I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All opinions are my own.

A grieving mother and the ghost of her daughter seek a way of moving on in author Alison McBain’s “Between North & Prior.”

THE SYNOPSIS

Having already lost her daughter once, has Isla lost the most important piece of her identity as well?

Cancer is an ugly word. Even though several years have passed, Isla’s never gotten over the death of her eleven-year-old daughter, Rory. The resulting grief killed her marriage and her teaching career at the same time, and for a while she thought the pain would kill her also.

But Isla has found a new hope to keep her going. She’s no longer alone. Because Rory has returned.

Despite wanting to be grateful for her daughter’s ghostly presence, Isla still feels a heavy weight of grief. Rory’s spirit will never grow older. She’ll never be able to play with other children or go to school or experience any of the normal things that Isla once hoped for her.

Time can never reverse, but maybe returning to their roots is the only way to move forward again. Isla packs up the contents of their NYC apartment and drives across the Canadian border with her daughter riding shotgun. Their destination: Alberta, the province where she was born. Starting over in Harmony Lake feels like the first important step to facing what the future can hold—for both of them.

THE REVIEW

Losing a loved one is never easy, but losing a child is a pain that no one could ever imagine, and no one ever wants to. The heartfelt, emotional depth of this narrative is the foundation that propels the story, elevating its spiritual/paranormal aspects and character development by highlighting the grieving process. One quote that has always stood out to me, and that touches on grief specifically, was from the MCU of all places, when the character known as Vision tells Wanda, “What is grief if not love persevering?” The author does a heartfelt, phenomenal job of making this quote feel fully represented in the narrative.

Not only does the setting of moving back to Canada become a powerful element of the story, but the emotional depth of the mother and daughter, and the theme of loss and grief and the role it plays in people’s lives, make the story feel relatable and engaging. While the story is primarily from the mother’s perspective, seeing both mother and daughter struggle to let go of the past and find a path forward is powerful and relatable today.

THE VERDICT

A story of love, loss, and the path forward, Author, Alison McBain’s “Between North & Prior” is a must-read contemporary fiction novel. The twists and turns that come in the story are definitely grounded in the emotional depth of the characters’ arcs and the journey to not only overcome their grief, but to learn to live again in one way or another, allowing readers to connect emotionally and distinctly with these characters and the road to recovery they both take. If you haven’t yet, please be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alison McBain (1979-not dead yet) was born in Canada, raised in California, and arrived in Canada with a few detours along the way. She has over two hundred poems and short stories published in magazines and anthologies such as Flash Fiction Online, On Spec, and Litro. Her debut and award-winning novel is The Rose Queen: Book 1 of the Rose Trilogy, and was shortly followed by a collection of her short fantasy fiction called Enchantress of Books. When not obsessing over her plan of survival for a zombie apocalypse, she practices origami meditation and draws all over the walls of her house with the enthusiastic help of her kids. In her spare time, she is one of the editors at Scribes*MICRO*Fiction (which publishes flash stories & poems and is always open for submissions). You can chat with her at @AlisonMcBain or read her blog at www.alisonmcbain.com