Cheryl Grey Bostrom

After ten-year-old Aggie accidentally lights a tragic fire, she flees into untamed Pacific Northwest forest--where, she believes, no one will find her. Smart, mercurial Celia, freshly arrived from Houston, soon joins the hunt for Aggie,

A Novel

Sugar Birds

In the beautiful Pacific Northwest, a young woman’s discovery of her hidden past illuminates her present in this new novel from the award-winning author of Sugar Birds, “an engrossing tale” (Kirkus Reviews), and Leaning on Air, “an exquisitely nuanced love story” (BookTrib). Hildy Nybo is a successful biologist, her study of the Pacific Northwest’s wild fish both a passion and a career. But behind her professional brilliance, Hildy’s reclusive private life reflects a childhood fraught with uncertainty. Despite her father’s love and her mother’s sympathy, she grew up constantly losing even her most cherished belongings, unable to recall where she misplaced them. Haunted by the confusion of those early years, she now records her life in detailed diaries and clings tightly to memory-prompting keepsakes. Then her mother’s health fails, and Hildy accepts a job near her childhood home, joining a team of scientists who will help restore her beloved Elwha River after the demolition of two century-old dams. There Hildy settles into one of the cabins on her family’s rustic resort—a place she both loves and dreads, for reasons she can’t fully explain. When local artist Miranda Rimmer rents an adjacent cabin for her pottery studio, Hildy shrinks from such a close neighbor. But then Miranda’s carpenter brother, Luke, shows up to help with construction and captures Hildy’s attention. Now a few years beyond a tragedy that brought him to his knees, Luke recognizes a kindred soul in Hildy, and they build a relationship that dismantles the walls Hildy’s built to keep people out. As troubling pieces of the past surface, Hildy dares to wonder if she can banish the shadows that have burdened her and follow her river’s course to freedom. A compelling story of forgiveness, redemption, and overcoming painful secrets that explores the beauty of the natural world A poignant and emotive contemporary novel perfect for fans of Delia Owens and William Kent Krueger Includes discussion questions for book clubs

What the River Keeps

NORTHWEST WASHINGTON STATE, 1985 For years, Harris Hayes has taught his daughter, Aggie, the ways of the northern woods, where she sketches nests of wild birds as an antidote to sadness. Then her depressed, unpredictable mother forbids her to climb the trees that give her sanctuary and comfort. Angry, ten-year-old Aggie accidentally lights a tragic fire and flees downriver. She lands her boat near untamed forest, then hides among trees and creatures she believes are her only friends—determined to remain undiscovered. A search party gathers hours after Celia arrives at her grandmother’s nearby farm. Hurting from her parents’ breakup, she also plans to run. But when she joins the hunt for Aggie, she meets two irresistible young men who compel her to stay. One is autistic; the other, dangerous. Ideal for fans of Under the Magnolias, Where the Crawdads Sing, and The Great Alone, Sugar Birds is a layered, riveting story set in the breathtaking natural world—where characters encounter the mending power of forgiveness, for themselves and for those who have failed them. “A true page-turner . . . An engrossing tale.” Kirkus Reviews 2022 CHRISTIANITY TODAY’S BOOK AWARDS: Award of Merit – Fiction 2022 ACFW CAROL AWARDS: Winner - Debut Fiction 2022 IPPY AWARDS: Gold Winner - Best First Book, Fiction 2022 CHRISTY AWARD FINALIST - First Novel 2022 NAUTILUS AWARDS: Silver Winner - Fiction/Large Publishers 2022 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS: Winner - Inspirational Fiction and Cross-Genre Fiction; Finalist - General Fiction, Literary Fiction 2022 NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS: Finalist - General Fiction/Novel 2021 AMERICAN FICTION AWARDS: Winner - Literary Fiction, General Fiction, and Cross-Genre Fiction; Finalist - Religious Fiction 2021 BEST BOOK AWARDS: Winner - Inspirational Fiction; Finalist - Cross-Genre Fiction 2021 FOREWORD INDIES: Silver Winner - Religious Fiction; Finalist - General Adult Fiction 2021 READER’S FAVORITE AWARDS: Silver Medalist - Inspirational Fiction

Cheryl Grey Bostrom

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