Escape to... The Clearing

With The Clearing, author Heather Davis spins a short but (bitter)sweet story of relearning to live, love, trust, and stand on one's own: Hoping to escape an abusive relationship, high school senior Amy leaves her home and friends in Seattle and moves to a rural Washington town to live with her non-intrusive, but still loving Aunt Mae--who she barely knows. Unfortunately, the fresh start isn't everything Amy has hoped for. In trying to mask her deep emotional scars, Amy puts up walls and comes across as defensive and unfriendly to her peers. After a particularly depressing day, Amy escapes the confines of Mae's trailer and wanders off into the wilderness beyond. Here she finds a clearing that seems perpetually shrouded in mist--no matter the weather elsewhere. Beyond the mist, Amy finds the unexpected: Here she meets Henry, who is unlike any boy she has ever met. The friendship-to-love-relationship the two young people begin soothes Amy's deep wounds and helps her to again believe there is good in the world. The whole experience seems almost, well...magical to Amy. And it is. Still, something nags the back of Amy's mind whenever she and Henry are apart--like why are apple trees blooming in autumn?

What Amy eventually learns is that Henry and his family have been caught in the endless cycle of reliving the summer of 1944. Worried about his brother off fighting in WWII (and about to be shipped off to war himself), Henry, in a moment of desperation, wished for a miracle--and got it. Amy knows there are choices she and Henry must both make. Choices to move on with their lives. But these choices could separate them forever.

The Clearing is beautifully written. An ideal book for a quiet evening at home or a day at the beach.