The Mailbox

April 19, 2010
Nonfiction author Whalen pens her first novel, centered on an actual landmark mailbox in Sunset Beach, N.C. Over a span of some 20 years, Lindsey Adams makes summer visits to the Kindred Spirit mailbox and deposits an annual written update on her life. When her husband divorces her, Lindsey makes the trek again and meets up with long-lost love, Campbell Forrester, whose own marriage dissolved years earlier. Unsure they can rekindle their youthful love, both Lindsey and Campbell struggle to make the leap from teenage infatuation to a lasting adult commitment. Whalen's use of a mailbox as the tie between people, memories, and romantic love is intriguing, and she makes it work more effectively than a reader might expect.

June 15, 2010

Following her painful divorce, Lindsey packs up her two children and returns to Sunset Beach, NC, where as a teen she met her first love. It was Campbell who had introduced her to the Kindred Spirit mailbox, where strangers would offer up their hopes, dreams, and troubles in journals for other kindred souls to read. It is only a matter of time before the mailbox helps Lindsey sort through her marriage and painful divorce, and she and Campbell, also divorced, cross paths again. VERDICT This debut story of heartbreak and second chances will appeal to Nicholas Sparks fans who enjoy the emotional rollercoaster ride of his novels. Whalen is a new writer to watch.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.