More Than Words Can Say

January 23, 2012
When Chelsea Enrightâs beloved grandmother, Brooke, dies, she inherits her long-forgotten Adirondack cottage and a strange letter telling Chelsea not to sell the cabin until sheâs visited and uncovered more instructionsâhidden beneath the floorboardsâfrom Brooke. Chelsea finds a set of diaries outlining Brookeâs experiences during WWII, when she stayed at the cottage while her husband Bill was in officer training. According to the late Gramâs missives, Brooke fell in love with next door neighbor Greg, leaving her horribly conflicted. Bill dies unexpectedly when his ship is sunk by a German U-boat, and Brooke finds solace with Greg. However, Brooke is overcome with guilt and abandons Greg and the cottage, vowing never to return to either. Soon after leaving, she realizes she is pregnant, but is never certain if the father of her child is Bill or Greg. While reading through her Gramâs epistolary love story, Chelsea grows closer to her own next door neighbor at the cottage, Brandon, in Barclayâs clumsy but well-meaning attempt to draw a parallel between the grandmother and granddaughterâs stories. Unimaginative prose, dull characters, and a telegraphed and unsurprising plot make this story better left beneath the floorboards.