Skyward

One more time Mary Alice Monroe has come through for her readers! Skyward was such a delightful book to read. I couldn't put it down...loved the characters, the setting and all the "real" information of the Carolinas that was hidden in the story. I'm looking forward to another of her books and have recently started enjoying Girl in the Mirror. Skyward has been passed on to others waiting in line to enjoy it! Thanks, Mary Alice, for sharing your talents! Minnie Bourque

As neither an outdoorswoman nor a lover of animals, particularly birds of prey, it's a testament to the remarkable talent of Mary Alice Monroe that this book fascinated me as profoundly as it did. Their struggle to be rehabilitated and their flight of freedom is such a powerfully beautiful metaphor, however the birds were not the only beings that found healing in this remarkable story. As a health professional, I was immediately drawn to Ella's character and the loving way she interacted with Marion, providing so much more than mere medical care. Harris was a bit more difficult to warm up to because he was so focused on his work that he seemed to neglect his daughter's emotional needs. Yet, he was a man of such great integrity that it wasn't long before he won me over. The secondary characters gave additional depth to the story - Lijah's Gullah folklore was a wonderful cultural immersion. The inspired way he interacted with Brady, the wayward teen who so desperately needed the guidance of a strong male role model to change the course of his life, was very admirable. And the low country of coastal South Carolina was a brilliantly described setting, making the story literally soar off the pages! I genuinely appreciated this story and highly recommend it to all who wish to be enlightened.

After reading Mary Alice Monroe's "Beach House" I was taken by her writing style and followed with Skyward. I was thrilled to find that this book was every bit as enjoyable as Beach House, and had many of the same strengths-- beautifully written characters and a story that seamlessly weaved the history and beauty of the place where the story takes place--you truly feel part of the story.In SKYWARD, Monroe weaves a beautiful tale about love, loss and the strength of the human spirit. I found this book to be a quick and enjoyable read-- the characters were well written and so believable that I felt I knew them. This is the kind of story that you are sad to see come to an end. Wonderful!

I recommend this book to everyone and anyone. After reading her last book The Beach House, I beacame much more aware with the status of our beloved sea turtles. Now after reading Skyward, I have a new appreciation for the birds of prey. Monroe skillfully intertwines the power and beauty of natural elements into her stories. Her novel was so captivating that I didn't even realize how I had come to better understand the low-country area that I'm from. Reading this novel will make you feel like a better person just for reading it. No matter where you are from, this novel will leave you speaking with a Southern drawl. I absolutely loved it.

Harris Henderson is in shock from the medical report that informs him that his beloved five-year-old daughter Marion suffers from the worst type of juvenile diabetes. Desperate he advertises for a caregiver, hoping to have someone apply to live in his isolated bird sanctuary and rehabilitation center in the wilderness in the South Carolina Low Country. However, he feels lucky when a registered pediatric nurse answers his ad. Weary Ella Majors feels burned out helplessly watching children die after a decade in the ER; she feels the change from Vermont to Carolina will rejuvenate her. The two agree on a one-year contract after a one-month trial period.Harris soon finds himself surrounded by two-legged prey. Besides his new employee, a teen is sentenced to giving community time at the center for shooting a bird. Marian's druggie mother arrives causing havoc for one all. However, amidst these intruders, Harris and Ella fall in love even while the nurse also loves her patient.This strong contemporary romance stays above the soap opera level that the plot could have become because the big three members of the cast seems very real as they reach out to one another. The birds and their home provide an atypical background so that the audience will appreciate the way Mary Alice Monroe spins it into the tale. The teen enables the reader to see how much the adults care, but the mother is too pathetic too matter except in adding unnecessary tension to a powerful human drama.Harriet Klausner