A good read, more in depth than a romance (I likely have done the author a disservice by using that tag). An older man who hasn't let go of the past. Troubled teens & society teens. A woman who cares. Endangered birds and habitat. I liked the setting, tho I am completely unfamiliar with seacoast, and the focus on how young adults act out the values they've grown up with. The value of the natural world for human mental health. ( )

very good ( )

This is a tender tale of a mother and daughter negotiating life after the man of the family left them. Mom, Neve Halloran, works in an art gallery. Daughter, Mickey, is fifteen and infused with a love of birds. When she hears that her favorite bird, one that she has never yet seen, was spotted on the beach, she and a friend take off on their bikes for a look at the Snowy Owl. From there, events are set into motion for a first love, and a growing understanding about her father.

The more I think back on this book, the more I like it. Though it does cover a lot of territory, I’d still call it a beach read. The topics covered were done so thoughtfully, which makes me want to recommend this to young adult readers. Alcoholism U-boats, PTSD, raptor rehabilitation, talk of various wars, all this could have made a deeper, darker story, but this one was nicely paced, even-keeled, and very well done. Set along Rhode Island’s ocean side in South County, the location was beautifully conjured by the author. The U-boat of this story is called U823, which was sunk off R.I. with 55 aboard, lying 11 fathoms deep. Wikipedia shows an actual event, U853, with the same stats. Although I did not know about this particular event in history, I thought that the author treated it well in her story. ( )

The Edge of Winter was very enjoyable. It was very easy to get wrapped in the story, and there was a gentle pull to set things right. I may be biased because I love to read about the interworkings of families and I love nature, especially birds. Families are a complicated subject and I think that Luanne Rice handles them well. There three families involved in this book and each of them were having trouble dealing with their loss. The losses are held close to their chests and are bound up in secrets. To use Ms. Rice’s term, they were frozen. All three families had a deep love of nature in particular for birds. I miss the beaches where I used to live but over and over again I went back to the beaches in the book. She artfully described the beauty of the beaches and the nature inhabiting them. A snowy owl comes to roost in the beginning of the story and is injured just as each of the families were deeply hurt. The owl is a symbol of what they loved and the great pain that was inflicted upon them. This is a story of love conquering fears and shame and request. The German U boat that was sunk of the coast of Rhode Island was a horrible reminder of the costs of war. Luane Rice wove the threads of heartbreak, loss, disappointment and finally joyful forgiveness, love and rebirth together. ( )

Interesting. How the war took place off the coast of Rhode Island and how it impacts a community. Good, but not wonderful ( )