Publishers Weekly
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Family members reconnect over an incomplete WWII memorial in Dykes' tender debut. Ann Bliss is a consumer analyst in Chicago, still reeling from a college scandal eight years before, involving false claims she made in an anthropological paper. Largely ignored by her military parents while growing up, Ann feels anxious nearly everywhere except Ansel-by-the-Sea, Maine-the fishing town where she spent one summer as a child getting to know her great-uncle Bob Bliss, whom she affectionately calls GrandBob. But after that summer, Ann's father mysteriously forbade her from writing to GrandBob, and, so, in the intervening 20 years, she's kept in touch with him by taking out want ads in his local paper, using them to explain what is going on in her life in clever ways. When Ann receives a copy of the paper with a response to one of her ads, requesting her to return to Ansel-by-the-Sea, she knows something is wrong and, upon arrival, discovers GrandBob is in a coma. In his home, Ann finds a number of boxes filled with stones. Tapping into her anthropological training-and with the help of Jeremiah, the handsome, mysterious postman-Ann discovers that her great-uncle had been planning a WWII memorial made up of stones sent from the loved ones of those killed in action. As Ann spends time with Jeremiah and alongside GrandBob, her confidence and faith slowly begin to recover. With its believable characters and narrative of atonement, Dykes's impressive debut will appeal to fans of Sarah Sundin or Kate Breslin. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Having spent a formative summer in Ansel-by-the-Sea, Maine, as an adolescent, Annie Bliss returns to the sleepy harbor town after more than a decade and finds herself face to face with more than just a mystery. Her great-uncle Bob, now in a medically induced coma, has left her a series of clues that tell a deeper story of three generations in her family history and their connection to the strange ruins on the island. But if Annie hopes to find any answers, she must chip away at the briny defenses and quirks of the evasive locals as well as a handsome newcomer. In her stellar debut, Dykes crafts a moving and quietly adventurous romance that is steeped in subtle beauty. She links two time frames and the heart-wrenching events of 1944 and 2001 with the maxim, Life is big, God is bigger. The result is a poetic tale of grief, honor, memory, and love that is full of characters readers will long to know and, at the same time, feel they already do. Dykes' inspiring story tracks one person's journey to not only find the light in the world but also to fight for it.--Kate Campos Copyright 2019 Booklist