The Clearing by Heather Davis - Review

Synopsis via goodreads:

Amy, a sixteen-year-old recovering from an abusive relationship, moves to the country to start a new life with her aunt–all she wants is for everything to be different. In the clearing at the back of Aunt Mae’s property, she makes an amazing discovery—Henry, a boy stuck in the endless summer of 1944. Henry and his world become Amy’s refuge and she begins to learn that some moments are worth savoring. But when the past and present come crashing together, both of them must find the courage to face what is meant to be, even if it means losing each other forever.

The synopsis makes this book seem like a simple love story, with an unusual and unique twist, and it is – in it's simplest terms anyway. However, The Clearing offers so much more than simple...

The Clearing introduces us to Amy, a girl whose breaking free from an abusive boyfriend and coming to live with her Aunt Mae to begin her life again, miles away from everything she knew, where no one knows her; A place for her to reinvent herself, only reinventing herself does not come easy. For Amy interactions with her peers at school are hard, and strained, she questions there every motive. No one knows her, and she's struggling to even know herself. She knows she wants more, but she has no earthly idea how to get more, how to connect with those around her.

Amy quickly discovers a strange boy as well as his family, living behind her Aunt's house. A boy she can only get to when she travels though the mist, that surrounds his house. Questioning Amy finds out that Henry has been reliving the summer of 1944 over and over again, stuck due to a prayer he prayed himself. A prayer that he's prayed every night, he's protecting his family from harsh realities of life, he says.

Amy and Henry quickly and beautifully fall into love, each having what the other needs; Amy moving when Henry is stagnant; Amy needing to feel loved, when Henry is there every step to make sure she knows that she is. But when the two worlds start to collide, can either of them live though life if it means loosing the other?

This is the 2nd Heather Davis book I have had the opportunity to read, and like with the first Never Cry Werewolf, I enjoyed it very much, you could definitely tell that Heather Davis is growing into her writing abilities!

The Clearing is a short, elegant ride though what one might called, ultimately a ghost story. However, though one main character is “living” in 1944, and the other in 2010, it's not like any other ghost story I have ever read before.

The setting for The Clearing is unique, beautiful and simplistic. I got drawn into Amy's world, in quiet a different way than I am usually drawn into books, I rooted for her, and I worried at how Heather could possibly tie this book up. It's short at just over 200 pages, but I cared about each of the characters, especially the main two, Amy and Henry. I also loved Aunt Mae, she's a tough old gal, who does not pull any punches with Amy – her one rule, when Amy comes to live with her is, no lying – seems simple, yet in the end not simple at all.

This book leaves me hard pressed to review, I enjoyed it – I did, but there's several things that held me back – mainly, the ending – with out giving to much away, I LOVED how Heather wrapped things up, tying everything together, beautifully...but then that was kind of it – I wanted more, I wanted to know what things were like, now, later, after...But, with no more to read – I just feel empty, and not in such a good way. I mean, what happened to them...driving after I was finished thinking I was in tears thinking about Henry.

I also felt like during the story the relationship between Henry and Amy – I wanted more, I guess I have gotten jaded, but it seemed like it happened so fast, I understood that Amy was what Henry needed and vise versa, however – I wanted more dialogue between the two!

Bottom Line – The Clearing is a slow arc, with not a ton of action, it's a beautifully unique love story, like nothing I have read before. I am, in the end happy I did get the chance to read it, it even made me tear up, towards the end – not sure how you could not, actually. But it did leave a bit on the table, I wanted more...and with that I give it a 3 mushrooms, you can bet that I will be looking out for Heather's next book, and hoping it's a bit longer with more interactions!

The Clearing
By: Heather Davis
228 Pages
Published: April 12, 2010
Publisher: Graphia
Received: Net Galley