Life is never static. Just when you think you finally have everything under control, that illusion is shattered…and the life you once knew has spun off in unimaginable directions. Seeking Glory is an eloquent novel that explores the complexities of family relationships. With themes of loss, recovery, estrangement, and reconciliation woven throughout, it tells the story of a woman who seeks to … uncover the truth about her young granddaughter’s origins.
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I would especially like to thank Outskirts Press, Inc. and the Netgalley website for allowing me to read this book.
In reading this book one learns that life is never static, that when you think you have all your control, everything breaks down and the life you once had goes in unimaginable directions. This book is about loss, healing, estrangement and reconciliation.
It is about the young Kate who is in shock, her missing daughter is in the hospital in San Francisco. It’s been ten years since she last saw her as a teenager. And she is dying.
A book read in one sitting, I was so hooked on the story, so moving, addictive, captivating, full of suspense and twists and turns with very endearing characters. I love the author’s writing.
When Kate receives a call from a hospital on the other side of the country that her estranged daughter has been admitted and is asking for her, she drops everything and immediately flies out to San Francisco. There’s no denying that she hopes to finally heal the rift between them.
Unfortunately, Kate arrives at her daughter’s bedside just moments before she dies, her last word “Glory”.
With the irrevocable loss of her daughter, Kate finds a troubled granddaughter. Picking up the meagre pieces of the life Glory and her mother shared, Kate is faced with more questions than than answers. But the indisputable truth is that perhaps Kate needs Glory as much as or maybe more than, Glory needs her grandmother.
Interestingly, the picture Shook paints of Kate isn’t one that’s sympathetic to me. Much as I’m usually predisposed to like the main character in a novel, liking Kate didn’t come automatically. She doesn’t quite trust her best friend and business partner to run their shop well without her. Twenty years later, she still has no real friends in the town she moved herself and Ally to in her bid to start fresh after a divorce.
But, faced with the death of her estranged only daughter, and finding herself with a four year old granddaughter, Kate is determined to find out where Ally was and what happened to her in the ten years between leaving her home in anger, and Kate finding herself with a troubled four year old who needs her now.
Shook’s story is engrossing. As Kate sets out to find the truth, she is determined to help her granddaughter. It is perhaps a chance to redeem herself for what she sees as her failure with her own daughter.
I spent the day in company of this book. I simply could not stop reading till I too knew Ally’s story and that Glory would be safe. I found the ending a bit too open though. There are many unanswered questions still, though the bigger mystery is resolved. I’m not sure I’m happy with the way the story simply stopped. I’m hoping there will be a sequel.
[Many thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read an Advance Reader Copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.]
What a wonderful debut novel. I look forward to future books by this author and the setting in Cape Code, MA was another bonus. I recognized many of the towns and sights mentioned from my previous trips to the Cape.
You will be drawn into the story from the first page. You will begin a journey with Kate as she discovers she is a grandmother. There are threads of love, loss, anger, hurt, the confrontation of past and present, and the complexities of family relationships. The twists and turns will keep you invested in the story and have you anxiously awaiting the unexpected conclusion.
Thank you to Bookoutre and Outskirts Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Haunting Story, Fantastic Ending
This is a great story. It could be called women’s fiction. The plot is haunting in a heartache sort of way. I could put myself in the position of so many of the characters in the story. I am still spinning from the surprise ending. There are so many places in the book that I just wanted to cry. It would make a great movie. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.