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Overview
In the latest novel from the award-winning author of Around Again, an American takes an unexpected trip to Ireland and finds the woman she was meant to become.Newly unemployed, Sophie White has nothing better to do when her recently widowed best friend, Gina, invites her along on a much-needed, postcrisis getaway. When, after only one day in Ireland, Gina decides she should do her grieving back at home, she urges Sophie to remain and make the most of the summer in Booley, the tiny seaside village that was their destination.
A job offer accepted on a whim lands her in the village's craft shop, and in the position once held by Finola O'Flynn, a woman who'd swiftly left town a few years before. Sophie takes on Finola's job of creating beaded bracelets, but also takes over Finola's abandoned home, then Finola's left-behind wardrobe, and finally, after her own episode of lost love, Finola's discarded man, charismatic shop owner Liam. But could Sophie -- or anyone -- ever take over the legendary place that her predecessor still holds in the hearts of Booley?
Friend, confidante, and guru to all -- literally a lifesaver to some -- even in her absence Finola continues to captivate. Her myth manages to reenergize Sophie, who passes along the gift through bracelets she infuses with invented "powers" that make the wearers believe they have what it takes to face life's challenges. But is Sophie powerful enough to face a whopper of her own when Finola returns to Booley and to the life she deserted? Does Sophie have the magic to make room in one tiny village for two women who want the very same life?
Synopsis
In the latest novel from the award-winning author of Around Again, an American takes an unexpected trip to Ireland and finds the woman she was meant to become.
Newly unemployed, Sophie White has nothing better to do when her recently widowed best friend, Gina, invites her along on a much-needed, postcrisis getaway. When, after only one day in Ireland, Gina decides she should do her grieving back at home, she urges Sophie to remain and make the most of the summer in Booley, the tiny seaside village that was their destination.
A job offer accepted on a whim lands her in the village's craft shop, and in the position once held by Finola O'Flynn, a woman who'd swiftly left town a few years before. Sophie takes on Finola's job of creating beaded bracelets, but also takes over Finola's abandoned home, then Finola's left-behind wardrobe, and finally, after her own episode of lost love, Finola's discarded man, charismatic shop owner Liam. But could Sophie -- or anyone -- ever take over the legendary place that her predecessor still holds in the hearts of Booley?
Friend, confidante, and guru to all -- literally a lifesaver to some -- even in her absence Finola continues to captivate. Her myth manages to reenergize Sophie, who passes along the gift through bracelets she infuses with invented "powers" that make the wearers believe they have what it takes to face life's challenges. But is Sophie powerful enough to face a whopper of her own when Finola returns to Booley and to the life she deserted? Does Sophie have the magic to make room in one tiny village for two women who want the very same life?
Kirkus Reviews
Shea forsakes her usual subject, Polish-Americans in Massachusetts (Around Again, 2001, etc.), to portray a single American woman taking on a new life in a small Irish village. Narrator Sophie, single and 30-ish, comes to the westernmost spot in Ireland because her good friend and former coworker Gina thinks a trip there will help both of them get over losing their jobs. But the day after they arrive in Booley for a three-month visit, Gina heads back to the US, declaring it's not the place she needs but insisting that her friend remain. Soon Sophie is one of the locals. She gets a job in Liam's craftshop, reorganizes the entire store, makes bracelets that are a big hit, and befriends all the villagers. Liam is still recovering from his love affair with Finola O' Flynn, whose name is on the storefront. Finola left Booley three years ago with a new love, and Liam has never been the same. Neither has most of Booley, Sophie soon learns: everyone she meets, from Noel the weaver to elderly retired farmer Joe, recalls the wonders Finola worked. Sophie soon finds herself taking on Finola's identity as customers in the shop, mostly tourists, assume that must be her name. She had planned to move in with traveling salesman Charlie when she went home, but-in what she concedes is an amazing coincidence-Charlie's hitherto unacknowledged wife and two daughters stop by the shop on their way to London. Sophie's broken heart is soon cured by Liam, and she begins to plan on settling in Booley for good after a quick trip home. But then Finola suddenly returns the day before Sophie must leave. Stateside, Sophie tries to forget, but a promise to old Joe brings her back to the village, where Finola has somerevelations of her own. An engaging tale, deftly crafted and plotted, with plenty of Irish whimsy, charm, and blarney. Agent: John Talbot/John Talbot Agency