Days of Grace

May 15, 2010
Nora Lynch is at the end of her life, and she intends to die alone. When she takes in a young, unwed mother, however, her plan is interrupted, and she begins to relive the time she spent with the Rivers family during WWII. Among the many London children evacuated from the city during the Blitz, Nora landed in Kent, where Reverend Rivers, his wife, and daughter, Grace, gave her a life she never dreamed of and, in the end, never wanted. Halls debut captures the stagnation of the Rivers family, hiding behind the seeming tranquility of their lives to shield themselves from painful memories. Even the war feels far away. Planes flying overhead are muffled by the stifling calm of the English countryside. When Nora falls for Grace, she is tormented by loving someone she cant have, and her descent into isolation and bitterness is intensely evoked. The prose, flitting between the present and wartime Kent, is as crisp, efficient, and quietly moving as Nora herself. Her attempt to find redemption and her struggle to forgive herself will engage readers to the end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)