Ladies of the Lake - by Cathy Gohlke (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

After the deep bond of friendship between two young women is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In Ladies of the Lake, the beloved author of Saving Amelie and Night Bird Calling returns with a transformative new historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging.

When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The "Ladies of the Lake," as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that is before Before love and jealousy come between Adelaide and Dorothy, the closest of the friends. Before the dawn of World War I upends their world and casts baseless suspicion onto the German American man they both love. Before a terrible explosion in Halifax Harbor rips the sisterhood irrevocably apart.

Seventeen years later, Rosaline Murray receives an unsuspecting telephone call from Dorothy, now headmistress of Lakeside, inviting her to attend the graduation of a new generation of girls, including Rosaline's beloved daughter. With that call, Rosaline is drawn into a past she'd determined to put behind her. To memories of a man she once loved . . . of a sisterhood she abandoned . . . and of the day she stopped being Adelaide MacNeill.

• Written by a four-time Christy award-winning author!
• Ideal for book clubs--contains helpful discussion questions at the end!
• Perfect for fans of L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and Lauren Willig's Band of Sisters.

Review Quotes

With a youthful passion reminiscent of their literary hero, Anne of Green Gables, four girls at Lakeside Ladies Academy sign a pact to always be true to their friendship, calling themselves the Ladies of the Lake. Twenty-five years later, during the Great Depression, all four harbor secrets and scars. As the women pour into the lives of the next generation of Ladies of the Lake, they realize all have made mistakes and must find their own ways back. From the fear and anti-immigrant sentiment of World War I to the deadly Halifax explosion of 1917, this novel uncovers how the tides of history impact ordinary families and drive their choices into the next generation. Gohlke (A Hundred Crickets Singing) examines the power and peril of female friendship in this novel, which looks at the pull of the past and how women can rewrite the future. VERDICT History buffs looking for deep writing and character development will want to add Gohlke to their lists. Recommend to fans of Lisa Wingate, Amanda Dykes, and Valerie Fraser Luesse.--Library Journal