Named a Most Anticipated book by Newsweek * USA Today * CNN * Parade * Buzzfeed * Medium * GoodReads * PopSugar * Frolic Media * Betches * The Nerd Daily * SheReads and more “Smart and searingly passionate…an illuminating snapshot of nature, betrayal, and sacrifices set in the evocative New Hampshire wilderness.”–Kim Michele Richardson, bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
A startling and timely debut, Julie Carrick Dalton’s Waiting for the Night Song is a moving, brilliant novel about friendships forged in childhood magic and ruptured by the high price of secrets that leave you forever changed.
Cadie Kessler has spent decades trying to cover up one truth. One moment. But deep down, didn’t she always know her secret would surface?
An urgent message from her long-estranged best friend Daniela Garcia brings Cadie, now a forestry researcher, back to her childhood home. There, Cadie and Daniela are forced to face a dark secret that ended both their idyllic childhood bond and the magical summer that takes up more space in Cadie’s memory then all her other years combined.
Now grown up, bound by long-held oaths, and faced with truths she does not wish to see, Cadie must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to protect the people and the forest she loves, as drought, foreclosures, and wildfire spark tensions between displaced migrant farm workers and locals.
Waiting for the Night Song is a love song to the natural beauty around us, a call to fight for what we believe in, and a reminder that the truth will always rise.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Waiting for the Night Song is a genre-breaking work—literary fiction blended with suspense, racial issues, and climate change. The protagonist, Cadie Kessler, is an entomologist studying beetles and how they kill trees, which in turn, because of the increase in fuel, sets up forest fires.
Cadie and Daniela live on the shores of a New Hampshire lake—until a catastrophic incident occurs when Cadie is eleven destroys their friendship. Decades later Daniela calls Cadie to tell her their long-held childhood secrets are about to surface with dire consequences Daniela’s family and other people.
The prose is lyrical and the descriptions of nature, of the New Hampshire woods so vibrant you can almost hear the night call of the birds, taste the fresh water of the lake, feel the cushion of fallen leaves beneath your feet . If you’re a nature fan, you might want to read this in conjunction with several other recent reads with superb depictions of nature: The Wild Birds by Emily Strelow, Winter Loon by Susan Bernhard, In a Town Called Paradox by Miriam Murcutt, or Wild Life by Keena Roberts.
When her biggest childhood secret is threatened with exposure, Cadie returns to her hometown to catch up with best friend, Daniela. Will they be able to continue to conceal their secret, or is it time to face the music?
Just 11 years old when the secret event occurred, Cadie has had to deal with the consequences and accompanying emotions ever since. What were the consequences of concealing the heinous crime, and how has it affected her? Night Song was a timely novel that included an in depth look at illegal immigrants, climate change, and the devastation of forest fires. If you’re looking for a way to revisit the long, hot, summer days of your childhood, then be sure to check out this nostalgic and adventurous debut!
“Not speaking up against injustice is just as bad as being complicit.”
“Why would I make that up? Of course they’re real. It’s the same beetle that devastated Colorado and caused some of the biggest fires in decades.”
Location: New Hampshire
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
This book was highly engaging with it’s contagious prose. The writing of Julie Carrick Dalton is mesmerizing to where I can’t believe this is a debut story. The investment into these well developed characters was great and I found myself on the edge of my seat for most of the story. It’s important to note that A LOT goes on in regards to plot within the pages of this book. There are off shoots of story and twists where there should have been turns, etc. In terms of the tightness of the plot there were spots where I got a bit jammed up. However, it didn’t detract from my overall investment into these characters and the lovely writing. The setting was so well written and the descriptive elements of the action and the memories so on point. I loved the fondness and care this author wrote with when illuminating the adventurous and precarious nature of childhood and how it shapes our futures whether with intent or not. And the full circle moments of those childhood memories hitting you with full force in the present. There was an intimacy of self discovery in the writing that was subtle but always a thread. It’s thrilling and mysterious while delicate and personal. And there’s not enough that can be said about the richness of this author’s writing. A great read.
If you’re a nature fan, or just enjoy fabulous lyrical writing with scenery descriptions so vivid you can feel yourself right there in the forest, you don’t want to miss this one!
Cadie Kesller, the main character, works as a forestry researcher, and her (and the author’s) passion for mother nature lights up the page. Cadie has spent decades trying to leave behind a traumatic incident from her childhood , subsequently shrouded in secrets, but at the start of the book, that secret is about to be exposed – and it’s colliding with a crucial career moment where she needs to fight for the future of her beloved forest.
What can I say? This is an example where the book is even better than the (gorgeous) cover. I savored every page because I was in awe of the skilled writing. Add a dose of mystery, along with climate intrigue and I loved every page.
The descriptions of the New Hampshire forests are startlingly good. You can feel the earth between your fingertips, the hard granite, the decay inside a tree. And pine for the forests and nature we are losing due to climate change.
I’m normally a fast reader, but this was a novel I read slowly, because I relished it so much. Not surprising that this book is on so many 2021 best of lists – it’s well deserved!
This was an intense book with a lot of twists. It’s told in alternating times, past and present. Each story was good and it becomes more of a thriller towards the last half of the book. It’s a page turner! I enjoyed the book
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
Waiting for the Night Song, the debut novel of Julie Carrick Dalton, is a story of childhood best friends, the sweetness of long summer days of freedom and exploration, but also of ugly secrets and the kind of trauma that shapes a child’s personality forever. This author knows how to wield her pen; her words are beautiful and compelling. The story of going home to make amends turns into a fight for social injustice as well as a battle to save the magnificent forests of New Hampshire. A lot was going on, and at times I had trouble keeping up. I wavered for a while about how I felt about the book, but the author won me over about halfway through. Her lovely descriptions of lazy summers and sweet friendships reminded me of so many sentimental childhood summers of my own. The book is well worth reading, and I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it. I gave it three and ½ stars, rounded up to four.