Wow. What a concept. This adult novelist has all the heroines of famous literature (Hester Prynne, Madame Bovary, Scarlett O'Hara) coming to stay at a bed and breakfast in Prairie Bluff, Illinois. And somehow makes it work. I was mesmerized reading this fast-paced novel that's full of twists and turns. Anne-Marie Entwhistle grows up with heroines (who aren't real, right?) and deals with them getting all of her mother's attention. But then a handsome stranger sweeps her up in the forest onto his horse. Where did the hero come from? And now that the police are involved, what does Anne-Marie and her mother do next? The rest of the book covers the time Anne-Marie spends in the psych facility. Through her memories and flashbacks, we learn about her childhood and her mother's romance that led to her birth. Whoa. The mental hospital scenes bring a certain kind of realism to the tale while Anne-Marie's friendship with Albie (a boy from school) and Gretta (the housekeeper) make the tale more fascinating. But the mother. Whoa. She's a little surprising.
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