In the summer of 1993, on the ninth anniversary of her Mama’s death, Sandy runs away. Having a fear of germs is inconvenient when you’re on a road-trip adventure. However, needing to know what it’s like to have a mom, and to finally see the beach means more than anything to an eleven-year-old.Some twenty years later, a man Sandy never wanted to see again shows up at her doorstep. When Sandy’s … Sandy’s best friend places an ultimate life-changing decision in her hands, Sandy must venture back down the road, this time with the father she hates.
Making these decisions will be much easier with Justin, a long-time friend, by Sandy’s side. Yet, Justin’s help only leads to continued mixed emotions Sandy has been fighting for some time.
A journey rich in history, the truth, and determining forgiveness with a touch of humor is the portrait of life.
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What a beautiful,amazing, heartfelt book Savannah has written. Written in duel timelines which I usually don’t like, really works well with this story. This book is Sandy’s story from age 11 into her 30’s. It begins with the day she runs away from home and “adopts her mom at the bus station” . This story is her search for what having a mom would be like. Her Mom dies when she is 3 and her Dad is in Prison. Being raised by Maternal grandparents info is limited and she is questioning her life and what she has been told.
Thats as much plot as I am going to give away. Trust me and read it. Make sure you have tissues, some very emotional scenes. Savannah touches on some sensitive subjects and treats them with such love and grace.Quick read because you won’t want to put it down once you get to certain point have to keep going….
I really enjoyed this lovely story of a little girl looking for a mother. Eleven-year-old Sandy’s mother is dead and her father in prison. Sounds like a real downer, right? Wrong!
Hendricks masterfully turned this into an inspirational story, a story of love, and a story of family. Sandy finds a mother’s love in Belinda, proving that family does not have to be blood-relationship. Sometimes the family we make for ourselves may well be better than the one we were born into. Sandy was a brave little girl and so determined!
Sixteen years later, we see the loving influence Belinda had on the now adult Sandy as she deals with betrayal and learns to forgive. When two men enter her life, she must come to terms with her trust issues. And a close friend will cause Sandy’s life to come full circle.
Loaded with wonderful characters, I was sad to have the story end. I wanted Sandy to find everything in life she was looking for.
I have read Savannah Hendricks’ adorable children’s books. Now I look forward to reading her other novel “Grounded in January”.
This is a beautiful coming of age story. The chapters alternate between past and present. Sandy’s mother died, and with her father in prison for the death, she’s being raised by her grandparents. She runs away, hopping on a bus and tagging along with Belinda, her first grade teacher. The story logs their bus trip to Mobile, finding a job and a place to live, and meeting friends and future family. In the present, Sandy’s best friend leaves her baby at the bus station for Sandy to raise. Her father is out of prison, and shows up at her home, asking her to forgive him. The book is heartbreaking at times, heartwarming at others, a terrific story of honesty and forgiveness. With Sandy’s past set in the age before digital media, there’s a love of photos and photo albums, and they play prominently in both past and present memories. While I disagree with some of the decisions that were made by Sandy’s grandparents, they did the best the could with a tough situation, and loved her in their own way. The characters are wonderful – real and flawed, but loving and caring.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a beautiful coming of age to the present day story. My heart was full reading it. What a brave child Sandy was and shaped into a wonderful young woman. I loved the adults In this story for taking the time they did to let her work through her mom. And for dog lovers like me; there’s a dog! Definitely a wonderful feel good story!
I’m still thinking about these characters the next day! I would love more of them in the future. I can even picture a movie!
Great story about finding yourself, letting go of the past, and forgiveness. Sandy learned the truth about her Mother and Father as an adult while believing something else from her Grandparents. She learned there are two sides to every story. She let go of her pain and opened herself up to allow love in.
What a wonderful read ! It had me in many stages of emotion, Loveable characters, with Forgiveness Themed in such a beautiful way! You wont want to put this book down! I grabbed the little spots of time I had and devoured it ! I love reading books where you feel you are there with the characters Savannah Hendricks delivered just that !
This was the first book I have read by Savannah Hendricks and now I will be looking for more! Sandy’s story just tugs at your heart and you find yourself hoping for all the best for her. The story is a good example of how things or people may not always be as they seem or as you were led to believe growing up. Sometimes you have to open your heart and offer second chances. Thank you Goodreads for picking me to get a copy.
A beautiful, heart-warming story
This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. The characters are very believable, the emotions tug at your heartstrings, and whether the reader went through childhood trauma themselves or not, it’s easy to put yourself into Sandy’s position. A must-read, and a perfect book club pick.
