Starlight on Willow Lake: Lakeshore Chronicles, by Susan Wiggs
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Starlight on Willow Lake: Lakeshore Chronicles, by Susan Wiggs
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs sweeps readers away to a sun-drenched summer on the shores of Willow Lake in a stunning tale of the delicate ties that bind a family together…and the secrets that tear them apart
When caregiver Faith McCallum arrives at the enchanted lakeside estate of Avalon's renowned Bellamy family, she's intent on rebuilding her shattered life and giving her two daughters a chance at a better future. But she faces a formidable challenge in the form of her stubborn and difficult new employer, Alice Bellamy. While Faith proves a worthy match for her sharp-tongued client, she often finds herself at a loss for words in the presence of Mason Bellamy―Alice's charismatic son, who clearly longs to escape the family mansion and return to his fast-paced, exciting life in Manhattan…and his beautiful, jet-setting fiancée.
The last place Mason wants to be is a remote town in the Catskills, far from his life in the city, and Faith McCallum is supposed to be the key to his escape. Hiring the gentle-hearted yet strong-willed caregiver as a live-in nurse gives his mother companionship and Mason the freedom to return to his no-attachments routine. For Faith, it means stability for her daughters and a much-needed new home. When Faith makes a chilling discovery about Alice's accident, Mason is forced to reconsider his desire to keep everyone, including his mother, at a distance. Now he finds himself wondering if the supercharged life he's created for himself is what he truly wants…and whether exploring his past might lead to a new life―and lasting love―on the tranquil shores of Willow Lake.
Starlight on Willow Lake: Lakeshore Chronicles, by Susan Wiggs - Amazon Sales Rank: #2481486 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-01
- Format: Large Print
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.00" h x 5.80" w x 8.50" l,
- Binding: Library Binding
- 500 pages
Starlight on Willow Lake: Lakeshore Chronicles, by Susan Wiggs Review "Highly recommended." -Library Journal"Wiggs' carefully detailed plotlines, one contemporary and one historical, with their candid look at relationships and their long-term effects, are sure to captivate readers." -Booklist, starred review"A dazzling intergenerational tale."-Publishers Weekly"A satisfying, engaging read."-Kirkus Reviews"This brilliant and epic family drama...fills the senses...courtesy of Wiggs's amazing narrative and supreme skill as a writer."-RT Book Reviews on The Apple Orchard, Top Pick!"This is classic Wiggs, with its emphasis on the strength of family and friends, and a landscape integral to the plot."-Publishers Weekly on The Apple Orchard"Wiggs tells a layered, powerful story of love, loss, hope and redemption."-Kirkus Reviews on The Apple Orchard, starred review"A tale with universal appeal."-Booklist on The Apple Orchard
About the Author Susan Wigg’s life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water’s edge on a Puget Sound island and finds inspiration in the rhythm of the seasons and in the emotional dramas of everyday life. She’s been featured in the national media and is a popular speaker locally and nationally. She has written more than forty novels, including #1 New York Times bestsellers from her hit series The Lakeshore Chronicles. A three-time RITA® Award winner, her books have been translated into two dozen languages. The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate and a passionate supporter of libraries and literacy. She loves hiking, biking, yoga and skiing, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Mason Bellamy stared up at the face of the mountain that had killed his father. The mountain's name was innocent enough— Cloud Piercer. The rich afternoon light of the New Zealand winter cast a spell over the moment. Snow-clad slopes glowed with the impossible pink and amethyst of a rare jewel. The stunning backdrop of the Southern Alps created a panorama of craggy peaks, veined with granite and glacial ice, against a sky so clear it caused the eyes to smart.The bony, white structure of a cell phone tower, its discs grabbing signals from outer space, rose from a nearby peak. The only other intrusions into the natural beauty were located at the top of the slope—a black-and-yellow gate marked Experts Only and a round dial designating Avalanche Danger: Moderate.He wondered if someone came all the way up here each day to move the needle on the dial. Maybe his father had wondered the same thing last year. Maybe it had been the last thought to go through his head before he was buried by two hundred thousand cubic meters of snow.According to witnesses in the town near the base of the mountain, it had been a dry snow avalanche with a powder cloud that had been visible to any resident of Hillside Township who happened to look up. The incident report stated that there had been a delay before the noise came. Then everyone for miles around had heard the sonic boom.The Maori in the region had legends about this mountain. The natives respected its threatening beauty as well