Morning Glory
Pages: 304
Publication Date: November 25, 2013
There was a little movie back in the nineties, you may have heard of it,
Sleepless in Seattle? That one movie caused an entire country to fall in love with the idea of living on a houseboat. Author, Sarah Jio, was so enamored by the thought of living on a houseboat that she decided to set her next book on a houseboat in the Lake Union in the Seattle area.
Ada has left her life in New York City and arrived in Seattle to try and finally heal from the death of her husband and daughter. She finds herself renting the housboat in slip number seven on Boat Street. It almost feels like a whole different world to Ada. The neighbors on Boat Street are close and have a history that goes back decades. Ada isn't there long before she discovers that there is a mystery surrounding her houseboat and Boat Street. In 1959 a young woman, Penny, went missing without a trace. Ada's curiosity is piqued even further when she discovers a trunk of memorabilia that once belonged to Penny. Is the mystery surrounding Penny's disappearance enough to help Ada heal or will the very handsome neighbor, Alex, also help Ada move on with her life?
Morning Glory is a beautiful novel that just renewed the longing I had in the nineties to go live on a house boat. The story is told in both present and past tense. And whether it be Ada's story or Penny's the character and charm surrounding Boat Street remains the same. The one thing that was consistent with both Penny and Ada were their sense of sadness. In a way they both suffered losses, Ada losing her family the way she did and Penny losing her youth to a bad marriage. The sense of longing in both of them is almost palpable. The difference between the two women though is noticeable with Ada. You can see the diminishing of her sadness as the book progresses and that is mostly due to Alex. There is a bit of a twist at the end of the book that I kind of guessed was coming, but it really did bring a necessary conclusion to the story.
Bottom line,
Morning Glory is a wonderful little novel that takes you to another place and another time. The story will tug at your heart strings as you find yourself being swept away with Ada and Penny's heartache. If you are looking for something quick and lovely to read you will not be disappointed by Morning Glory, that I promise you.
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