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Editorial Content for Shelter Me

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Promo

In the tradition of Marisa de los Santos and Anne Tyler comes a moving debut about a young mother's year of heartbreak, loss and forgiveness...and help that arrives from unexpected sources.

About the Book

In the tradition of Marisa de los Santos and Anne Tyler comes a moving debut about a young mother's year of heartbreak, loss and forgiveness...and help that arrives from unexpected sources.

Four months after her husband's death, Janie LaMarche remains undone by grief and anger. Her mourning is disrupted, however, by the unexpected arrival of a builder with a contract to add a porch onto her house. Stunned, Janie realizes the porch was meant to be a surprise from her husband --- now his last gift to her.

As she reluctantly allows construction to begin, Janie clings to the familiar outposts of her sorrow --- mothering her two small children with fierce protectiveness, avoiding friends and family, and stewing in a rage she can't release. Yet Janie's self-imposed isolation is breached by a cast of unlikely interventionists: her chattering, ipecac-toting aunt; her bossy, over-manicured neighbor; her muffin-bearing cousin; and even Tug, the contractor with a private grief all his own.

As the porch takes shape, Janie discovers that the unknowable terrain of the future is best navigated with the help of others --- even those we least expect to call on, much less learn to love.

SHELTER ME © Copyright 2011 by Juliette Fay. Reprinted with permission by Avon A. All rights reserved.

December 2008

As my family and I prepare to embark on our annual Christmas retreat to the Outer Banks, I find myself double-checking the calendar every now and then to be certain that Christmas IS indeed right around the corner. Time at The Book Report Network always seems to move faster than usual, and I am looking forward to spending the final days of 2008 unwinding with my family and reflecting on this past year.

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December 19, 2008 - January 8, 2009

Send us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. To make sure other readers will be able to find the book, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). The Word of Mouth archives can be searched using the "Search" feature at the top right of the page.

December 19, 2008

It is shocking, but I finally have come to accept that there only are so many hours in a day/week/year, and how you divide them up does not mean you have more of them. Thus, while the holiday cards are mailed (truly a feat), the presents are not wrapped, and I truly fear looking at my list twice since I think there is someone I am forgetting. I have been so busy that I am running my life in 24-hour increments focusing on what I need to do in 24 hours and not projecting much beyond that. It seems to be working since I am not experiencing holiday meltdown.

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What did you think of the books you read in 2008?

December 19, 2008, 264 voters

What was your favorite book of 2008? And yes, we know, you cannot pick just one, so please feel free to select up to three!

December 19, 2008

December 12, 2008

As I write this, I am in the airport waiting for a flight to Florida where I am meeting up with my friend Starr for a weekend of catching up at the beach. Okay, I confess that this is a trip purely to hit Gold Status on Continental, a quasi "mileage run." I was 1,200 miles short of the required 50,000 miles to "go gold" and decided to do a short trip for pure fun to hit the goal.

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December 5, 2008 - December 18, 2008

Send us your current reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. To make sure other readers will be able to find the book, please include the full title and correct author names (your entry must include these to be eligible to win). The Word of Mouth archives can be searched using the "Search" feature at the top right of the page.

Author Talk: Steve Berry, author of The Charlemagne Pursuit

Dec 5, 2008

December 5, 2008

In Steve Berry's latest thriller, THE CHARLEMAGNE PURSUIT, protagonist Cotton Malone searches for the truth behind his father's mysterious death 38 years previous, while also stumbling upon cryptic diaries found in the tomb of the legendary ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

Do you have a favorite bookstore?

December 5, 2008, 366 voters