#Friday56 & #BookBeginnings: The Light Between Oceans {Who's joining the Readalong?)

For Book Beginnings:

On the day of the miracle, Isabel was kneeling at the cliff's edge, tending the small, newly made driftwood cross.

- p. 1

For Friday 56:

"It's like seeing into the future," said Isabel. "You can reach ahead in time to save the ship before it needs help."

p. 56

Synopsis of The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman: After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.” And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss. The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.

***

If you don't live under a rock, you've probably heard of this book. The blogging community has generally been giving this a huge thumbs up, and in 2012 it won a Goodreads People's Choice Award (Historical Fiction). Then I recently got wind through the publisher that a global readalong was happening. I just got a copy of the book (courtesy of the publisher) so I am curious to see what the hype is about. Besides, the movie is coming out soon (see trailer here) - must read book before seeing movie, right?

If you're interested in the readalong, check out this link: Goodreads Readalong

*I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher for review consideration and participation in this readalong.

Have you read The Light Between Oceans? What did you think? Are you looking forward to the movie?

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