Monday, April 27, 2009

Review & Blog Tour: Follow Me by Joanna Scott

Sally Werner is sixteen years old in the fall of 1946 and has spent her life working hard, her parents are farmers and evangelists. At a church picnic, her twenty three year old cousin Daniel offers her a spin on his motorcycle. Impulsive Sally is thrilled to go but after a short ride he forces himself on her. Of course, pregnancy follows. She is smart enough to resist the offered (insisted on) marriage.

But she can't stand the aftermath and when her baby boy is only two days old she leaves him in his basket on the kitchen table and runs. Following the course of the Tuskee River north from its source, not even going very far, she ends up in Fishkill Notch, Pennsylvania. There she finds caring, helpful folks who open their arms and homes to her. Then she meets a young man named Mole and she is convinced her life is just beginning.

When tragedy strikes Sally pulls herself together and moves north again, into New York and farther up the river, inventing a new name for herself. This pattern will be repeated each time bad luck or hard times come into her life.

Along the way she has another child, a daughter and eventually a granddaughter, too. The guilt Sally carries over the abandonment of her son eventually prompts her to search for him and the consequences of that search will change not only her life but the lives of those she holds dear.

This is the story of a woman who, though she is far from perfect, spends much of her life trying to redeem herself for a mistake she can't forget.

The author's writing has a lovely tone to it and the narrative just sweeps the reader along. It is a well written, thoughtful story about the decisions that must be made in life and the paths through the consequences.

Follow Me is published by Little Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-05165-1

Many thanks to Miriam at Hachette Book Group for sending me this review copy!

Here are some of the other stops on the blogtour (I wish I could list them all, but it is a very long list!):

Medieval Bookworm
Bermuda Onion
Peeking Between the Pages
Write for a Reader
Drey's Library
Marta's Meanderings
My Friend Amy
S. Krishna's Books
Savvy Verse and Wit
Diary of an Eccentric
A Novel Menagerie

23 comments:

kalea_kane said...

This sounds absolutely wonderful. Thanks for posting a review!

Beth F said...

Thanks for the review.

bermudaonion said...

I enjoyed this one, too. I was frustrated with Sally at first, but came to realize that she had so little nurturing as a child, she didn't know how to cope.

♔ jessica.marie said...

This book looks wonderful! And the cover is oh so pretty!

Thanks for the review :D

Miriam Parker said...

Great review! Glad you enjoyed it!

Darlene said...

I liked this one and didn't like some things. I did like Sally though as she seemed such a determined soul. She kept going no matter what situation she found herself in. Nice review.

Jenn's Bookshelves said...

I really enjoyed this one. Despite all of her mistakes, Sally was one strong woman.

KR said...

Ok..now I want to read about Sally!!!

Amber said...

Nice job on the review!

The Flying Pinto said...

Hi, I am a fellow Flight Attendant...nice to have stumbled upon your site: ) Having a two year old, the only time I do find to read is on the airplane! I will definitely take some of your suggestions. Thanks!

Anna said...

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

LuAnn said...

This blog tour has been a blast to follow. I sure hope I win one of the books!

CherylS22 said...

This book sounds like a good one - I'm looking forward to reading it!

Thanks,
Cheryl

Ladytink_534 said...

I don't think I would really like this one but I've heard from several people that it is very well written though some didn't really enjoy it.

Teddy Rose said...

I think I would really like this one! Thanks for the wonderful review!

Zibilee said...

This book sounds like it could have been a bit cliche from the first set of events, but as I read on, it seemed to me that the plot took another direction. I always enjoy an interesting dramatic novel with good writing, so I will be on the lookout for this one. Thanks for the great review!

Gwendolyn B. said...

It's on my wish list! Thanks for posting the review.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review! I wish I had a copy!

Angela said...

That sounds like a good book. I have it on my to-read list, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. But I've heard good things about it.

bloggytreasures said...

This really sounds like a good book. Sad but good. Thanks for the lovely review.

tashiana said...

wow this book sounds amazing and sad i definetely want to read it
i really wonder what her son wil be like

Shanyn said...

This books seems really intense... kind of like She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb (which I was caught off-guard about). I've been finding that the books I like to read are ones that most classify as "brain candy" - I will admit that I will read a heavy book like this every once in awhile (Jodi Picoult, for instance), but I have been staying with basic books/plots.

I wonder why my reading preferences have gone this way?

Valerie said...

This almost sounds sad..
I'm curious to how it will conclude
KawaiiNeko2008 at aol dot com


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About Me

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New Hampshire, United States
Bibliophile, Anglophile, Traveller... I have been an avid reader all of my life, since I took the Dr. Seuss Dictionary away from my Mom when I was less than a year old because I wanted to read it myself. In college, where I earned my degree in English Literature, I was often asked "What are you going to do with it?" Now I finally have the answer to that question!!! Being employed as a Flight Attendant for twenty years has given me a lot of life experience and, better still, a lot of time to read. I love to travel for fun, too.