Publisher: Graphia, April 12, 2010
Paperback: 228 pages
Young Adult
Amy just has moved to the trailer house of her aunt Mae. Amy tries to make a new start at her aunt's place: to avoid the kids in her new town, to stop dwelling on what her future holds after high school and to block out the pain of the break up with her last boyfriend.
After aunt Mae's house is a misty, mysterious clearing. Amy is drawn to the clearing, because its just the perfect place to hide away and think her life over.
But then she sees a boy in the mist..
The boy is Henry, and he is behaving very different than normal teens and wears vintage clothing from around the forties. They soon start too talk, and a romance is born.
But then Amy finds outjust how different Henry really is. Because on his side of the clearing, it's still 1944. By some miracle, Henry and his family are stuck in the past, staving off the tragedy that will strike them in the future.
The crossover the clearing more and more, and they start liking each other more and more. But is it possible to fall in love with a ghost?
I was really impressed by The Clearing. It was a very original story and the plot was just beautiful. The chapters change in narrative from Amy to Henry, which gives it more depth and gives a good view in the point of view of both characters on both sides of the clearing, one living in the present and one in the past. They both have problems to deal with, and they are helping each other out by talking about it.
I found a galley of this book on NetGalley, because the book isn't out yet. It was the first book by Heather Davis I've read (she is one of the amazingly fun YA authors over at BooksboysBuzz Blog), but I am already sure it won't be the last one by her hand I will be reading.
The YA pick for this spring!