Author : Savannah Hendricks
I Adopted My Mom at the Bus Station
292 pages
5
Description :
In the summer of 1993, on the ninth anniversary of her Mama’s death, Sandy runs away. Having a fear of germs is inconvenient when you’re on a road-trip adventure. However, needing to know what it’s like to have a mom, and to finally see the beach means more than anything to an eleven-year-old.Some sixteen years later, a man Sandy never wanted to see again shows up at her doorstep. When Sandy’s best friend places an ultimate life-changing decision in her hands, Sandy must venture back down the road, this time with the father she hates.Making these decisions will be much easier with Justin, a long-time friend, by Sandy’s side. Yet, Justin’s help only leads to continued mixed emotions Sandy has been fighting for some time.
A journey rich in history, the truth, and determining forgiveness with a touch of humor is the portrait of life.
MY REVIEW
What an emotional journey Savannah Hendricks just took me on. This story pulled at the mom in me and had my crying my eyes out . I have to admit i was not sure what to expect with a title like this. But it fits so perfect with this story. Savannah writes in such a captivating detailed way that keeps you turning the pages. I also loved how this book was so unlike anything i have ever read and has a doggie in it . If you have not read one of her books yet , you don’t know what you are missing. Her book Grounded in February was the Winner of the 2019 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards for Romance. She also writes amazing kids books as well. Winston Versus the Snow is my girls fav book that i now know by heart. I can’t wait til her next book comes out.
I Adopted My Mom at the Bus Station! If there was ever an intriguing title for a book, this one is it! I love this title. It made me want to find out what this book could possibly be about. What a perfect title for the story told in the pages. It’s a book that took me on an emotional journey with the main character, Sandy. As the story opens up, 11 year old Sandy is running away from home with only the clothes on her back. She runs to the bus station fleeing her grandparents who have raised her since her mom was killed when she was an infant. This is where the heart touching, emotional summer of 1993 begins for Sandy and her “adopted” mom.
All Sandy wants is a mom. “And I wanted to know what a Mom felt like, because….I miss what I’ve never had before.” Sandy finds a kind and friendly woman at the bus station and she feels connected to her. Belinda. She could be her mom! She’s kind, she has “motherly eyes”, she’s understanding, so much that a mom like Sandy wants so badly to have. Ms. Hendricks brings these two characters together throughout the story in a very compassionate and tender connection with each other. I love how the story is written in a dual time line with alternating chapters between the summer of 1993 and later when Sandy is 27 years old. The story is pieced together at a perfect pace filling the gaps in Sandy’s life and what happened. There are unexpected surprises, twists and shocking events. The author touches on a sensitive subject with compassion and how difficult and devastating it can be. Ms. Hendricks writes a realistic story that had me yearning to be Sandy’s mom. The characters in this story are so easy to connect to. They are human with feelings and emotions that Ms. Hendricks wrote into them tenderly and had me empathizing with each one. She adds humor, drama, anxiety, doubts and scenes written in details that were easy to visualize and had me experiencing them along with the characters. Oh! And the dog! Chester the Australian cattle dog, an absolutley win-my-heart pup. I loved him!
This book is about how sometimes things aren’t always what they were portrayed to be. The truth isn’t always what Sandy believed. I really appreciate the 11 year-old “voice” Ms. Hendricks wrote Sandy’s story in. Perfection! There were several passages that will stick with me because of that “voice”…..This is one of them: “”Sorry,” my least favorite word of all the words in the world, other than “lima.” Lima went with beans. Lima beans were almost as bad as sorry. Together they made the worst sentence possible: “Sorry, but we’re having lima beans for supper.” Sorry doesn’t change anything, and that’s why it’s my least favorite word.”” I can hear a pre-teen going with that.
This book took my heart in all sorts of emotional ways. I yearned for Sandy and how much she wanted a mom. I laughed, I cringed, I was shocked a few times, I cried. This story has a great message about finding a family, finding love and ultimately what happens when forgiveness opens hearts. This is an absolutely wonderful story that I loved. Ms. Hendricks’ writing style is detailed, emotional, and captivating through her characters and passages. I am so grateful for the honor of reading it and how much it tugged at my “mom” strings. This is the second novel of Ms. Hendricks that I’ve read and I’ve enjoyed both very much. I want to thank her for sharing her gift of writing through her novels. This is a fantastic five star novel for me. I can’t wait for the next one! Also, she writes children’s books and my 3 year old granddaughter enjoyed her children’s book “Nonnie and I” very much and the message that’s shared in it. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my heartfelt own.
this was my first encounter with this author. It took me a bit to get into the flow of things. Every other chapter past and present. I liked the way we kept discovering bits and pieces of information along the way. My heart broke for young Sandy and even the grown up Sandy too. A lot of emotions to navigate. Well worth my time to read. Looking forward to more from this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the 2nd book I’ve read written by Savannah Hendricks; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
I enjoyed reading this book so much. I loved the characters and all their stories. I definitely recommend it.
I Adopted My Mom at the Bus Station is a heartfelt coming of age story! I loved following Sandy’s journey from age 11 to adulthood as she tried to move past losing her mother at a young age. Savannah Hendricks has written a beautiful page turning story. I will definitely be looking for her other books!