Moon Road, Sarah Leipciger
Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger, set in Canada, tells the story of Kathleen and Yannick and their daughter, Una, who went missing many years ago. Kathleen and Yannick’s marriage has long since dissolved, but they remained friends despite Yannick going on to remarry a few times and have sons with subsequent wives. However, when he marries again and is expecting a daughter, Kathleen can’t help but think of her own missing daughter.
This leads to a huge argument, and Kathleen and Yannick don’t speak for many years. However, bones have now been discovered and Yannick has an urge to travel out West to see the site where they were found; he wants Kathleen to make the road trip with him to discover whether these bones are their missing daughter. Although it will not be an easy trip – both physically and mentally – it will turn out to be both cathartic and hopeful.
Although the plot of this book is incredibly detailed and compelling, I was drawn in by the fully rounded and fleshed out characters that Sarah Leipciger writes. Kathleen is a stoic woman who has steadfastly campaigned for her daughter’s memory not to be forgotten, holding an annual ‘awareness’ party in her name, as she strongly believes that Una is alive. She diligently keeps a note of the number of days she’s been missing and doesn’t deviate from her ritual just in case it has an effect on the outcome of Una’s disappearance. Over time, she builds up a hard shell to protect herself from further hurt. Yannick, on the other hand, is more introspective and feels a huge amount of guilt about not continuing to find his missing daughter years earlier.
This is a book about hope, loss, family ties, marriage, and parenthood. I was fully invested in the road trip and Kathleen and Yannick’s complex relationship. Moon Road has heart and emotion, and I was completely blown away by it.
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