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The Cuckoo's Gift
When Caroline Spencer returns to the Florida island of Sanibel, she comes face to face with her past. Her last visit here was twelve years ago when, through whispering mangroves, past flocks of exotic birds, skirting bobcat trails and precious mounds of turtle eggs, four children played in this earthly paradise – as explorers, naturalists, boat-builders... and eventually, as lovers.
Over the intervening years, Carrie has tried to forget those summer idylls and the children who were her friends – Phoebe, who believed herself to be a mermaid, her aloof older brother Bradley, and Tristan, son of the Native American wisewoman, Tanta. Now two of them are dead and gone. In the cemetery, however, there is only one grave; in Tanta’s backyard, a mourning cradle hangs, stuffed with black raven feathers; and over at Bud’s Landing lives a small boy who has mysteriously been struck dumb. Legend says that pirates buried treasure on a sister island, but here on Sanibel, where a great storm is gathering, Carries is about to unearth some treasure of her own.
Over the intervening years, Carrie has tried to forget those summer idylls and the children who were her friends – Phoebe, who believed herself to be a mermaid, her aloof older brother Bradley, and Tristan, son of the Native American wisewoman, Tanta. Now two of them are dead and gone. In the cemetery, however, there is only one grave; in Tanta’s backyard, a mourning cradle hangs, stuffed with black raven feathers; and over at Bud’s Landing lives a small boy who has mysteriously been struck dumb. Legend says that pirates buried treasure on a sister island, but here on Sanibel, where a great storm is gathering, Carries is about to unearth some treasure of her own.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 22, 2014
57 people are currently reading
356 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 29, 2019
Good read however the amount of misspelled words and omitted words was bothersome.
November 2, 2023
I enjoyed this book and it kept my attention, however I felt some questions were left unanswered
December 16, 2014
The story had potential, but the crucial parts felt rushed while the rest was droned on about. I have a serious problem with words that are overused. I wish someone would count how many times the word "for" is used. e.g. -
"Tanta is not surprised, for she read it in her hand, but she is old now, and memories dim and mesh, for over the years in secret so many of them came."
This is just one example but every other sentence is for one thing or another. Besides that, this sentence doesn't make any sense. I finished the whole book only because it was free and I don't have many others lined up at the moment. Additionally, one pretty important plot line was left unresolved, unmentioned in the tidy, swift little ending.
"Tanta is not surprised, for she read it in her hand, but she is old now, and memories dim and mesh, for over the years in secret so many of them came."
This is just one example but every other sentence is for one thing or another. Besides that, this sentence doesn't make any sense. I finished the whole book only because it was free and I don't have many others lined up at the moment. Additionally, one pretty important plot line was left unresolved, unmentioned in the tidy, swift little ending.
December 23, 2014
Needs editing
I hate to give a bad review but... the author needs to do better research. She kept referring to Austrian pines. Sanibel Island and many parts of Florida have Australian pines. Also, the mailman said he lived in Coral Gables. That is a suburb of Miami, located on the opposite coast of Florida. It would have been more likely that he lived in Cape Coral, which is much closer to Sanibel.
The plot was just okay. I didn't have much sympathy for the main character, Carrie. I finished the book only because I wanted to find out what happened to the children.
I hate to give a bad review but... the author needs to do better research. She kept referring to Austrian pines. Sanibel Island and many parts of Florida have Australian pines. Also, the mailman said he lived in Coral Gables. That is a suburb of Miami, located on the opposite coast of Florida. It would have been more likely that he lived in Cape Coral, which is much closer to Sanibel.
The plot was just okay. I didn't have much sympathy for the main character, Carrie. I finished the book only because I wanted to find out what happened to the children.
December 31, 2014
This book had potential, but the repetitive "for" clause construction was tiresome, the missing punctuation and typos no better, and at one point in the book, a main character goes from being "Bradford" to "Bradley." At times the narrative jumped around so much I had to flip back and forth to be sure I hadn't missed a page. Some characters didn't have much of a purpose in the story other than to attempt to lead the reader astray.