as its lethal nature, their myths filled with cautionary tales of humans being swallowed to appease the gods. For generations, the lofty crag, with its year-round cloak of snow, had challenged the world's most adventurous skiers, and its gleaming north face had been Trevor Bellamy's favorite run. It had also been his final run.Trevor's final wish, spelled out in his last will and testament, had brought Mason halfway around the world, and down into the Southern Hemisphere's winter. At the moment he felt anything but cold. He unzipped his parka, having worked up a major sweat climbing to the peak. This run was accessible only to those willing to be helicoptered to a landing pad at three thousand meters, and then to climb another few hundred meters on allterrain skis outfitted with nonslip skins. He removed his skis and peeled the Velcro-like skins from the underside, carefully stowing the gear in his backpack. Then he studied the mountain's face again and felt a sweet rush of adrenaline.When it came to skiing in dangerous places, he was his father's son.A rhythmic sliding sound drew Mason's attention to the trail he'd just climbed. He glanced over and lifted his ski pole in a wave. "Over here, bro."Adam Bellamy came over the crest of the trail, shading his eyes against the afternoon light. "You said you'd kick my ass, and you did," he called. His voice echoed across the empty, frozen terrain.Mason grinned at his younger brother. "I'm a man of my word. But look at you. You haven't even broken a sweat.""Mets. We get tested for metabolic conditioning every three months for work." Adam was a firefighter, built to haul eighty pounds of gear up multiple flights of stairs."Cool. My only conditioning program involves running to catch the subway.""The tough life of an international financier," said Adam. "Hold everything while I get out my tiny violin.""Who says I'm complaining?" Mason took off his goggles to apply some defogger. "Is Ivy close? Or did our little sister stop to hire a team of mountain guides to carry her up the hill so she doesn't have to climb it on her skis?""She's close enough to hear you," said Ivy, appearing at the top of the ridge. "And aren't the guides on strike?" She wore a dazzling turquoise parka and white ski pants, Gucci sunglasses and white leather gloves. Her blond hair was wild and windtossed, streaming from beneath her helmet.Mason flashed on an image of their mother. Ivy looked so much like her. He felt a lurch of guilt when he thought about Alice Bellamy. Her last ski run had been right here on this mountain face, too. But unlike Trevor, she had survived. Although some would say that what had happened to her was worse than dying.Ivy slogged over to her brothers on her AT skis. "Listen, you two. I want to go on record to say that when I leave these earthly bonds, I will not require my adult children to risk their lives in order to scatter my remains. Just leave my ashes on the jewelry counter at Neiman Marcus. I'd be fine with that.""Make sure you put your request in writing," Mason said."How do you know I haven't already?" She gestured at Adam. "Help me get these skins off, will you?" She lifted each ski in turn, planting them upright in the snow.Adam expertly peeled the fabric skins from the bottoms of her skis, then removed his own, stuffing them into his backpack. "It's crazy steep, just the way Dad used to describe it.""Chicken?" asked Ivy, fastening the chin strap of her crash helmet."Have you ever known me to shy away from a ski run?" Adam asked. "I'm going to take it easy, though. No crazy tricks."The three of them stood gazing at the beautiful slope, now a perfect picture of serenity in the late-afternoon glow. It was the first time any of them had come to this particular spot. As a family, they had skied together in many places, but not here. This particular mountain had been the special domain of their father and mother alone.They were lined up in birth order—Mason, the firstborn, the one who knew their father best. Adam, three years younger, had been closest to Trevor. Ivy, still in her twenties, was the quintessential baby of the family—adored, entitled, seemingly fragile, yet with the heart of a lioness. She had owned their father's affections as surely as the sun owns the dawn, in the way only a daughter can.Mason wondered if his siblings would ever learn the things about their father that he knew. And if they did, would it change the way they felt about him?They stood together, their collective silence as powerful as any conversation they might have had."It's incredible," Ivy said after a long pause. "The pictures didn't do it justice. Maybe Dad's last request wasn't so nutty, after all. This might be the prettiest mountain ever, and I get to see it with my two best guys." Then she sighed. "I wish Mom could be here.""I'll get the whole thing on camera," Adam said. "We can all watch it together when we get back to Avalon next week."A year after the accident, their mother was adjusting to a new life in a new place—a small Catskills town on the shores of Willow Lake. Mason was pretty sure it wasn't the life Alice Bellamy had imagined for herself."Do you have him?" Adam asked.Mason slapped his forehead. "Damn, I forgot. Why don't