The Way the Crow Flies

The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald is about decisions and the consequences of those decisions.

Madeleine McCarthy is 9 in 1963 when her family moves back to Canada from West Germany. Her father is in the Royal Canadian Air Force and has just been posted to the station at Centralia, MOD (middle of nowhere).

Madeleine enters grade four as her father agrees to do a favor for his former flight instructor - who is now rumored to be in intelligence work. His decision to help out changes the course of his life along with that of his family and neighbors.

Inspired by a murder that took over the media in Canada in 1963 and is still talked about today, MacDonald looks at the life of one young girl who grows up in the Cold War and how she is affected by major events in her child hood. The section of the book that deals with her adult life is as fragmented as her thinking at the time, until she can come to terms with her past.

Ann-Marie MacDonald is an incredible writer. Her books feel like instant classics exploring subjects that will always affect people regardless of the time period. Her subjects are raw and realistic so they are sometimes painful to read, but her talent in storytelling keeps readers going through any subject.

MacDonald, Ann-Marie. (2004). The Way the Crow Flies. New York: Harper Perennial.

Fall On Your Knees

Fall on Yours Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald is likely to be one of the most well written books you will ever read. MacDonald gets ideas across in succinct yet detailed sentences that capture the imagination. The book is so good that even when you decided you dislike almost every character, you will have to keep reading. (By the end you may like some of the characters again.)

This epic novel follows the Piper family from young James through his grandchildren as they grow, fight, and escape Cape Breton Island off of the coast of Nova Scotia.

Each character is beautiful and flawed and real - Materia who has a daughter she does not love; Kathleen who only cares about singing; Mercedes who hides behind her religion; Frances who is too bold for her own good; and Lily who is the saint. Each character whether part of the Piper family or outside is well developed and enticing.

It is no wonder this first book by MacDonald has won dozens of awards.

MacDonald, Ann-Marie. (1996). Fall on Your Knees. New York: Simon & Schuster.