The House on Malcolm Street

It's the fall of 1920 and Leah Breckenridge's life has changed so much the last year that she is basically lost. Her husband was killed in a train accident, and then her baby son dies from the influenza. If that isn't enough to overwhelm her she couldn't pay her rent, and has found herself along with her six year old daughter Eliza, homeless. She can't go back home to her parents, her mother is dead, and her dad had never really made her feel welcome. The only option she has is to go to Illinois to stay with her husbands Aunt Marigold who runs a boardinghouse. The only issue is Leah has a terrible fear of trains, and that is the only way for her to travel, so she must put her fears aside and do whats best for her daughter.

Upon arriving in Illinois she meets Josiah who offers to take her the boarding house only to find out that he actually lives there with Marigold. Turns out he was a childhood friend of Leah's husband and a distant relative of Marigold. Leah and Josiah don't hit it off at all, she gets the feeling he doesn't want her there, but unknown to her is the fact that he is dealing with his own grief..

This was an amazing story, Lisha Kelly really knows how to draw you into a story and hold your attention until the end. She tells this story from a perspective of two people, Leah and Josiah. In telling the story this way you get swept away with both characters feelings, their pain and grief literally jump off the page. The nightmares and the fear of trains that had plagued Leah most of her life draws us in with a bit of mystery which isn't resolved until the end of the story. The characters develop very well and you quickly become immersed in their stories.

Leah has lost so much, even her faith in God, but her daughter had enough for both of them, and when they get to Marigold's house and see what a kind, compassionate woman she is, they were relieved that they might find a home.

I can easily see how there could be a sequel to this book, I really hope that's the case because I want to read more about the people on Malcolm Street.