the two of you wait right here while I ski to the bottom, grab the ashes, helicopter back up to the rendezvous and make the final climb again?""Very funny," said Adam."Of course I have him." Mason shrugged out of his backpack and dug inside. He pulled out an object bundled in a navy blue bandanna. He unwrapped it and handed the bandanna to Adam."A beer stein?" asked Ivy."It was all I could find," said Mason. The stein was classic kitsch, acquired at a frat party during Mason's college days. There was a scene with a laughing Falstaff painted on the sides, and the mug had a hinged lid made of pewter. "The damned urn they delivered him in was huge. No way would it fit in my luggage."He didn't explain to his sister and brother that a good half of the ashes had ended up on the living room floor of his Manhattan apartment. Getting Trevor Bellamy from the urn to the beer stein had been trickier than Mason had thought. Slightly freaked out by the idea of his father embedded in his carpet fibers, he had vacuumed up the spilled ashes, wincing at the sound of the larger bits being sucked into the bag.Then he'd felt bad about emptying the vacuum bag down the garbage chute, so he'd gone out on the balcony and sprinkled the remains over Avenue of the Americas. There had been a breeze that day, and his fussiest neighbor in the high-rise co-op had stuck her head out, shaking her fist and threatening to call the super to report the transgression. Most of the ashes blew back onto the balcony, and Mason ended up waiting until the wind died down; then he'd swept the area with a broom.So only half of Trevor Bellamy had made it into the beer stein. That was appropriate, Mason decided. Their father had been only half there while he was alive, too."This is cool with me," said Adam. "Dad always did like his beer."Mason held the mug high, its silhouette stark against the deepening light of the afternoon sky."Ein prosit" said Adam."Salut," Mason said, in the French their father had spoken like a native."Cin cin." Ivy, the artist in the family, favored Italian."Take your protein pills and put your helmet on," Mason said, riffing on the David Bowie song. "Let's do this thing."Ivy lowered her sunglasses over her eyes. "Mom loves skiing so much. It's so sad that she'll never ski again.""I'll film it so she can watch." Adam took off one glove with his teeth and reached up to switch on the Go Pro camera affixed to the top of his helmet."Should we say a few words?" asked Ivy."If I say no, will that stop you?" Mason removed the duct tape from the lid of the beer stein.Ivy stuck out her tongue at him, shifting into bratty-sister mode. Then she looked up at Adam and spoke to the camera. "Hey, Mom. We were just wishing you could be here with us to say goodbye to Daddy. We all made it to the summit of Cloud Piercer, just like he wanted. It's kind of surreal, finding winter here when the summer is just beginning where you are, at Willow Lake. It feels somehow like…I don't know…like we're unstuck in time."Ivy's voice wavered with emotion. "Anyway, so here I am with my two big brothers. Daddy always loved it when the three of us were together, skiing and having fun."Adam moved his head to let the camera record the majestic scenery all around them. The sculpted crags of the Southern Alps, which ran the entire length of New Zealand's south island, were sharply silhouetted against the sky. Mason wondered what the day had been like when his parents had skied this mountain, their last run together. Was the sky so blue that it hurt the eyes? Did the sharp cold air stab their lungs? Was the silence this deep? Had there been any inkling that the entire face of the mountain was about to bury them?"Are we ready?" he asked.Adam and Ivy nodded. He studied his little sister's face, now soft with the sadness of missing her father. She'd had a special closeness with him, and she'd taken his death hard—maybe even harder than their mother had."Who's going first?" asked Adam."It can't be me," said Mason. "You, um, don't want to get caught in the blowback, if you know what I mean." He gestured with the beer stein."Oh, right," said Ivy. "You go last, then."Adam twisted the camera so it faced uphill. "Let's take it one at a time, okay? So we don't cause another avalanche."It was a known safety procedure that in an avalanche zone, only one person at a time should go down the mountain. Mason wondered if his father had been aware of the precaution. He wondered if his father had violated the rule. He doubted he would ever ask his mother for a detail like that. Whatever had happened on this mountain a year ago couldn't be changed now.Ivy took off her shades, leaned over and kissed the beer stein. "Bye, Daddy. Fly into eternity, okay? But don't forget how much you were loved here on earth. I'll keep you safe in my heart." She started to cry. "I thought I'd used up all my tears, but I guess not. I'll always shed a tear for you, Daddy."Adam waggled his gloved fingers in front of the camera. "Yo, Dad. You were the best. