REVIEW:

I was one of the few readers who wasn’t completely enamored with Glendy Vanderah’s Where the Forest Meets the Stars, but glowing reviews made me want to give the author a second chance with The Light Through the Leaves. Well the light shone through the leaves and revealed… everything but the kitchen sink!

In this melodrama you get:

• a stolen baby

• maternal abandonment

• attempted rape/assault

• parental gaslighting

• drug abuse/addiction

• marital infidelity

• mysticism

• teenage sexual exploration

You also get a story of guilt and forgiveness, which ultimately makes the reading experience as vibrant and rich as the book’s lush cover. I was never bored and grew to really care for the characters. Even better yet, I’m now eagerly awaiting Ms. Vanderah’s third novel coming in 2022 (The Oceanography of the Moon).

The Light Through the Stars is available as part of the Kindle Unlimited program with WhisperSync for those who prefer the audiobook format.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

One unbearable mistake at the edge of the forest.

In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended — for just a few minutes. But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well — into grief, guilt, and addiction. Convinced she can only do more harm to her family, Ellis leaves her husband and young sons, burying her desperate ache for her children deeper with every step into the mountain wildernesses she treks alone.

In a remote area of Washington, a young girl named Raven keeps secrets inside, too. She must never speak to outsiders about how her mother makes miracles spring from the earth, or about her father, whose mysterious presence sometimes frightens her. Raven spends her days learning how to use her rare gifts — and more important, how to hide them. With each lesson comes a warning of what dangers lie in the world beyond her isolated haven. But despite her mother’s cautions, Raven finds herself longing for something more.

As Ellis and Raven each confront their powerful longings, their journeys will converge in unexpected and hopeful ways, pulled together by the forces of nature, love, and family.