Sarah's Legacy

Sarah Gilmore and her mom, Maggie, are poor. Not living on the street, destitute, but living in an apartment without much money for anything other than food and bills. Until one day when what seems like a miracle happens. Maggie's Great Aunt Sarah, whom the younger Sarah has never met, has passed away, and left everything to them. There are only two conditions to the will. The first is that they must live in Aunt Sarah's house until Sarah is done with school, which means relocating from Ontario to New Brunswick. The second is that they have to take care of Aunt Sarah's pets, which turn out to be five cats, four dogs, a parrot, and a skunk. Everything in their new life seems to be going well in short order. They are settling into the house, Sarah has a few friends at school, and Maggie might have a boyfriend. Sarah has some problems with the mom/boyfriend thing, but she's working on it. Until she accidentally insults him, in public, while he's standing behind her, and ruins the budding relationship. Her only salvation becomes the journals she finds in a hidden compartment in Aunt Sarah's hope chest. Through Aunt Sarah's journals, the younger Sarah gets to know this distant aunt who changed her life. Most importantly, she learns about loneliness and love. This was a beautifully written book. It made me grateful for the time I've had, and still have, with my family. There are some subplots and questions that are brought up once and never touched again, which is a little confusing. Younger Sarah is a wonderful character, you don't always like her, which somehow makes her more lovable and real. Overall, I really liked this book. It made me feel warm and cozy, and I'm going to go bake my Grandma's bread recipe now. Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

Once I began reading Sarah's Legacy, I couldn't put it down. Valerie Sherrard is masterful in hooking the reader. The novel is a pair of intertwining tales. The first is about 12 year old Sarah, who with her mother, moves into a house that has been bequeathed to them by a great-aunt whose name was also Sarah. Neither Sarah nor her mother ever met Aunt Sarah, so it is a mystery why the woman would bequeath this house to them. When they get there, they find out that Aunt Sarah has also left something else for her young namesake: her diary. The past story is simple yet just as intriguing as the contemporary one. As each story reveals itself, the reader is immersed in the lives of fully fleshed out characters with human faults and foibles. I love the way that Sherrard can do this with virtually no description. I was sorry when the novel ended because I was so emotionally attached to the characters. Kudos to Sherrard for being able to write yet another absorbing novel. This is quite different from her Shelby books. I especially enjoyed the past portion and it made me wonder whether Sherrard might delve into writing historical fiction. It would be good!!