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Except for more time with you. Later, dude."Each one of them had known a different Trevor Bellamy. Mason could only wish the father he'd known was the one who had inspired Ivy's tenderness and loyalty or Adam's hero worship. Mason knew another side to their father, but he would never be the one to shatter his siblings' memories.Adam pushed through the warning gate and started down the mountain, the camera on his helmet rolling.Ivy waited, then followed at a safe distance behind. Thanks to Adam, the cautious one of the three, each of them wore gear equipped with beacons and avalanche airbags, designed to detonate automatically in the event of a slide.Their mother had been wearing one the day of the incident. Their father had not.Adam skied with competence and control, navigating the steep slope with ease and carving a sinuous curve in the untouched powder. Ivy followed gracefully, turning his S-curves into a double-helix pattern.The lightest of breezes stirred the icy air. Mason decided he had worked too hard to climb the damned mountain only to take the conservative route down. Always the most reckless of the three, he decided to take the slope the way his father probably had, with joyous abandon."Here goes," he said to the clear, empty air, and he thumbed open the lid of the beer stein. The cold air must have weakened the pottery, because a shard broke loose, cutting through his glove and slicing into his thumb. Ouch. He ignored the cut and focused on the task at hand.Did any essence of their father remain? Was Trevor Bellamy's spirit somehow trapped within the humble-looking detritus, waiting to be set free on the mountaintop?He had lived his life. Left a legacy of secrets behind. He'd paid the ultimate price for his freedom, leaving his burden on someone else's shoulders—Mason's."Godspeed, Dad," he said. With his ski poles in one hand and the beer stein in the other, he raised his arm high and plunged down the steep slope, leaning into a controlled fall. Just for a moment, he heard his father's voice: Lean into the fear, son. That's where the power comes from. The words drifted to him from a long-ago time when everything had been simple, when his dad had simply been Dad, coaching him down the mountain, shouting with unabashed joy when Mason conquered a steep slope. That was probably why Mason favored adrenaline-fueled sports that involved teetering on the edge between terror and triumph.The ashes created a cloud in his wake, rising on an updraft of wind and dispersing across the face of Trevor's beloved, deadly mountain.The things we love most can kill us. Mason might have heard the saying somewhere. Or he had just made it up.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful. Wiggs Never Disappoints! 5 Stars! By Lorna Susan Wiggs. She’s one of my all time favorite traditionally published (non-paranormal) authors, and this is the latest in my favorite series by her. I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Upon finishing the book, I looked at a friend and said that I had just read the best Susan Wiggs book, ever. And then I thought about it, and realized I probably felt that way a lot after reading one of her books. These are the kind of books that you start reading and get completely immersed into the world of Willow Lake and its inhabitants.Faith lives hand to mouth in the small town of Avalon near Willow Lake. She’s a Licensed Practical Nurse(LPN) and is raising her two girls alone after her husband died leaving atronomical medical bills. She’s being evicted and doesn’t have a job. So when she gets an interview to take care of a quadriplegic woman, she jumps at the chance. Even better, it comes with room and board. Then she sees the house-or rather mansion, which she really wasn’t expecting. Alice Bellamy was in an avalanche while skiing with her husband. Her husband died and she is now stuck in a chair, after years of being an athlete in many different arenas. She’s cranky and can’t keep a caregiver due to her attitude. Alice’s son Mason, is a deal maker in New York City. He rarely visits Alice, although he has set her up with the best of everything. When he meets Faith, he immediately feels connected. But he does have a fiancee, Regina, back in the city. Regina is everything Faith isn’t, so Faith has no illusions that she could ever be in Mason’s league.The characters, as usual, are all well developed by the author. Faith is strong, capable and independent. She’s had to be, with the hand she has been dealt. Mason has a backstory that takes place in Paris when he was seventeen. I found myself totally immersed in his story from that time period, as much as I was in the now time period. Events that happened then, affected Mason’s entire future life with his family. So we get to see why he is so standoffish with his mother, and with his father in the past. Alice was such a good character. She’s going through everything you would go through when losing all your function below your chest and is admittedly very unhappy. So she spends her time making everyone else around her unhappy. She loves her children, but after finding out things about her husband she never knew, is now just wanting to end it all. Faith, of course is having none of it. Faith’s daughters, Cara and Ruby, round out the story nicely and in fact, Cara’s point of view is told at some points in the story, along with Mason’s and Faith’s.It’s always