Book Review - The Clearing

By Heather Davis
Published by Houghton Mifflin Books
Released in April 2010
Source: netgalley
3.5 Stars-It was a good read

Synopsis (from Houghton Mifflin Books):
In this bittersweet romance, two teens living decades apart form a bond that will change their lives forever.

Amy is drawn to the misty, mysterious clearing behind her Aunt Mae's place because it looks like the perfect place to hide from life. A place to block out the pain of her last relationship, to avoid the kids in her new town, to stop dwelling on what her future holds after high school.

Then, she meets a boy lurking in the mist--Henry. Henry is different from any other guy Amy has ever known. And after several meetings in the clearing, she's starting to fall for him.

But Amy is stunned when she finds out just how different Henry really is. Because on his side of the clearing, it's still 1944. By some miracle, Henry and his family are stuck in the past, staving off the tragedy that will strike them in the future. Amy's crossing over to Henry's side brings him more happiness than he's ever known--but her presence also threatens to destroy his safe existence.


If you're in the mood for romance, the kind that takes you away into another realm and allows you to enjoy the characters and their predicaments, go and pick up The Clearing. I have to admit that I was in just that kind of a mood when I started to read the book.

The protagonist, Amy, is a shy, very introverted girl who suffered an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. In order to get away from him, her teasing friends at school and even her re-married mother, she goes to live with her Great Aunt Mae in a small rural town far away from her former home in Seattle. Heather does a wonderful job in describing the transition from a city school to country life. Her descriptive passages place you in a setting where Fall is just starting, the leaves are turning and a new chapter for Amy is about to begin. Amy starts her new school and meets new friends, out of which my very favorite is Jackson who plays a credible role as the "normal" friend. But something feels wrong. Amy has been drawn to a cold mist out in back of her Aunt's house. And walking through that mist one day, she discovers that she's in the back yard of a entirely different world. A world of a boy who is permanently living in 1944.

The moment Amy meets Henry, she finds in him something that she's been missing in all of her relationships -- love. Watching their impossible scenario unfold and blur all of Amy's reality is distressing and gorgeously romantic. At times, some of the characterizations felt a bit flat and Amy's discovery of what is truly happening seemed a little too delayed. But what kept me hooked was my interest in the ending and Heather's writing itself which vividly brought out the mood of a bygone era. I also enjoyed that the story was told from both Amy's and Henry's point of view. Feeling the hurt in both of them as well as their hope made their situation very believable.

When you're in the mood for romance read The Clearing and enjoy a poignant tale of love that was meant to be...perhaps. I told you that I wasn't going to spoil it! Now go on and pour yourself a tall glass of iced tea and sit outside on these soon-to-be summer days and read the story. It will make you think -- what if.