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    Winter Loon: A Novel
    Winter Loon: A Novel
    Winter Loon: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    Winter Loon: A Novel

    Written by Susan Bernhard

    Narrated by Vikas Adam

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A haunting debut novel about family and sacrifice, Winter Loon reminds us of how great a burden the past can be, the toll it exacts, and the freedom that comes from letting it go.

    Abandoned by his father after his mother drowns in a frozen Minnesota lake, fifteen-year-old Wes Ballot is stranded with coldhearted grandparents and holed up in his mother’s old bedroom, surrounded by her remnants and memories. As the wait for his father stretches unforgivably into months, a local girl, whose own mother died a brutal death, captures his heart and imagination, giving Wes fresh air to breathe in the suffocating small town.

    When buried truths come to light in the spring thaw, wounds are exposed and violence erupts, forcing Wes to embark on a search for his missing father, the truth about his mother, and a future he must claim for himself—a quest that begins back at that frozen lake.

    A powerful, page-turning coming-of-age story, Winter Loon captures the resilience of a boy determined to become a worthy man by confronting family demons, clawing his way out of the darkness, and forging a life from the shambles of a broken past.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 1, 2018
    ISBN9781978631403
    Winter Loon: A Novel
    Author

    Susan Bernhard

    Susan Bernhard is a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship recipient and a graduate of the GrubStreet Novel Incubator program. She was born and raised in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana, is a graduate of the University of Maryland, and lives with her husband and two children near Boston. Winter Loon is her first novel. Visit her at www.susanbernhard.com.

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    Reviews for Winter Loon

    4/5

    53 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      Five humongous, glowing, golden stars!

      Once in a while a debut novel will knock off my socks. This one did, so I’m going to follow this author and wait impatiently for her next one.

      I am an amateur at reviewing books, and this one is too good to suffer such an injustice. So I’ll say only that you simply must read it.
    • 4/5
      Some people are not prepared for parenthood because of their childhood traumas Reading this book at times was so difficult as my heart ached for Wes Ballott, the protagonist. Wes's father is a selfish, his Mother is an alcoholic who was sexual abused by her Father, and his Grandparents treated him like he is a dog. After his Mother's death, he is forced to live with his Grandparents in a small town in Minnesota. The only light in his life is his friendship with a family of Native Americans.The writing in this novel was excellent and the only reason why I read it to the end. Extremely sad.
    • 5/5
      A surprisingly good book about family, love and romance.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully written
    • 3/5
      I would really like to give this 3.5 stars. This is a really beautifully written story and it's a really sad story. There is a lovely young man who pulls you through this story and all its sadness, that at times I found a bit hard to believe his rigor to endure without some kind of acting out or breakdown. But in the end, this is a beautiful story about love; real true love and those are the best stories to read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing with an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest opinion.
    • 5/5
      Winter Loon is a gorgeous, emotionally wrought, coming-of-age story about a young boy who watches his mother drown and then must endure the aftermath of her death--a father who abandons him, moving in with his abusive grandparents and falling in love with the beautiful Jolene. The novel is heart-wrenching, gritty, and at times troubling, but one thing that you cannot escape is how you will feel about young Wes Ballot as he tries to figure out his new place in the world. This is a brilliant debut and I can't wait to see where Bernhard will take her readers next.