Title : A Walk in the Sun
Author : Michelle Zink
Published : May 3rd 2016
Publisher : HarperTeen
Genre : Contemporary YA
Series : N/A
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“Rose Darrow never wanted to spend her life working on her family’s farm. But when her family is rocked by an unexpected tragedy she has no choice but to put her plans for the future—and dreams of escaping her small town—on hold.Bodhi Lowell left home as a kid and hasn’t looked back. Years of working farm jobs has given him the one thing he wants most: freedom to travel without answering to anyone. He’s already looking past his job at Darrow Farm and plans on leaving in September—until he meets Rose.
Neither Rose nor Bodhi can deny the sparks flying between them, but with the end of summer looming, they must decide if it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all….”
I have been on a contemporary YA, sappy love story kick lately. I’m not sure what is up. I used to read mainly fantasy, dystopian, horror….anything but romance. Recently though, that’s all I want to read. Weird how times change, huh?
Anyway…I had this book on my Kindle for…I don’t know how long. I needed a book that was light and happy, and while I got that with A Walk in the Sun, I also got a story that had a plot based on grief, on hurt, and on loss. All together, it mixed into a sweet story about two people who met on a farm and fell in love.
Rose is a senior in high school. Her mom passed away a few months before the story starts. Her father is suffering from depression in dealing with the loss and spends most of his time in bed. Because of this, their family’s cattle farm has fallen on Rose’s shoulders. Her aunt, Marty, hires Bodhi Lowell to as a farmhand to help Rose with the cows over the summer.
Bodhi is a traveler, and has spent the past five years working on farms across the country after leaving his home and abusive father at fourteen. He plans on going to New York, and then leaving the United States and heading to Europe. Then he meets Rose, and those plans change.
A Walk in the Sun was not totally what I was expecting, but it was definitely the light read that I needed. Even the parts that mentioned Rose’s grief were not too overwhelming. Ultimately, this story was a love story. And the love was sweet, and hopeful, and new.
While it had it’s positives, one thing I wasn’t crazy about was the insta-love. I understand summer flings, and falling in love quickly, and being young. But it just felt like they were “in love” way too soon. And then Rose left her father, her aunt, her hometown, her farm for Bodhi. After only knowing him for three months. For someone who had been pretty settled and grounded, that didn’t seem very realistic. I also wanted more out of Bodhi’s backstory. When his father came to visit, I was hoping that there would be more to it, but even that was over in what felt like 10 pages.
One thing I did like, was the depth of knowledge Michelle Zink had on farm life. I liked reading about the horses, the cattle feeding. The plot with Buttercup was really interesting for me, and I found myself rooting for the little calf.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad novel. I will probably read more of Michelle Zink’s work.
Rating : 3/5 stars
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