If there’s one thing I’ve really appreciated over the past two years, it’s when a reader takes the time to not only read, but also write a review about my book. So I’ve decided to periodically write reviews of some of my favorite books and share them with you.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

I was cleaning off my bookshelf a couple weeks ago, and I stumbled upon one of my favorite books, Lake News by Barbara Delinsky.  I’ve actually read it a couple of times since I bought it the summer of 2008 to read on a long, 10 hour flight to Hawaii.  I had previously read Looking for Peyton Place by Delinsky and loved it so I was looking forward to reading Lake News as well.  I wasn’t disappointed, and I liked the book so much that I’ve read it a couple of times since then.

Lily Blake and John Kipling are both from Lake Henry, New Hampshire, and both left after high school to create lives for themselves away from their small, New England hometown.  However, through the twists and turns of their lives, they both find themselves back in Lake Henry.  Lily, a music teacher and piano lounge singer in Boston, flees to her small hometown after being accused of having an affair with a newly appointed Cardinal, and John, a former reporter with a mysterious past and trust issues of his own, is the editor of the Lake Henry weekly newspaper.

Although he’s a former member of the Boston media, John is outraged at the lies and invasion of Lily’s privacy.  Together, they build an alliance and work through their trust issues as Lily prepares to take on the Boston media to clear her name.

While the overall storyline may seem generic, Delinsky’s attention to detail, character development, and intertwining subplots sets this novel apart from the norm.  As the reader, you travel to New Hampshire; you feel the damp air getting colder with the onset of fall; and you can almost see and hear the loons (birds with a very unique call) that make Lake Henry their home from the spring through November.  But more importantly like in all of her novels, Delinsky has the innate ability to use these details to enhance her story rather than confuse or bore her audience.