoughts? What is your favorite book by Jio? Any other books set in the 1930s you'd recommend?
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