Description (from cover):'Some secrets never die.
West Hall, Vermont, has always been a place of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house, just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Townspeople say that Sara's ghost walks the streets after midnight, and some still leave offerings on their doorsteps to prevent her from coming inside.
Ruthie Washburne has never put much stock in West Hall's rumors. Having grown up in an isolated farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn, she dreams of leaving her sleepy town and escaping her mother's odd insistence that they live off the grid without Internet or even a listed phone number. But when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace, she begins to wonder if her mother's eccentricities have a deeper reason--especially when she finds a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of Alice's room.
The diary tells the story of a mother on the edge, a mother who is willing to do the unthinkable in order to hold her daughter in her arms once again no matter the consequences. And as Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she will discover that she's not the only one looking for someone lost--nor is she the only person desperate to unlock the secrets that the diary contains. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.'
My thoughts:
There are a lot of books that you will read in your lifetime that you will finish, put away on a shelf and forget about. Then there are other books, that you will finish that will utterly leave you astonished and moved by their brilliance. This is such a book. I cannot even tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down to save my life. I wanted to do nothing, but curl up and read this book. The author has a fantastic way with words and creating a sense of the unknown that it was simply breathtaking. This book is part mystery, part ghost story and partly inspiring all at the same time. Who would have thought that a ghost story could be so drastically motivational at the same time?
This story is the tale of several people, but mainly Sara Harrison Shea and Ruthie Washburne. They are separated by a hundred years, but they have a bind that time does not diminish. Sara loves her daughter, Gertie, dearly and when Gertie dies, she is left devastated. She will do anything in her power to spend a few more moments with her precious child, even the unthinkable act of raising the dead. She raises Gertie from the dead and sets into action a chain reaction of events that no one could see coming. What she does from the desperation of her soul, will change the lives of many people and leave an impact that even time cannot erase.
This book makes the reader think about life and about mourning the death of a loved one. Having lost someone dear to me in my lifetime, it made me think about the grieving process and how at one point and time, I wanted to spend a few more moments with the person I lost. It is a book that changes how one looks at life and death and how one should cherish every moment in life no matter the circumstances. I thought this book was absolutely beautiful and eerie at the same time and I highly recommend this one to everyone. It is a touching tale of love, death, and the mourning process that will open your eyes to a different side of things. This simply was one of the best books I have read in a while and it leaves me with a sense of having my life impacted. Few books can do that, but this author simply left me stunned with this book.
Overall Rating: 5+
Title: The Winter People
Author: Jennifer McMahon
Series: N/A
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: February 11, 2014
Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was selected from the library by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