fun to revisit Willow Lake. I have read all of these books in the order they were released. It’s not absolutely necessary to read them in order, but the characters in all of them are loosely connected, and sometimes lesser characters in one book, end up with their own book, so it’s nice to know their backstory before reading it. But as I said, not completely necessary. Some premises might be a bit better than others, but all of them keep the reader entertained and turning pages. But then I have never read a book by this author that I didn’t love, in this series, or any of her stand alones. Yes, there is always a romance, but the author always makes the stories shine with wonderful back stories or even heartbreaking ones, to keep readers coming back for more. Catching up with previous characters are also parts of each of these reads and that’s always fun for a returning reader.I would recommend these books to any adult romance reader, 16+.(PureTextuality.com)
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. An inspiring, compelling, and beautiful journey of self-discovery, love, and healing; rich in character and charm! By Judith D. Collins A special thank you to MIRA and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.A huge long-time faithful fan of talented Susan Wiggs, and her captivating Lakeshore Chronicles Series-- having read all the books in the series, her latest, STARLIGHT ON WILLOW LAKE (Lakeshore Chronicles #11) is by far, my favorite—lots of scandalous secrets, intriguing characters, and life lessons!With the popular TV Hallmark series adaption of Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove series, and the new and upcoming Sherryl Woods, Chesapeake Series, I have my fingers crossed, Susan Wigg’s Lakeshore Chronicles Series will be next in line-- centered on this idyllic town of Avalon's Willow Lake, a remote lakeside town in the much loved Catskills, featuring the exciting Bellamy family and friends.Meet the characters:Faith McCallum, in her early thirties, widowed, a home care nurse and caretaker; raising a teenage daughter and a younger daughter with diabetes. She spent years taking care of her mother, her husband, and now her daughters. She cannot catch a break. She is currently being evicted, due to the past hospital bills from her husband’s diabetes, and loss of her job. She fights everyday to keep her family afloat, while looking for a new job. Best of all, with all her tragedies, she maintains a great attitude.Alice Bellamy, now a paraplegic, is a miserable rich woman. After multiple surgeries, drug therapies, and intensive rehab, Alice had agreed to move to Avalon to settle into her new life as a widow and a quadriplegic, determined to find what independence she could, a few hours by train from New York City.A former successful athlete, businesswoman, community leader, wife and mother; full of life-now shattered. With her spinal injury, she would never walk again--much less ski, salsa dance, cliff dive, run a triathlon, or even drive a car--she had raged against her fate. She has fired all her caretakers, with her negative attitude and sharp tongue. Everyone is afraid of her and no one wants to be around her. She has lost her husband in a skiing avalanche accident, and left her without any way to do anything on her own. She also has recently discovered secrets within her marriage, and she no longer has her independence, or her will to go on. She has lost complete control of her own life.Mason Bellamy, Alice’s oldest son, is a successful man, wealthy, and smart, living in Manhattan with a stunning fiancée. He takes care of all the finances of his mother, and has set her up in Avalon, equipping her home, with a full staff, and environment with everything she could ever need; except his time.When Alice’s daughter, Ivy has to leave for Paris, and her younger son, Adam has to go away for a firefighter’s mission training, Mason has to leave Manhattan to return to Willow Lake, to help with his mother’s care until they hire a new live in nurse and caretaker. He has spent his entire life since age seventeen escaping his mother. He feels guilty he knew the secret of his parent’s past.Cara McCallum, a teen who is smart, intelligent, and a hard worker, yet she is aware she cannot dream of driving, getting a car, going to college, or other dreams, due to their financial situation. She does not have the means to expect clothes and material possessions.Roby McCallum, younger sister, a diabetic, is smart, funny, and lights up a room. However, she has many fears to overcome. Alice may be the one person who can help her, while helping herself in the meantime.As the book opens, we see Faith and her girls struggling, near being homeless; on the way to the interview with Alice and Mason Bellamy—when she discovers an accident and being the altruistic person she is, she stops to help a victim of a motorcycle accident, and is late for her interview. She helps save his life, and Mason witnesses a demonstration of her tenacity and skills.Faith, and her funny, witty, and heartwarming daughters may just be what the doctor ordered for Alice, and for Mason. As the past and the present connect, these two families from different financial status, and walks