Reading a book set in a beach town seems like such a perfect fit in the summer months (and maybe even more so if you actually are hanging out in a beach town). There are times when I purposefully reach for a lighter novel, for a quick satisfying read.
The Mailbox by Mary Beth Whalen is this kind of book. It is a great selection if you enjoy Christian women’s fiction. It’s not always my number one go-to genre, but I found it to be quite an enjoyable read.
The mailbox in the book is based on a real life mailbox in Sunset Beach, North Carolina where people leave letters that are collected by the anonymous Kindred Spirit. In the novel, the mailbox and the beach town is a place that grounds Lindsey and with which she strongly identifies. She first visited the town when she went to stay with her aunt and uncle the summer she was fifteen. The fact that she experienced her first love there made the place mean even more. The next summer would be the last that she and Campbell would be together, but that didn’t keep her from returning for the next twenty years. Each year she visits that mailbox and pours out her heart about the events in her life. Through these letters, and the narrative of the actual events of the summer, we get to know Lindsey and her struggles — as a wife, a friend, and a mother.
One thing that I love about contemporary women’s fiction is that it’s almost like having a chat with a friend about her life. When I read these kinds of stories, I feel as if I understand people’s situations and struggles just a little bit better.
This won’t surprise you, but Jennifer Donovan loves to pass her time on the beach with a good book. She blogs at Snapshot.