Shaped by the Waves

 

Back Cover

Cassie George is barely staying above water as she works to get her doctorate and raise her daughter. But she stubbornly keeps swimming to prove a few bad decisions haven't ruined her forever. Plus, it's all a great excuse to stay away from the small Oregon town she fled in shame years prior. But when she receives a call that the aunt who raised her has had a major health crisis, she knows it's time to return.

Cassie is surprised to be more welcomed by the quirky seaside community than she expected, even if there's still tension between her and her former classmate Nora Milford. But she still can't help feeling unsettled and is mystified by a mysterious package that appears, full of typed pages that tell the story of an anonymous woman's life. As her curiosity sends her on a journey toward truth, Cassie will discover that who she thought she was and what she wants for her life are both about to change.

Review

Moving. Remarkable. Un-put-down-able.  The latter might not be a real word, but it aptly describes Shaped by the Waves, the newest novel by Christina Suzann Nelson. I quickly became a fan of the author upon reading More Than We Remember, and was blown away with The Way It Should Be. 

I was captivated by the story of a single mom struggling to make ends meet and finish post-secondary education, while simultaneously running away from her past. Cassie's past confronts her when she decides to look after her aunt suffering from dementia and discovers that what she knows about her family and past may not be entirely true. The mystery unraveled page over page, and made it extremely hard to put the book down!

This novel is a story that compels you to hold all your family very tightly. It shows that family love grows beyond the biological ties and be shaped differently, but the love can be there all the same. Another excellent book by Christina Suzann Nelson that I will definitely be rereading again and again. 

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.