cover image Finding the Way Home

Finding the Way Home

Sarah Byrd. WestBow Press (www.westbowpress.com), $19.95 trade paper (268p) ISBN 978-1-4497-0350-9

In this predictable debut novel, Byrd offers up chirpy versions of grief and transformation. Reeling from the death of her husband, Suzanne%E2%80%94with young daughter Blair in tow%E2%80%94leaves home for a three-month stay at Wisteria Cottage in Cornwall, England. Upon arriving in Cornwall, mother and daughter%E2%80%94rather unsurprisingly%E2%80%94encounter a handsome headmaster named Peter. During an early meeting with Suzanne, Peter is smitten: "a slow smile spread across [his] face and crept toward his eyes." And soon enough, Suzanne and Blair have nearly simultaneous breakthrough moments about death and loss. Following the usual ups and downs and twists and turns, both Peter and Suzanne realize they left their homes "in search of something true." But it's not until a boating accident leaves Peter close to death that Suzanne feels "something unlike anything before." Most readers will be able to guess the end%E2%80%94and the middle%E2%80%94of this unoriginal novel. But readers looking for a sweet treat to savor on a summer afternoon will find this lightweight tale perfectly paired with some English sponge cake.