When I received an advance copy of A Young Wife from Simon & Schuster (love their books!) and glanced at the cover, I knew this would be a book I would really enjoy. Yes, I do judge a book by its cover, I mean don't you look at a beautifully presented dinner and immediately start salivating? Well I'm the same way with a gorgeous book. Those swirls behind the title and author actually reflect light and it creates a beautiful two-dimensional picture.
As for the story itself, I found myself immediately able to dive right in and get lost in the story of Minke, a 15 year old who becomes a care-taker for an older gentleman's dying wife and not too long after ends up marrying him after his wife suddenly dies, moving Minke with him to Amsterdam where they start a life. The story definitely had its moments where I was completely entranced. Even now weeks after reading it there are scenes that the author painted that I can't erase from my mind. And then in other moments, I was kinda put off by the direction of where the story was headed. As strong as this one started out, it continued to ebb and flow in keeping my attention and at the end I was glad I had read it. So my recommendation is to read it and form your own opinion!
ALSO! This book releases tomorrow, so go here to get yourself a copy!
Description: When fifteen-year-old Minke Van Aisma travels to Amsterdam to care for the dying wife of a wealthy man, she has no idea what adventures await her. Within hours of his wife’s death, her employer proposes marriage, and within days the couple has set sail for the oil fields of Argentina. They settle in the rough coastal town of Comodoro Rivadavia, where Minke eventually learns that her husband is not a successful trader, but a morphine producer. The future that seemed so bright takes an even darker turn the morning their toddler son, Zeff, is kidnapped. Soon after, morphine production is outlawed and her husband must immediately emigrate to New York. Already pregnant with their daughter, Minke has little choice but to wait for the new baby’s arrival, then follow Sander to America, and leave her firstborn behind forever. However when she arrives in New York and discovers that her husband has betrayed her, she takes her daughter and leaves him, finds work as a seamstress, and vows to return to Argentina and find her son. How she manages to find her child, and how she takes her revenge on the people who orchestrated his abduction, is a triumphant tale of personal sacrifice, determination, and love. A sweeping saga that crosses three continents--from the opulent life in Amsterdam during the 1900s, to rough living on the Argentine coast, to the impoverished life of a recent immigrant to New York--A YOUNG WIFE is a journey no reader will forget.
Rating: ***
Recommend: Yes, I think many folks might enjoy it.