Clearing

Sometimes you get a book that you just can't put down... The Clearing is one of those! It's a pretty quick read, but every page is delightful. Heather Davis, the author, does a superb job of delineating the two characters and their respective time periods. The story follows two teens from two different eras and their chance encounter behind their respective houses. You find yourself really caring about the main characters, Amy and Henry. Their characters are well-developed and so captivating. If I had one negative thing to say about the book, it would be in how the sub-characters plight is handled. Their ease in accepting this strange occurrence was too outlandish. The story, as a whole, is a must read. The few inconsistencies don't matter when you have such a special story.

Moving to her Aunt Mae's farm after escaping an abusive relationship, Amy finds herself attracted to a clearing surrounded by a deep fog where she meets Henry. It soon becomes apparent that Henry is stuck in the past - 1944 to be exact - reliving the same summer over and over. Amy and Henry form a bond that puts them both on the path to accepting life as it comes. I'm a sucker for a good time travel story, and this one - with its simple yet believable logic and undeniably clever storyline - really delivered on its premise. I'm also a sucker for impossible, bittersweet love affairs - the ones that sneak up on me and make me sigh when closing the last page. The atmosphere Davis creates in THE CLEARING is pitch perfect. It strikes me as a cross between TUCK EVERLASTING and THE OTHERS (the movie starring Nicole Kidman) - though the story itself is quite different. I might have liked to have seen the scenes between Amy and Henry fleshed out a bit more. I do like the restrained nature of the writing - it just that, though their relationship is tender and heartfelt, it never has the chance to soar to the lofty heights you might expect from a book that declares "True Love is Timeless" on the cover. Still, this is a real time travel treat.

As "The Clearing" opens, we are privy to the main character's thoughts, and we know that things are not quite right. She lies awake, listening to the sound of late-night TV coming from her mother and step-father's room. Most of all - at night - she wishes herself to be far, far away. She imagines a life far away from her suburban neighborhood, far away from the green lawns of her high school, but most of all, far away from a guy named Matt and the bruises he left on her arms. To the reader of Heather Davis' second YA novel, Amy seems like a broken soul. She is unhappy when her friends think she is lying about Matt and the bruises, when her mom and stepdad have a life of their own, and when she realizes that high school life in the small town of Rockville is no different than high school life in the big city of Seattle. When Amy suggests moving in with her great aunt Mae in the North Cascade Mountains, her mother doesn't argue, leaving Amy feeling bereft and alone, but she is out of options. Aunt Mae is gracious and loving and seems to think the balm for a broken spirit is manual labor. Living up in the mountains means there is always wood to chop for the fire, apples to peel for pie, and weeds to remove from the garden. It is when Amy grows bored with her wood chopping that Aunt Mae's german shepherd, Katie, provides entertainment with a game of fetch. Where she leads Amy starts the mystery that is the true adventure of this book. The path they are on ends in a rectangular field, bordered on three sides by trees and on the fourth by mist. It is this mist that feels like a secret hiding place and allows Amy some peace from her memories of an abusive boyfriend, a mom who did nothing, and the friends who didn't believe her. As calming as going into the mist is, it's still kind of weird and Amy is curious as to what's on the other side. When she does get to the other side of the mist, she meets Henry who is mowing the lawn with a push mower and wearing some "old-school farmer outfit." Amy is sure he must be in some religious group that doesn't believe in new technology or something to explain his super retro ways. Instead, the truth between them becomes apparent as the story continues. Henry may seem like he is old school to Amy; but in fact, he is in perfect sync with his time period, which happens to be 1944. Something about the mist in the clearing shifts their time and space continuums. As Amy struggles with the concept, she and Henry forge a friendship and learn about each other bit by bit. In doing so, Amy reclaims her power as a person and begins to lose her shame of being treated so badly by Matt. Most of all it is Henry's sense of chivalry that makes this a heartwarming story. He sees the fear in Amy's eyes when he gets too close, and he has this powerful urge to keep her safe. While he's never felt so strongly about a girl before, his ties to Amy are tenuous, at best. He fears that if he lets reality in beyon

After Heather's lackluster of a first novel, I wasn't sure too sure of what to except from The Clearing. Luckily, it turned out to be a big step up from the disaster that was Never Cry Werewolf. Simply because The Clearing was everything that Never Cry Werewolf wasn't. What was that? Well a beautifully told and heart-wrenching (slightly paranormal) love story between two teens that will leave you absolutely breathless by the end and pondering what exactly happens next to these two characters that you can't help but love. The Clearing is told in the point of view of not only Amy, but Henry too, leaving you to see both feelings, desires, and wants from life. Amy is a character whose been hurt a lot in her short time on Earth because from her abusive, jerk of an ex-boyfriend to untrustworthy friends she's defiantly had her share of tears, but all this changes when she meet the marvelous Henry who has also seen his share of heartbreak. Together, they begin to make sense of the lives they have been given and help lift and see each other in a way that they can't do themselves. I absolutely loved their relationship with each other because of the fact of how real it felt. Since at first they start out as friends, but in the end they became so much more of then what they excepted, leaving such a strong and innocent love to bloom, and in all showing you that true love can exist and come to you when you least except it. The plot while basic, never managed to have me the least bit bored because of how caught up I was in Henry and Amy's lives. And while the writing could have been better and the story more developed, I overlooked it's flawed ways instead seeing The Clearing as what it was meant to be; a story that gives you hope that when facing huge problems you can be strong and overcome them, becoming a person you're proud to be becasue of it. And the ending was something I wasn't excepting in the least, and while it did have it's faults, I went along with it and hoped that somehow everything in these character's lives ended up being the way it was supposed to be: magical. In all, I highly suggest that no matter who you are, you give this novel a try because I promise you that you won't be the least bit disappointed in this tale. Grade: A-

Amy has moved in with her Great Aunt to get away from her abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Matt. Now living in the middle of nowhere, Amy is having to make new friends and start over at a new high school. She finds it difficult leaving the past behind and letting her guard down with her new friends. Seeking comfort from everything that's going on around her, she sees a misty clearing behind her Aunt's house. When she crosses the other side she meets Henry, a boy unlike the others who actually makes her feel safe. Henry is stuck in the year 1944 with his mother and Grandfather. Nothing changes, nothing grows old; he seeks solace alone in the books he's read dozens of times. When he meets Amy, everything he knows begins to change. His mother suddenly begins to ask questions, and his grandfather begins to remember things he never had before. Was it a mistake for Henry to bring Amy to the other side? Once Amy realizes what is going on, will she run or decide to stay with the only person who makes her feel alive? THE CLEARING is an incredibly emotional love story. Filled with mystery, sorrow, loneliness, and heartache, be prepared to grab a box of tissues - it's a tearjerker. Reviewed by: Lesley