I’ve been looking forward to reading Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes since reading the prequel novella, Up From the Sea. With the same lyrical prose and depth of emotion, this is an amazing debut novel that definitely lives up to the hype and to every expectation.
With a compelling plot and characters that pull you in, this is one of the rare dual timeline novels that has me just as invested in the modern day as in the historical storyline. With Annie Bliss slowly discovering the past that holds her great uncle and father apart, this is a story of family and of great faith, sacrifice, bravery, and dedication.
Highly recommended.
This review refers to a purchased paperback copy and a temporary digital copy I voluntarily received via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.
About the Book
In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose . . . and rocks. Its message? Send me a rock for the person you lost, and I will build something life-giving. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss’s humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the harbor village on the coast of Maine, and he sets his callused hands to work.
Decades later, Annie Bliss is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when GrandBob, the man who gave her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is the one in need of help. But what greets her is a mystery: a wall of heavy boxes hiding in his home. Memories of stone ruins on a nearby island ignite a fire in her anthropologist soul to uncover answers.
Together with the handsome and enigmatic town postman, Annie uncovers the story layer by layer, yearning to resurrect the hope GrandBob once held so dear and to know the truth behind the chasm in her family’s past. But mending what has been broken for so long may require more of her and those she loves than they are prepared to give.
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