Guest review: South of Superior
I’m so glad to welcome my sister, Karen, back with one of her fabulous reviews. I hope she’ll lend me the book, because after this review, I really want to read it!
Madeline Stone is going through the motions of her daily life in Chicago. It’s been more than a year since her beloved Emmy passed away. Yet she is having trouble getting over her grief. Emmy had raised Madeline since the age of three when her mother abandoned her in a church basement. One day she receives a letter in the mail from Gladys Hansen, one time paramour of her estranged grandfather. It’s a letter of condolence and a request for help, asking her to come live with her and her sister Arbutus. Arbutus is crippled with arthritis and needs some help. After just one meeting with the crusty Gladys and the very sweet Butte, Madeline leaves her former life behind and moves five hundred miles north to McAllaster, Michigan. McAllaster, a tiny town on Lake Superior, is also where Madeline was born.
Paul Garceau headed north nine years ago, after a failed marriage, seeking to leave his past behind. He ended up in McAllaster where he bought a pizzeria and works a second job just to make ends meet.
Will Madeline and Paul survive the harsh winters and hardscrabble life of northern Michigan? Will Madeline forgive her grandfather for turning his back on her so many years ago?
South of Superior by Ellen Airgood is a heartwarming tale with a delightful cast of characters. Madeline is one tough cookie so full of grit and determination. Endearing Arbutus and the ever so vexatious Gladys are just two of the splendid senior characters you’ll fall in love with. Perhaps my favorite character is little Greyson Hopkins who fiercely loves his less than perfect mother. This very satisfying story is another one of those books that you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve finished it. Add this book to your summer reading list. Just reading about the cold, cold, cold Michigan winter will help cool you off during the miserably hot days of summer.
Thanks for a great review! I started reading this book a week or so ago but then got sucked into Story of Beautiful Girl (another heartwarming read). I’ll be back into the chapters of South of Superior as soon as I’m done with my June book club book.
Oh and really like your comment about the cold, cold winter helping keep us Floridians cool while we read:)
Your sister should start her own blog! Her reviews are great! The characters sound fascinating.
This book reminds me of the relationship between Twiss and Milly in The Bird Sisters!
I have this book on my TBR pile, (ever growing, aren’t we lucky to be able to keep adding to it.) Thanks for a great review.
I love curmudgeonly characters, and this one sounds like it has a few, and any book that wards off the humidity we are having right now is one I want to read
What a great review! I’ve wanted this one since I first saw it; I love that the secondary characters add so much to the story, too. Let me double-check my Goodreads list to make certain I have it on my to-buy list!
Sounds really appealing and the cold, cold, cold comment has me. It’s anything but cold in my part of the country. I seem to be craving books about the Arctic these days.
This does sound heartwarming! Thanks for the review!
I really like books that feature people against the elements, so this one sounds very good to me, and I am adding it to my list. Glad to see you around these parts again, Karen! I just love your reviews!
This sounds like a fun read. Thanks for the review.
Ann
Nice interview. Sounds like a lovely book to read this summer
Great Review – this is on my must read/wish list/hold list. I’m a Yooper wanna-be so when I heard this was set in the UP I was very excited!! (I always visit in the late summer so I have yet to experience a true UP winter!)
Terrific review. I’ve wanted to read this since I first saw it, now even more so. I love when your sister joins in.
Sounds fabulous. Nicely done!
I liked the review of this book, must add to my tbr pile.
Oooh! Me too! Thank your sister for adding another one to my wish-list.
Great review, but I’m not sure this book is for me. I mean the summer has begun, but the weater is lacking. It’s cold…brrrr and to read about a cold, cold, cold Michigan winter would not be very smart of me. I need some books where the people live in warm places or go on vacation.
Great review! I have this in my summer tbr pile. I will be sure to pull it out the next time it is hot and humid outside! The cold winter scenes will be a refreshing break.
Karen picks some great books to read! This one definitely needs to be added to the wish list.
Terrific review. This book is charming; I loved the elderly characters.
Oh I so want to read this one. Great review!
2 Kids and Tired Books
Thanks Karen! Good review! Now I need to add this one to that shopping trip I am planning to B & N on Saturday
Oh, this sounds so good!
I’m the only reader in my family…that’s why I blog.
I have been reading about this book…it does sound really good…
Hi Karen! My book review partner Sandra is reading this one and now I’m curious to know what she thinks of it since you liked it so much.
I have had my eye on this one especially because I live in Michigan but more so because I love the U.P. I will find a copy to read soon!
I’m glad that your sister loved this one so much! It was a refreshing read, perfect for the summer!
Oh, I would really like to read this one. Luv your ending.
So glad to see you liked this one so much! I’ll need to move this one up my TBR pile!
Thanks for a great review Karen! I will be adding this to my TBR list. I do not have to imagine the cold, cold winter of MI, I live there.
Thank you for having sister Karen by for a review. I keep seeing this book, love the cover and now I believe it sounds charming. That TBR list is just growing…..hubby says I need to just keep reading books and stop reading blogs that make me want more….books!!
Lovely review! Sounds like a great book and by the way it is rainy season here in Mumbai
What a great review. I love these guest spots.
I was just looking over my challenge list today and saw that I need a book set in Michigan. This looks like a perfect choice
Yay! I must look into this more. A Michigan setting is a big draw!
I’m so glad to see this review on your blog! I reviewed the same book a few weeks ago, and I love it when any Michigan author gets a much-needed shout out.
Tell Karen I said well done, and to lend you her copy, for goodness sake!
Get the copy and keep it! Great review from Karen and adding it to Wish list now.
Thanks for the review Karen! Since I live on Lake Superior I am drawn to this book….I’m thinking I should suggest it to the book club!
I love your sister’s guest reviews. She is always providing me with new books to add to my TBR list (and this one sounds perfect for summer too!). This post also reminds me that I should continue my sister’s guest posts! Since it is summer time she has been reading a lot of great books!
I like it when your sister reviews! I really want to read this one.
2 Kids and Tired Books