A very enjoyable story with engaging characters who deal with their problems and try to come to terms with life. As a Wisconsinite, it was great to read about a classic north woods community. Stonich fully develops 3 characters, yet none of the others are flat space-fillers.
Alpo is about to marry Sissy, after mourning his first wife for 20 years. He is concerned about his son, Pete, who has a drinking problem. Sissy and her sister work hard in the family restaurant and worrying about their mother with Alzheimer's. The small community knows everything about the other residents, but also tend to watch out for each other also. ( )

Every story needs a hook, and for Laurentian Divide it's the question of what happened to Rauri Paar, the odd man who winters alone on his island. His appearance heralds the true return of spring to the residents of Hatchet Inlet. But the answer to that question is not nearly as interesting as the stories of the people who are asking it. There's: the widower who's about to marry the woman nearly 20 years his junior (they're deeply in love); his son, the veterinarian who's also a recovering alcoholic; and his fiancee, who's dealing with a mother with major dementia and reeling from the loss of her neice, who was killed in a drunk driving accident. These are the people who tell the story, of their past and their present, that color the book in shades of ice blue and the green of new buds.

Unlike other books small-town books, I never got a sense of the town itself, although the larger scenery of Minnesota on the Canadian border comes through vividly (it may have helped that I was there not long ago). As for what happened to Rauri Paar, the answer is appropriately anticlimactic, serving to satisfy the the curiosity of both reader and town, without overshadowing the characters the reader has come to identify with. The revelation also allows the book to come to a graceful, natural ending. I was pleased to learn that this is the second book in a planned trilogy, although it can be read alone; I'll almost certainly pick up the first one, and I'll be looking for the third when it comes out. ( )

Sarah’s Stonich’s writing has been compared to books by Richard Russo and the similarity is valid insofar as they both write about everyday people and their day to day lives. A son or daughter who has succumbed to substance abuse, a spouse coping after the loss of their mate, a small town that survives on the latest gossip. Everyone in Hatchet Inlet knows the score and the players. There is nothing special about any of them and that is what makes this book such a wonder.

As Pastor Huttala exhorts to his congregation on the opening pages in his Polka Service Sermon, welcome strangers, sit down and share a coffee with the lonely, listen to someone’s grief, don’t turn away, just listen. Pretty basic stuff which makes for a great book with characters like Alpo and his son Pete; Sissy her dog, Jeff, her sister Laurie, and their mother Louise who is barely holding on to her mind, and the missing Rauri Paar, who may or may not be dead.

Great writing that allowed for a chuckle, a tear, a shake of the head and a whole lot of thinking in between. Thank you NetGalley and the University of Minnesota Press for a copy. ( )

If you’re looking for big-time action adventure — this is not your book.
If your looking for a plot twist with a cliffhanger ending — this is not your book.
But... if your looking for a well-written, quirky story with oddly unique characters then, well, g— this IS your book!
Laurentian Divide by Sarah Stonich is the second book in the Northern Trilogy. I suppose you can read this book as a stand-alone, but I would highly recommend reading Vacationland, the first in the series, before diving into this one. A number of the characters and events from the first book are referenced in this novel and, honestly, it would just make for a better reading experience.

If you read this book and really end up enjoying it, I would also recommend checking out Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. Happy reading and enjoy! ( )

Thanks to Bookishfirst.com and University of Minnesota Press for this ARC.

This book started out slow and it wasn't until page 100 when it finally picked up for me. Once it did, I liked it a lot better.

Set in MN, in a small town, the characters were many and their lives centered around their family diner with many friends passing through.

One of the main characters is Alpo, who marries Sissy who is one of the owners of the cafe, her sister Laurie, and other characters. To me, the main plot was finding Rauri, who lives like a recluse on a small island. Pete, Alpo's son, a former alcoholic, fights with his demons daily.

Living in a rural area during Winter can be hard but it didn't focus on the weather much but on the lives of the many people living life here, only their lives and how close they were. ( )