First Frost
By: Sarah Addison Allen
Meet the clan of Waverley women – women who occupy a great deal of history in Bascom, North Carolina. Claire Waverley has inherited the cooking and candy-making skills of her grandmother and has opened a successful business, Waverley’s Candies, out of her home. It’s always been a challenge, but lately it feels like more work than it should be. Her sister Sydney is struggling with the empty-nest feeling she has as her young daughter, Bay, is growing up right before her eyes, and wonders if she’ll ever get pregnant and be able to fill the hole in her heart. Bay, an old soul in an early teenage body, has fallen in love for the first time and, to her dismay, has suffered from unrequited love.
It’s almost time for the first frost – a time of renewal and celebration for the Waverley clan. But before that frost comes, each woman must examine herself and her longings and struggles. Each is blessed with what the town calls “Waverley magic” which binds the women together. But when a stranger appears in the town, and challenges their family, each must figure out what she can draw on, and who she can lean on, and what binds a family together.
This book is fun and light, and draws readers in with just the right about of “other-worldness” that lends both a playful and mysterious light to the story. The characters are very well developed – even the minor characters have distinct personalities and quirks that are lovable! It’s impossible not to be hopeful for Bay in her quest for love; readers are drawn to be sympathetic to Claire and Sydney and the men who share their lives. This book is a perfect exploration of the sometimes churning lives that we all lead, and the things that keep us rooted in the homes and hearts of people we love.
Review By: Jessica Diehl