Roberta's Woods

Betty Cotter weaves beautiful storytelling surrounding the rural Rhode Island landscape. Her characters are well-developed and help breathe life into the tale, about a young woman who moves back to her hometown amid a growing energy crisis in the United States. This a story about what happens to the everyman when confronted with a realistic disaster when our energy resources grow thin. What an incredibly plausible scenario! The struggle to stay on their land against the political will of the state is a wonderful example of human perseverance. I first read this novel over a year ago after taking the book out at my local library. The story stuck with me, and I just purchased my own copy, which I have read a second time and plan to read over and over again.

Read this book and you'll remember it every time you fill up your car with gas. It's a bit of a love story, a bit of a mystery, but it is also a prescient look at southern New England at a time that may not be far off, when the oil begins to run out. This clever premise is the backdrop for a page-turning story of the struggles of an old Rhode Island family facing not only the challenges of a new world order, but some of its own long hidden demons that are finally rising to the surface. Cotter has a wonderful sense of the past and future and bridges them beautifully in a story that will keep you spellbound to the surprising end. It might also make you appreciate even $4 a gallon gas.

It's easy to try and label this novel chick lit, because it involves a woman, but its so much more than that. It's almost like a historical novel set in the future. A gas crisis a few years down the road (made very real by the nation's current situation) has forced people to revert back to many old fashioned ways, as power outages and the lack of cars make modern life pretty difficult. But on top of that there is a mystery built in here, as Roberta of the title returns to her family home and embarks on a journey of self-discovery. I enjoyed this book, and I found myself turning pages to find out what was going to happen next. Great characters and an action-packed ending made it an engrossing read.

Rick Koster of The New London Day called Roberta's Woods "a love letter to Rhode Island and a way of life that might be vanishing," and I'd agree with that assessment. An energy crisis in the year 2013 has the state of Rhode Island trying to force everyone to live in a ring around Providence. But some of the Swamp Yankees in South County refuse to give up their homes and land, and as their oil and gas supplies dwindle and the lights go out their independent way of living is put to a test. With the price of gas hitting $4 a gallon this book could not be more timely. Add Cotter's wonderful characterization of Swamp Yankees and this book is a great read.

In 2013, the energy crisis has become a problem of epic proportions changing lifestyles across the country. University of Maryland downsizes its staff; thus Professor Roberta Wilcox loses her teaching position there. With no place else to go she takes the train to her hometown of Coward's Hole, Rhode Island for the first time in eight years. Her father Alton fails to meet her at the station because he cannot afford to use up his gas allotment. Instead she pays the nosy mail person to drop her off at her family home. Her octogenarian grandma May welcomes her home while her father remains distant and her half-sister Paula overtly hostile. Meanwhile Senator Fred Maine takes charge of the state's energy supply as the official Rationing Agent; forcing Alton to overwork his employees, himself and his lumber mill to cut wood before he is shut down due to the lack of fuel. Relocation Agent Anthony Piccirelli tries to persuade these "Swamp Yankees" to sell their land to the government and move into energy clusters. Roberta struggles to comprehend the dynamics including doubts that Maine is playing fair while she also has two men interested in her; former boyfriend Steve Reynolds and back to nature independent Lucas Whitford. This terrific look at the near future Bush domestic legacy is a wonderful suspense thriller that describes a future with immense energy shortfalls forcing difficult decisions to be made by individuals and government. Although Roberta is the star who holds the futuristic tale together, the support cast with their varying reactions to the crisis and how to "fix" it make Betty J. Cotter's bleak vision seem genuine. Harriet Klausner