Synopses & Reviews
It only takes a moment for a life to change forever.
Ethan Denton is a lucky man. Lately things have gone his way like being granted custody of Nate, his three-year-old son. But when he takes the child up to Angels Crest early one morning to show him the mountains, Ethan's luck changes instantaneously. In an impulsive decision any parent might make, he leaves his son asleep in the back seat while he follows a pair of magnificent buck, just for a minute but when he returns the truck's door is open, the child is gone, and snow is falling...
As townspeople gather to aid in the search, the boy's disappearance resurrects old wounds and regrets for each of them. But it also provides the chance for love and redemption, as they struggle to make sense of the inexplicable.
Review
"This beautiful, moving novel works brilliantly as a study of a tragedy and the various characters' reactions to the tragedy itself, as well as how it causes them to reexamine their own lives." Booklist
Review
"An ineffectual tearjerker and a disappointment after Schwartz's promising debut." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Compelling...precise, lyrical...truly moving." The Washington Post Book World
Review
"A tender, closely-observed tale in which a tragedy in a small mountain town reverberates among its eccentric cast of residents. Each deeply wounded in his or her experience of life, they nevertheless form a community in which loss can be held and a future made possible. Leslie Schwartz writes with precision and grace."
Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander
Synopsis
Ethan Denton's near-perfect life is shattered when his three-year-old son disappears just before an unexpected blizzard blankets the region. Schwartz creates a rich cast of characters whose reactions to the tragedy reflect the complexities of human emotions.
About the Author
Leslie Schwartz is the author of Jumping the Green, which won the James Jones Literary Society Award for Best First Novel. Her short stories have appeared in dozens of literary journals, and her nonfiction has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Shape, Self, and other magazines and newspapers. She teaches fiction writing at UCLA Extension and poetry to at-risk high school students through PEN in the Classroom. She is also a mentor for young writers through PENs Emerging Voices fellowship program and writes a monthly column for the nonprofit Council of Literary Magazines and Presses based in New York City. She lives in Los Angeles.