of life, may be the perfect match for rebuilding, renewal, facing old fears, while gaining newfound courage and purpose to move on to an exciting future. Each person receives a gift from the other, creating a bond, closer than family.As most of my book friends and followers are aware, I am typically not a huge fan of women’s fiction, romance, or chick-lit, as lean more towards crime, suspense, legal thrillers, or historical/literary fiction. However, there are a select number of contemporary authors, such as Susan, I always place at the top of my list, and anxiously await the next in the series.If you have read any of Susan’s books, you are aware, they are not fluff and all feel good. They are rich in character, diversity, travel, and delve into social issues, emotions, and struggles of family and daily contemporary lives ---with suspense, intrigue, and sometimes a budding romance, despite all odds.Fans of Luanne Rice, and Emilie Richards will be drawn to Susan’s style and talent for an inspiring tale of overcoming fears, facing the past, allowing others inside their hearts for much-needed change; leaving room for exciting new ventures. A great mix of characters (loved Faith, Alice, Cara, and Ruby)! Being a total wanderlust, I always enjoy Susan's books, filled with adventure, travel, music, art, culture; exotic, intelligent, and intriguing characters and settings--making for an ideal book club discussion.While STARLIGHT ON WILLOW LAKE can be read as a standalone, recommend reading all of the books in this suspenseful series, rich in character and charm. Always love catching up with familiar characters. An inspiring and beautiful journey of self-discovery (for those with disabilities, caregivers, friends or families), of love, and healing.A compelling tale, a romance, and one which will leave you awaiting the next group of characters, drawing you back to the captivating unspoiled Willow Lake, and the picture perfect storybook setting.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Can't wait to read the other books in the Lakeshore Chronicles By Diane Faith McCallum is a single mom to two girls, Cara and Ruby. Faith's husband Dennis died six years ago and left behind a mountain of debt, mostly in medical bills. Faith does her best to make ends meet as an LPN caregiver to private clients, but they are about to be evicted.Financier Mason Bellamy is looking to hire a caregiver for his mother, who became a quadriplegic after being trapped in an avalanche that killed her husband. Alice Bellamy moved from Manhattan to the family's country house in Avalon, and has gone through a succession of live-in caregivers.Faith responds to Mason's online ad and sees this job as an answer to her prayers. Faith, Cara and Ruby move into the Bellamy's spacious lakefront home and Faith can't believe that her luck has changed.Alice is angry that the accident has taken away much of what she loved. She was an athletic, adventurous woman and now she was confined to a wheelchair. It was the loss of independence and privacy that hurt her the most, something a self-reliant woman like Alice found difficult to face.While Alice held most people at arms' length, she took a shine to Cara and Ruby. She liked that the girls spoke openly and honestly to her, and getting to know them gave her something else to focus on.Although Mason lives in Manhattan, he moves to Avalon for the summer at Faith's request. She feels that Alice needs to have not only a staff to care for her, but she needs her son as well.Faith has had a difficult life, losing her mom and husband to early chronic illnesses and she has devoted her life to her daughters. But Mason has awakened feelings in her that she thought were dormant. Although Mason is engaged to Regina, a woman he works with who is as stylish, wealthy and career-driven as he is, he feels drawn to Faith.What I liked about Starlight on Willow Lake is that through Faith we see the plight of the working poor, a growing demographic in society. Faith works hard, but getting out from under crushing debt is nearly insurmountable.Cara understands their situation, and so she puts off her dreams of going to college because she doesn't want her mother to worry about paying for college. There are probably many people out there who feel like that.There are many well written scenes in the book, but I most enjoyed the scenes of Alice bonding with the girls. Alice is a tough cookie, but the girls see through her rough exterior and speak to her honestly, as only children can.I also loved the little shout-out to Wegmans (although there is no Wegmans near Ulster County, because if there was I would be able to hear my sister-in-law squealing with joy all the way here in NYC). I'm guessing that Susan Wiggs may know the Rochester area a bit because she also mentions Rochester as being represented in a college night program.The characters in Starlight on Willow Lake are well-drawn and the storyline is intriguing. This book is part of Wiggs' Lakeshore Chronicles, and since it is mentioned that there are many members of the extended Bellamy family, I'm guessing the other books feature them. I will be looking for the rest of the series.
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