What if everything you thought you knew about your family was actually not the truth? Would it change who you are and how you felt about them? I mean, they are your family… This is something that Julie Clark had to come to grips with in the new novel I was asked to review.

The Wishing Hill
by: Holly Robinson
ISBN: 978-0-451-41594-3
Publication date: July 2, 2013

Julie Clark thought she knew the man she married. But after a whirlwind marriage and moving from California to Mexico where Julie pursued her dream of becoming an artist, she found herself in the middle of a divorce, selling her popular watercolors on the streets of Puerto Vallarta to tourists who thought she was an English speaking Mexican. She was getting by and getting through until her brother called with a request she come home and help with their ailing mother – a woman Julie did not get along with, at all. Because of family, Julie reluctantly goes but with a heavy heart. She has a secret. She has not yet told them of her divorce, plus at age 40, she has finally found herself pregnant, but her ex is not the father. Although Julie plans only staying long enough to help her mother through, she soon finds complications with her mother and surprisingly, others have big secrets too; secrets that will change everything she think she knows about herself and her family.

My Thoughts:

Memories can be a strong influence on how you feel and think. What you think you know and remember from an old memory may in fact not be accurate at all? The older we get, the more our memories can, in fact, fool us.

The main character, Julie, has created a life that she loves. While her marriage has fallen apart, she has found that she loves living in Mexico. She lives a simple life; has friends and loves painting and selling her work to tourists and commercially. Then her brother calls and needs her to come back to cold Boston, where her mother has been hospitalized and needs help. Julie really does not want to go home. She does not want to have to tell them of her divorce and the baby on the way. But she knows she has to because of family duty and everything she thought she knew soon becomes different. The only bright spot was the new contractor she hired to modify her mothers house so she could come home, but that is not enough to keep her in Boston when secrets start to come out.

The author has created a story that takes a seemingly typical family, and exposes the secrets of who they really are. A mother that is flighty and flamboyant; a brother that is close yet so far away, and a strange, yet kind, neighbor that Mother has had a long standing feud with that no one understands. Throw in Mom’s crazy behavior and her dearest friend and you have a story full of secrets, fading memories and strange behavior.

The Wishing Hill is a wonderfully written novel that will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can. The story line twists and turns and keeps you thinking about what is the truth and what is not. What Julie thinks she knows as the truth about her family will soon be something completely different.

I think we all have stories from our family and our memories tell us one thing yet in actuality, it is completely different. I enjoyed how the author created the characters with their quirks and wove the storyline through each of them. This book is a story of love; love lost and love found on so many different levels throughout. This is definitely a book that you need to pick up this summer!

Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.