Book Review and Giveaway: The Last Letter by Kathleen Shoop

** this giveaway is closed **


Today we have another wonderful title from Booksparks PR- they have some super authors on their roll!


the last letter coverSynopsis: Katherine Arthur’s mother arrives on her doorstep, dying, forcing her to relive a past she wanted to forget. When Katherine was ten, she had loved her mother fiercely, put her trust in her completely, but when her mother resorted to extreme measures on the prairie to save her family, she tore Katherine’s world apart. 


Now, seventeen years later, and far from the prairie, Katherine has found the truth – she has discovered the last letter. After years of anger, can Katherine find it in her heart to understand why her mother made the decisions that changed them all? Can she forgive and finally begin to heal before it’s too late?


You can read an excerpt on the author's website!


Review: I love historical fiction! Add some chick lit and family saga to it, and oh yeah, I'm there! I am totally stunned that this is Shoop's FIRST novel! Her characters literally leap off the page and grab you and don't let go! The bond between a mother and daughter is touchingly felt in the book and Shoop does an excellent job of showing a woman’s struggle to be a good daughter, hold onto memories, good and bad, and to seek to do the right thing for her mother. 


I loved how the author based the book on her OWN family's history and her great-great grandmothers letters! (Shoop has compiled all the letters into a book, in case you want them too!) Talk about authenticity!


I liked how the book alternated, almost seeminglessly!, between the past and present, linking the whys of why Katherine is acting the way she is in the present, with a reason in the past, and then moving on. If you want to know what prairie life REALLY was like (it wasn't like the tv show folks!), this book's historical background will make you realize just how hard it was for the early pioneers. If you can get thru the book without ANY tears, I applaud you! Shoop has written a wonderful book that will make all daughters reevaluate their relationships with THEIR mothers! Definitely a wonderful Summer read, and a good runner for a mini-series, so pick it up today! 


About the Author: Kathleen Shoop is a Language Arts Coach with a PhD in Reading Education. Her work has appeared in The Tribune Review, four Chicken Soup for the Soul books and Pittsburgh Parent Magazine. She lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. For more, visit www.kshoop.com or follow Kathleen on Twitter:www.twitter.com/KathieShoop  .



Giveaway:

Winner will each receive this review copy of the Last Letter!

Entries:
Make sure I have an email address, with your comment, 
so I can contact you,if you win! 
If I don't have a way to contact you, you will forfeit your win!

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and confirm address, if no contact, then new winner will be picked in their place. 


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Contest will end on June7th, at midnight. Winner will be picked by Random Number (random.org) on June 8th, and emailed. As soon as winners' info is received, I will mail their book to them on the next mail run.



Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book for review purposes on this blog, free of charge, from Blogspark PR.No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about the book.

Comments

  1. Sounds like an amazing book! GFC follower

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  8. I would like to read the book.
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  30. would love to read this novel...thanks for the chance :)

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  46. Sounds like a very good and touching book. I'd like to read it. Please enter me. Thanks!

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