Have you ever been in love with someone, only to be separated from your loved one? What did you do about it?
When teenaged Ellie’s mother has an affair with a famous country-western singer, her father goes ballistic. Once discovering his wife is pregnant, he throws her out of the house, telling his daughter Ellie that they’re moving from Georgia to California. Ellie runs to her best friend Nolan, crying about her plight. Initially, Nolan is not sure what to do – after all, he’s determined to marry Ellie someday. Nolan and Ellie write a letter to one another, then place the unread letters in a tackle box and burying them near their favorite tree at the local park. Nolan states that in eleven years, they are going to meet under that tree on that day to read the letters – this will give them a chance at being together since Ellie will be moving so far away.
The book continues eleven years later and you see Ellie’s life change drastically. Her relationship with her overbearing father crumbles, and she never hears from her mother.
This book was somewhat emotional, as you see Ellie and Nolan pine for one another. You also see the Lord working with some of the secondary characters like Ellie’s father, mother, and Payton (the country western singer). Although the story was good, I thought there were a LOT of conveniently coincidental things that happened which kept Nolan and Ellie apart for all of those years.
Many thanks to Howard Books for providing me with a free review copy.
So, have you ever been in love with someone, only to be separated from your loved one? What did you do about it?
