Friday, September 21, 2012

Review & Giveaway: The Harbormaster's Daughter by Heidi Jon Schmidt





Paperback, 368 pages
Published August 7th 2012 by NAL Trade
ISBN: 0451237870 (ISBN13: 9780451237873)



From the publisher:

On a freezing January night, LaRee Farnham answers a knock at her door to find a policewoman holding three-year old Vita Gray, whose mother has just been murdered a few miles away. LaRee raises Vita with fierce love and attention, while trying to shield her from the aftermath of the murder, which has deeply divided the historic village of Oyster Creek.

Born out of wedlock, Vita is the product of the town’s two very different cultures: the hardworking fishing families of Portuguese descent and the "washashores” from the mainland who’ve drifted to the coast for its beauty. At sixteen, Vita is shy and isolated, estranged from her father and bullied at school, but she is determined to come out of herself, step by step.

When the shocking details of her past surface suddenly, Vita feels utterly betrayed by those closest to her, and the fraught tension between Oyster Creek’s two cultures comes to a head. LaRee must ask hard questions about herself as a mother, while Vita turns to unexpected avenues to find meaning and discovers that the truth is almost never found in black and white . . . .

My thoughts:The Harbormaster's Daughter is an interesting character driven novel. Vita, somewhat different who comes from both sides of  the population, is the book's main focus. Oyster Creek consists of the practical, local Portuguese families and the more "dilettantish " transplants. I grew up in a small seaside town in MA with a large summer population. When I was a kid there was definitely a feel of "townies" vs "summer bums". Schmidt has this attitude and sense of place down to perfection. It took me vividly back to my childhood.

Schmidt explores the effects of murder on a child's upbringing, the aftermath and attitudes of the locals towards that child.  Even as a young child, Vita never felt like she fit in, try as she might. LaRee had tried so hard to make Vita's life normal that she almost did Vita an injustice in not giving her skills in coping with life. We then watch as teenager Vita struggles with her identity, feeling that she doesn't belong to either community. This is much more than just a coming of age novel.

There is also the theme of cultural  identity among the fishermen and their families. For generations, this is how they made their living. There was never a question that the hard work of fishing would provide for families but now with the fish nearly depleted and government regulations hampering the fishermen at every turn, they have had to find other means of employment. I found this interesting social commentary so easy to relate to in today's economy and way of life.

I loved Schmidt's style of character development; it brought all the characters vividly to life. I felt that I liked and understood every character in the book. Of course, some were more likable than others. Overall, a very enjoyable book, well paced with a most satisfying ending. 4****

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Nal Trade in exchange for my honest opinion.

Through the generosity of Nal/Penguin I can give away one copy of the book. Open to US only and
 the deadline to enter is September 29th at 5 PM (est).

Bonus entries are as follows:

+4 for following on Networked blogs. Just remind me under what name.
+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Valid only if posted at least 2 days before deadline.  Leave me a link, please.

If you cannot comment you can still enter by sending me an e mail with The Harbormaster's Daughter  in the subject line. Include your name and e mail and send to florida982002[at]yahoo.com

Good luck!


21 comments:

  1. I loved your review. I grew up in Indianapolis when at that time in my neighborhood we had the established and the immigrants. A completely different experience than you had. When I went to Bloomington to go to college and later live for another 13 years, the culture was different. There were three different groups: college kids,townies and cutters (limestone cutters). And some cultural friction. I am very interest in this character driven book. Thank you for this giveaway.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

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  2. +4 I follow you on Networked Blogs


    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

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  3. +3 I tweeted:

    http://t.co/KsXfuO4m

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

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  4. I grew up in a resort area so I know what you mean about the townie v local thing. This sounds great!

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  5. Thanks for this great review and giveaway which sounds captivating and special. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  6. I enjoyed reading your thoughts about this novel. With great characters and a wonderful story it would be enjoyable. Thanks for this chance. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  7. I love character driven novels and I'm looking forward to reaing this one.
    mamabunny13 at gmail dot com

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  8. +4 I follow on networked blogs - mamabunny shelor
    mamabunny13 at gmail dot com

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  9. Wonderful review! Reminds me of the cliques in school and where I have worked. There's always division of some sort everywhere.
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  10. +4 - Networked blog follower as Karen Purbaugh Barnett.
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  11. +3 tweet
    https://twitter.com/mamabunny13/status/249161763516456960
    mamabunny13 at gmail dot com

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  12. Thanks for the review. I would love to read this!

    lag110 at mchsi dot com

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  13. Thanks for your review and giveaway—I would love to read this book!

    skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net

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  14. I follow you on Networked Blogs (Sheila Korman)!

    skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net

    ReplyDelete
  15. Tweet: https://twitter.com/skkorman/status/249290051144527872

    skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the review. Looks like a great story.

    Lizzi9915 at aol dot com

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  17. Sounds like this book has a lot of layers and much to tell. I got hung up on WHY this lady was given this child to raise. It seemed kind of random how you wrote it but was she a relative or something???

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  18. Sounds really good and entirely different from what I normally read!! Thanks for the chance.

    gfc Martha Lawson
    mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

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  19. Excellent review and now my copy may get pushed to the top of the book stack now!!!

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  20. I hadn't heard of this one before Kaye. It sounds great and I'll add it to my ever growing list of books I want to read.

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  21. I'm not familiar with this one but your review makes me want to read it. Great review Kaye

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