With some better editing, this one could move up a star or two.
With some better editing, this one could move up a star or two.
December 8, 2014
I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I stuck with it because I was hoping it would get better. It just never really made a lot of sense. The whole "intruder in the closet" think was way overplayed. The book had many, many grammatical, punctuation, capitalization, etc, errors that detracted from the story for me. With better editing, I may have ranked this higher. It just missed the mark on many levels.
September 8, 2015
Finished
Parts of this story were confusing and the ending left me with several questions. The author included some interesting information about the wildlife and vegetation in Florida. The characters all seemed to be a little tragic in one way or another. The confusing parts seemed a little mystical. Easy and fast read but my biggest question would be about Carrie's baby. Four stars because I had too many unanswered questions.
Parts of this story were confusing and the ending left me with several questions. The author included some interesting information about the wildlife and vegetation in Florida. The characters all seemed to be a little tragic in one way or another. The confusing parts seemed a little mystical. Easy and fast read but my biggest question would be about Carrie's baby. Four stars because I had too many unanswered questions.
September 29, 2015
OK
The memories of summers past flood the entire story, creating a sense of who and what. However, Brad's decision to not commit is strange and Carrie's oscillation toward Brad makes the love story kind of awkward.
The memories of summers past flood the entire story, creating a sense of who and what. However, Brad's decision to not commit is strange and Carrie's oscillation toward Brad makes the love story kind of awkward.
April 1, 2016
Wonderful story! A beautiful cast of diverse characters, a number of twists and turns and surprises withing the story itself, and a satisfying ending. If not for the poor editing that took me out of the story now and then, I might have given this one five stars.
November 30, 2014
Wow
An amazing story intertwined with old legends. It has a lot of reality in it as well everyone has secrets. Not all families are happy but somewhere you can always find hope.
An amazing story intertwined with old legends. It has a lot of reality in it as well everyone has secrets. Not all families are happy but somewhere you can always find hope.
December 6, 2014
Touching
A sweet, touching story. Nicely written. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it as a light, fast read. Good vacation read.
A sweet, touching story. Nicely written. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it as a light, fast read. Good vacation read.
December 12, 2014
This book surprised me! I needed something last minute to read on a trip; this was a free download but I took a chance. Good little story, easy read, kept my interest.
December 26, 2014
Lovely novel
I highly recommend this book. It is an interesting story with many complexities, told in different times and through the different characters.
I highly recommend this book. It is an interesting story with many complexities, told in different times and through the different characters.
December 31, 2014
It was a well paced story with a couple of interesting twists, but poorly edited, especially in the last half.
January 5, 2015
Good read. The ending is a little abrupt but complete. More than one story going on in this book but the author ties them together very smoothly.
January 15, 2015
Loved it!
A tale of love lost and found.... perfect romantic read on a cold, rainy day. Hated to come to the end.
A tale of love lost and found.... perfect romantic read on a cold, rainy day. Hated to come to the end.
July 13, 2015
The cuckoo's gift
This was an excellent read. The author kept your interest the whole time. You did not guess the ending. The descriptions of things were very vivid.
This was an excellent read. The author kept your interest the whole time. You did not guess the ending. The descriptions of things were very vivid.
July 17, 2015
Good
the story is one that so many people had been cruel to children and the effects of the children who were now grown ups had much to overcome.
the story is one that so many people had been cruel to children and the effects of the children who were now grown ups had much to overcome.
January 8, 2016
Needs edits.
Story is well told, but serious typos and grammatical issues are distracting. Ending was abrupt, but not totally unrealistic or implausible.
Story is well told, but serious typos and grammatical issues are distracting. Ending was abrupt, but not totally unrealistic or implausible.
February 19, 2016
I liked this book a great deal. The ending was somewhat unexpected and interesting.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews