Beth cherished her childhood summers on a pristine northern Canadian lake, where she reveled in the sweet smell of dew on early morning hikes, the loons’ evening trills across the lake’s many bays, every brush stroke of her brother’s paintings celebrating their cherished place, and their grandfather’s laughter as he welcomed neighbors to their annual Welsh harvest celebration. Theirs was an … unshakeable bond with nature, family, and friends, renewed every summer on their island of granite and pines.
But that bond was threatened and then torn apart, first as rights to their island were questioned and then by nature itself, and the family was forced to leave. Fourteen years later, Beth has created a new life in urban Chicago. There, she’s erected a solid barrier between the past and present, no matter how much it costs—until her grandfather asks her to return to the island to determine its fate. Will she choose to preserve who she has become, or risk everything to discover if what was lost still remains?
The Best Part of Us will immerse readers in a breathtaking natural world, a fresh perspective on loyalty, and an exquisite ode to the essential roles that family, nature, and place hold in all of our lives.
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The Best Part of Us is a powerful novel about family dynamics and the human need to be true to one’s inner self. Beth is a tweenager—she feels left out in her family. Her older brother and sister get to do everything like go to the bonfires traditionally held around the lake where her family vacations, and she’s too old for kid stuff and too young for everything else. Cole-Misch draws her characters with a fine paintbrush, adding layer upon layer until each character is fully realized and integrating them into a timeframe that spans the past and present.
One of the strongest aspects of this novel is its sense of place. The descriptions of the land and water of the lake are dazzling. The reader can almost smell the forest and the lavender brought over from Wales by the grandmother; feel the pine needles carpeting the ground and the rough granite stones; and hear the keening of bald eagles and the mournful lamentations of the loons; see the sunlight sparking off the water and feel the chill of the air in the forest.
Readers who enjoy nature walks, birding, camping, or just communing with nature in their backyard will enjoy this book.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and impartial edit.
I highly recommend this book for its exquisite story telling and attention to detail. From the moment I started reading, I was drawn into the story as if I was actually there watching it unfold. The author has an amazing talent for describing nature in such vivid and emotional detail that you are immersed with all of your senses. A beautiful story written throughout the main character’s life where family dynamics, the power of nature, tragedy, love and culture all swirl into one. And how the importance of remaining true to oneself can bring a sense of peace and fulfillment like no other.
Sally Cole-Misch’s The Best Part of Us is a beautiful book about man’s connection with nature, family, and the importance of choosing the best part of us. It transported me to a lush northern Canadian lake island surrounded by deep blue waters, where fishing, kayaking, hiking, and celebrating nature are a way of life. It made me root for Beth, the protagonist, whose idyllic summers with her family on their private island ends tragically when she discovers sacred relics belonging to the First Nations. The plot moves back and forth between Beth’s childhood memories on the island and her current life in Chicago where she must make a decision to face her past in order to move forward. The best parts of the book, apart from its ode to nature, are the plot buildup in the second half, and the big twist that stayed with me long after I had finished the last page! A definite must-read!
The Best Part of Us is a quiet book with a big heart. Cole-Misch provides such a beautiful picture of a summer on a lake that I was ready to buy a plane ticket. At its heart this is the story of family and love and the heartbreak that follows when disaster strikes. It explores issues around cultural clashes and the environment with a deft touch.
Like so many of us, Beth tries to compartmentalize and abandon a crucial part of herself in order to avoid pain. She builds a successful—albeit frenetic—life in the city, and devotes herself to those she loves. Then an unexpected correspondence calls her back to the island of her greatest joys and sorrow. Will she go?
As she decides, she relives her early summers, where guests gather at a pristine northern lake to shed cities and soak in nature so transformative one wonders why they would ever leave. Lake peoples’ mundane, distracted, and pain-killing behaviors contrast with crystalline hours of meaningful relationships fueled by rhythms of the natural world.
And then the horrific happens, and the pain of remembering overrules the island’s magic.
This book turned pages in me. Drew me in slowly until I was ready to claim an island myself—a place of beauty and redemption and, ultimately joy. Ready to return to the deepest place where I am most myself, and in going there, am best able to love well.
In this mesmerizing novel, Cole-Misch draws us into the challenges of family, the complexities of the rights of First Nations, and perhaps most of all, the healing power of the intimacy and the grandeur of nature. We see each member of the Llyndee family as an individual, with their own interests, talents, and loves. These can come into conflict, and even create fractures, which lead to secrets, and ultimately betrayal. Cole-Misch skillfully guides us to slowly understand the perspective of each character, and we hold our breath, hoping that they can find a way through all of their difficulties. We have hope because of their love for one another, and because the natural world is constantly present, serving as guide and solace. This novel is a powerful reminder that nature is truly a part of who we are, and that we must cherish it.
Sally Cole-Misch’s captivating novel with the descriptions of the magnificent Canadian landscape, the beautiful nature, and the First Nation Ojibway life was captured in the vivid descriptions, as an homage to how connected we are to the natural world, was a delight to read. Though a quiet story, the characters navigate shaky grounds as family, relationships and going back to the past was explored, and what doing to right thing meant.
This was a well written story that captured my heart and whose characters will stay with me for a while.
Thank you BookSparks and the author for gifting me a copy of this book. This review is my own.
2.5/5 Stars
The Best Part of Us is a story about family, nature, cultural divides, and how secrets can do nothing but harm. During much of this story we watch Beth grow as a girl during her summers at the family’s lake house, where she is one with nature. This is a slow building novel that has a couple unexpected twists along the way. I might have even shed a few tears along the way.
For me there were three big things that prevented me from loving this novel as much as I could have. First, it was a bit too slow building for me. There were several point along the way that I just wanted to put it down unfinished; luckily about halfway through the pace started to pick up and it hooked my attention. One thing that got under my skin (for whatever reason) was that the parents were never really talked about by their title of “mom and dad”, instead they were referred to by their first names. This book is written from the POV of a young girl, so referring to them by first name came of as inauthentic and strange. The final thing that’s a bit perplexing was the bombshell at the end and the almost easy acceptance of it. The reactions were not ones that I would expect, even with the rationale behind them.
While I didn’t love this book as I had hoped I would, I was still glad that I stuck it out and read it all of the way through to the end. And if this book did anything, it made me want to buy a lake house!