"It was just as well she didn't know. A crucial form of protection really – not realizing what the future held. She would have only begun fretting that much earlier, which wouldn't have made the slightest bit of difference to anyone involved. The outcome would remain the same, no matter what."
 |
Plane of the Ecliptic by Karen Estes iUniverse
book review by Wendy Strain
It's a love story of a different sort in this beautiful tale of hearts torn apart desperately seeking to find each other again. The always predictable, almost inhumanly well-organized, mild-mannered librarian and soon-to-be-grandmother Maggie finds her world spinning out of focus with the birth of her first and only highly remarkable granddaughter. Although Maggie and the newborn infant Julia are not officially blood-related, the two form an instant, unshakeable bond that goes beyond the normal bonds of even mother-child. Maggie's husband Ross, step-daughter Kellie, and son-in-law Sean have no idea how to cope with the new woman who emerges from the hospital room after Julia's birth. The careful routines and scrupulous care Maggie usually provided for her family and the students at the high school library where she works are shattered as she finds herself constantly thinking about being with the tiny girl and the strange dreams she keeps having, particularly potent at the full moon.
For her part, Julia is never quite as satisfied with anything without her Gammy nearby. As Julia begins to grow up, she demonstrates a wisdom and awareness beyond her age as well as a memory of things that are beyond her experience. When it is discovered that Maggie and her granddaughter have been sharing the same dreams about the lives of two girls in some long ago time in Scotland, those who love them best begin to push them to find some answers. Their journey will take them all the way to Scotland and to an experience that will affect more than just themselves. Well written with beautiful passages that engage the reader's imagination, this is a story that examines the ties that bind us as sisters, mothers, daughters, friends, and family. It is a woman's story of love beyond time and space, highlighting the importance of our connections to one another.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review