Terri DuLong, Spinning Forward

Spinning Forward

Terri DuLong

Kensington, Nov 2009, $15.00

ISBN: 9780758232045

Fifty-two year old Sydney Webster has no time to grieve the death of her husband in a car crash. Instead she unceremoniously is tossed out of their house and finds herself overwhelmed by debt caused by her late spouse's gambling addiction and to top off her woes, she is the recipient of their adult daughter Monica's anger.

Her friend Alison invites Sydney to live at her bed-and-breakfast on Cedar Key, Florida. Needing to pay her bills, Sydney, using her hobby, opens a knitting shop to the chagrin of brusque Noah Hale, who wanted the property. While living on the island, Sydney who was adopted decides to seek out her biological parents after meeting the town grouch Sybile, who Alison agrees looks so similar to her that they must be related.

Spinning Forward is an intriguing tale of a woman who gave up her independence for comfort choosing to ignore her late husband's peccadilloes. In some ways though. Sydney is over fifty, this is a coming of age or perhaps better described as a second chance coming of age saga. Although the romance seems more a requirement that feels unnecessary, the cast is super strong even the evanescent Miss Elly, but this is the unsinkable Sydney's tale from start to finish.

Harriet Klausner