Category: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN-13:9780452295377
Pub. Date: April 2009 (reprint)
Date Read: April 2009
"Although he'd anticipated this moment a million times, trying to predict its outcome, he was still not prepared for it. He put down his drink and wiped his sweaty hands on his trousers. What if she should know him somehow? Even worse, what if she resembled him? Yet, even if she did resemble him, he reasoned, nobody would draw any conclusions."
Set amidst the beauty of the Massachusetts Berkshires, a story of love, deception and redemption unfolds. Nate and Cat were two young lovers struggling to survive in a world of drugs and poverty so when they knew they couldn't continue in that life any more they gave up their little daughter, Willa, for adoption.
Willa's adoptive parents live in the Berkshires and seem to have it all. A fancy house and the money to provide Willa with a great education at the elite Pioneer School. But the source of where the money comes from is something that is kept from Willa and from all their neighbors because surely no one would understand.
Now, as Willa is an older teen and Nate has finally cleaned up his life, he decides to ask for a teaching job at the Pioneer School. He only wants to see Willa and see what's become of her life without intruding on it of course but that will be easier said than done because the communityis hiding a lot of secrets and they are bound to come out.
The story was slow to unfold yet you can't help but be hooked by two worlds the author creates. One of beauty and prestige and another of violence and wickedness touching the edges of what it supposed to be right. There are several main characters actually all entwined and with secrets to keep which will keep the reader engaged until the very end.