Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Lost in the Stacks

Wish You Well by David Baldacci



Most of David Baldacci’s books are legal thrillers and in my opinion are very good ones, but one of his books, Wish You Well, is quite different.  Based in Virginia, where the author grew up, the story begins when 12 year old Lou Cardinal and her 8 year old brother Oscar are in a car accident which takes their father’s life and leaves their mother in a catatonic state.  They are relocated from New York City to the mountains where they live with their great-grandmother, Louisa Mae Cardinal.  In their new home they have no electricity or running water – a much different life than they had before.   Their great-great-grandmother helps take care of their invalid mother, and the family adjusts to life in the mountains.  Towards the end of the novel a greedy corporation gets involved in the story and the book becomes more like his others with a courtroom battle. 

I think I like this book so much because it reminds me of some of my other favorites – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Painted House by John Grisham, and even the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I read when I was a child.  It is a beautiful coming-of-age novel by a great author.   

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