Book Description
In her first work of contemporary women’s fiction, bestselling author Kay Bratt draws on her own life experiences to create a raw, yet inescapably warm, novel about friendship and a wary heart’s unexpected capacity to love.
A hungry, stray dog is the last thing Cara Butter needs. Stranded in Georgia with only her backpack and a few dwindling dollars, she already has too much baggage. Like her twin sister, Hana, who has broken Cara’s heart one too many times. After a lifetime of family troubles, and bouncing from one foster home to another, Cara decides to leave it all behind and strike out alone—on foot.
Cara sets off to Florida to see the home of her literary hero, Ernest Hemingway, accompanied only by Hemi, the stray dog who proves to be the perfect travel companion. But the harrowing trip takes unexpected turns as strangers become friends who make her question everything, and Cara finds that as the journey unfolds, so does her life—in ways she could never imagine.
Review
This is one of those books that is going to stay with me for a long time. It was a suggestion from my Kindle Unlimited yet is a book that I would absolutely read again and would like to add to my actual book collection.
The book opens and you know Cara is on the run, but you don't know why...and I loved how Bratt would give small glimpses every once in awhile about what might be driving Cara down the road, but it isn't until close the end that you discover what was the catalyst for her running. She quickly meets Hemi, a stray dog who seems to know that he definitely needs her and she needs him despite her early resistance. The connection between woman and dog is so immediate and deep, I felt I wanted to just reach into the pages and snatch them both up to safety. Another element that I loved were the people that Cara met on her journey. Along the way, Cara meets amazing people who show her kindness and generosity; not only is Cara feeling like humanity is not all bad, as a reader, I was also encouraged that so many people would be willing to overlook the outward appearance and sacrifice their time and resources to help her and Hemi. At each point, I thought: here will be home for her, only to see her continue on. Her persistence to reach her destination is what makes her such a strong and likeable character. And then the last part of the book explores Cara being willing to stop and look at the possibility of making a home. I don't want to give anything away but I thought Bratt did an excellent job exploring her hesitation and then her desire to trust and open up and to finally decide to face the past but not be pulled back into the past.
To sum it up: I loved Cara. I loved Hemi. I loved the secondary characters that had such depth and warmth and love despite only being a very small portion of the book. I loved Bratt's writing - it was beautiful and poignant and funny and heart-wrenching and insightful. I can't recommend enough that you read this book.
The book opens and you know Cara is on the run, but you don't know why...and I loved how Bratt would give small glimpses every once in awhile about what might be driving Cara down the road, but it isn't until close the end that you discover what was the catalyst for her running. She quickly meets Hemi, a stray dog who seems to know that he definitely needs her and she needs him despite her early resistance. The connection between woman and dog is so immediate and deep, I felt I wanted to just reach into the pages and snatch them both up to safety. Another element that I loved were the people that Cara met on her journey. Along the way, Cara meets amazing people who show her kindness and generosity; not only is Cara feeling like humanity is not all bad, as a reader, I was also encouraged that so many people would be willing to overlook the outward appearance and sacrifice their time and resources to help her and Hemi. At each point, I thought: here will be home for her, only to see her continue on. Her persistence to reach her destination is what makes her such a strong and likeable character. And then the last part of the book explores Cara being willing to stop and look at the possibility of making a home. I don't want to give anything away but I thought Bratt did an excellent job exploring her hesitation and then her desire to trust and open up and to finally decide to face the past but not be pulled back into the past.
To sum it up: I loved Cara. I loved Hemi. I loved the secondary characters that had such depth and warmth and love despite only being a very small portion of the book. I loved Bratt's writing - it was beautiful and poignant and funny and heart-wrenching and insightful. I can't recommend enough that you read this book.
I gave this book: ★★★★★
★ = I did not like it ★★ = It was okay ★★★ = I liked it
★★★★ = I really liked it ★★★★★ = I loved it
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