McKinnon, K.C. Dancing at the Harvest Moon
This book is the chocolate-covered cherry in the middle of the box. It is sweet with an aftertaste that lingers on your senses.
Maggie McIntyre leaves her career as a college professor, her bittersweet memories of a now failed marriage, her two independent college-aged daughters, and her friends to return in time and to a place that represents all of her unrealized dreams.
The Harvest Moon-the old dance hall in Canada where Maggie worked in the summers as a college girl-is now hers. With the aid of a long-lost girlfriend and holding tightly to the memory of a once-forsaken first love, Maggie rebuilds the crumbling Harvest Moon, finding the courage to renovate and see herself and her possible choices in a wholly new and exhilarating light.
Instead of her old love, she finds herself redefined by that old love's son and his pure, true, and passionate feelings for her. It is true that this is a sweet, sentimental story that vibrates with sonorous descriptions of the lake, the woods, the hidden paths and boat landings, and the people who populate Maggie's perceptions, memories, and new life. However, this is also a deeply romantic tale that powerfully presents a woman who finally hears her heart and accepts what makes up the truth in herself.
Leane M. Ellis, March 3, 1998.
Lucius Beebe Memorial Library - This page last updated 3/04/98 - lme.