2026 Book Review #1:Black Woods Blue Sky

 

Wow.

I had discovered this author in 2013  when I read the book The Snow Child. 

This book will linger with you long after after you read the final page.

STORY SUMMARY

Birdie, a very young, single mom to Emaleen, aged 6, is often drunk or hungover. She tries to keep it together and sometimes she has to bring Emaleen to work with her.  She is a waitress at an Alaskan roadside lodge called Wolverine Lodge on the edge of the Wolverine River. Sometimes she also works in the bar late at night and has left Emaleen alone in the little cabin they rent.   Birdie has a tough life in a little tough wilderness town.  But...she remembers what life was like with her sister Liz growing up in the wilderness with their Grandma Jo. Birdie and Liz's mom abandoned them for Florida when they were just little girls. Grandma Jo now sometimes babysits for Emmaleen. 

Arthur Nielson is a very quiet man.  He is soft-spoken and has a facial scar and just one ear. He's a recluse who lives further up in the mountains and only comes down to the Lodge and town during the changing of the seasons. But...one day, he sees that Emaleen is lost in the woods and he brings her back safely to her mom.  Most of the town people avoid him, but to Birdie, he stands for everything she has ever longed:  running wild in nature. She finds herself falling for Arthur...as well as the land that he loves so well. 

Everyone warns Birdie about going to live with him in his cabin up in the mountains where is no electricity or plumbing. But Birdie and Emaleen move into Arthur's cabin on the far side of the Wolverine River.  Even Arthur's father, Warren, warns Birdie not to go. 

It is just the three of them in that vast black woods....far from telephones, roads and all human contact. But Birdie has come to believe that she is prepared.  And at first, it is very idyllic. They catch salmon together, pick berries, teach Emaleen to swim, and climb mountains high enough that it seems they can touch the beautiful blue sky. 

But very soon, Birdie discovers that Arthur is much more mysterious and dangerous than she could have ever imagined. And...."that a fairy tale like the Alaskan wilderness, can be as dark as it is beautiful". (taken from the book jacket cover).  

What happens to Birdie, Arthur, and Emaleen? Will they survive together? or does Arthur's true identity drive them apart? 

MY THOUGHTS

Wowza. This is a wonderful, beautiful story. It's kind of like an adult fairy tale. It's so well written and the plot so well developed with rich characters that I didn't want it to end. 

It's got themes of life and death; friendship and love; mother-daughter love....and the allure of the wilderness and the wild life.  It's about things we gain. And things we lose. It's about the pull of nature...particularly those wild places...the deep wilderness and the longings in each of us. 

It's about forgiveness and mercy. 

I found absolutely no editing errors in this novel. 

I highly recommend this book.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.