Once in a Blue Moon [Hardcover]

Eileen Goudge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2009

Lindsay and Kerrie Ann are sisters who have known hardship from an early age. Without guidance from their neglectful mother, their only aid came from an unlikely source, a retired exotic dancer by the name of Miss Honi Love. When the girls’ mother was sent to prison, Miss Honi tried unsuccessfully to save them from being separated and sent into foster care.

Thirty years later, Lindsay is still trying to reconnect with her sister. The owner of a bookstore in the sleepy California seaside town of Blue Moon Bay, she was lucky enough to have been adopted by a loving couple. Unbeknownst to her, Kerrie Ann has suffered a very different life. Bounced from one foster home to the next, she ran away as a teenager before becoming a drug-addicted single mother. Now, newly sober, Kerrie Ann is fighting to regain custody of the little girl who was taken from her.

Neither sister’s expectations are met when they’re finally reunited. But as the two sisters engage in the fiercest battles of their lives, they are at last drawn together despite their differences, restoring belief in the unshakable bond of family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As children, sisters Lindsay and Kerri Ann are shunted into the foster care system after their mother is arrested for selling drugs in Goudge's (The Diary) charming newest. Lindsay is fortunate enough to be adopted by a loving family, while younger Kerri Ann bounces from family to family, becoming a teenage runaway, getting into drugs and eventually losing custody of her own daughter. Thirty years after they last saw each other, Kerri Ann shows up on Lindsay's doorstep in a last ditch effort to save herself. Lindsay, of course, has troubles of her own, and her nearly unrecognizable sister turning up is the last thing she needs. The tension in the sisters' relationship is believable, and while romantic subplots are completely predictable, family dynamics are beautifully handled, particularly between the girls and the woman who tried to save them from foster care, stripper Miss Honi. A touching story with wide appeal, Goudge's novel is a sharp example of dysfunctional family fiction. (Oct.)
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About the Author

Eileen Goudge is the New York Times bestselling author whose novels include The Diary, Domestic Affairs, Woman in Red, One Last Dance, Garden of Lies, and Thorns of Truth. There are more than five million copies of her books in print worldwide. She lives with her husband, entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon, in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Vanguard Press; 1 edition (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593155344
• ISBN-13: 978-1593155346
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on the Fourth of July, and it's been fireworks ever since. I began writing at age eight, with short stories and poems, and I haven't looked back since. From the early days of mostly collecting rejection slips, I went on to publish thirty-two novels for young adults, thirteen (and still counting) of women's fiction, as well as numerous short stories and magazine articles, and one cookbook.

Often I'm asked where I get my ideas. Fortunately, I have a wealth of life experiences to draw from. Starting when I dropped out of college to get married, at age eighteen. Two years later I was divorced, with a baby son and no means of support. I ended up briefly on welfare, and stood in line for government surplus food. But every cloud has its silver lining, and this one led to my determination to make it as a professional writer. I borrowed a typewriter, and lacking a desk, plunked it down on the living room floor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Following a string of young adult novels, I published my first adult novel, GARDEN OF LIES, in 1986. The saga of baby girls switched at birth---one rich, the other poor---went on to enjoy a combined total of 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. Though there's no such thing as an overnight success, I felt like one, having gone in a matter of months from not knowing how I was going to pay the rent to wondering what I was going to do with all that money. The first thing I did was fulfill a fantasy born of years of wearing hand-me-downs: I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue and bought a dress...without even looking at the price tag!

I've since gone on to write many more novels. My most recent, THE REPLACEMENT WIFE, is the story of a wife and mother who is forced to make an unthinkable choice and the far-reaching ripple effect it has on her family. Please visit me on my on my website at www.eileengoudge.com. I would love to hear your comments. Or, if you would like to sign up for my newsletter, you can find out what's coming next and/or what I'm up to. Everything I do in life is inspiration.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Give Up September 25, 2009

By Shelly Itkin VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Not all of us are born to wealth or luxury and that is certainly the case of Lindsay and Kerrie Ann. When the children's mom is sent to jail for selling drugs the neighbor Miss Honi Love who is like a mom to them tries to get custody of them but they are sent to live in different foster homes.

Lindsay was lucky and got to be placed in a wonderful, loving and caring family who adopted her as there own daughter while Kerrie Ann was sent from foster home to foster home and her life was going downhill.

Now we move to thirty years later and we get to see how Lindsay has made a life for herself. She owns a bookstore and has Miss Honi living and working with her . Kerrie Ann on the other hand is in more trouble then she can handle she married, left him and after not protecting her daughter Bella she is taken away from her.

Kerrie Ann has one thought only and that is the promise she made to herself to get Bella back at what ever the cost.

Now imagine showing up at your sisters book store with a style of dress, tight and revealing outfit and not to mention the pink in her hair to introduce herself to her sister and ask for her help. The reunion is difficult at first but Kerrie Ann is determined to do whatever it takes to win Bella back. With the support of Ollie, Lindsay and Miss Honi they all go thru some difficult times together but the love and support is there and not just for Kerrie Ann as they help Lindsay with problems she encounters about the property that was left to her by her parents the home she adores and does not want to leave.

It is very touching to see how different worlds come together join forces and each help the other sister and it is a very wonderful book which shows that family is there for you although sometimes it is not easy to except help from others but this story shows when everyone is willing to change there is such a thing as a happy ending.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ONCE IN A BLUE MOON YOU CAN FIND SECOND CHANCES.... November 16, 2010

By Laurel-Rain Snow "Rain" TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

From early childhood, Lindsay understood responsibility. When her mother Crystal chose stripping and drugs above caring for her two daughters, the nurturing fell to Lindsay. Watching over Kerrie Ann became her role in life. But when Crystal was arrested, nothing could keep Lindsay and Kerrie Ann together. Placed in separate foster homes, they lost track of one another for many years.

By the time Kerrie Ann inadvertently discovered that she had an older sister--a fact she hadn't remembered because she'd been three years old at the time of their separation--she was in desperate straits. If anyone needed a big sister, it was Kerrie Ann. Somehow, she had made many of the same mistakes as her own mother, with drug use and bad choices; her daughter Bella ended up in the foster care system.

In their years apart, Lindsay had lucked out and was adopted by a loving family. When her adoptive parents died, they left her the beautiful coastal home she loved. Now a bookstore owner in the small town of Blue Moon Bay, Lindsay has just about everything she ever wanted. But a major developer is trying to crush her so that he can build his resort.

When the two sisters finally reconnect, they both have more than enough trouble to overcome.

Will Kerrie Ann reconnect with the sister she doesn't remember, or will their differences drive a greater wedge between them? How will Kerrie Ann begin to change her life so that she can get her daughter back? And what will a handsome stranger who inadvertently enters Lindsay's life bring to the table? More trouble? Or the possible solution to at least one of her problems.

From the opening pages until the very end, I was compelled to keep reading. The story and the characters felt so familiar to me, especially since I had spent years working with dysfunctional families. Finding the fragile connections between family members and working to strengthen them were my goals, so I could totally relate to the struggles and drama in this story. Once in a Blue Moon is a tale of a family, but it is more than that. It is the ultimate testament to the strength of family bonds, no matter how many obstacles crop up along the way; it is also a reminder of how easily these bonds can be severed and that the task of maintaining them is the most important one in life.

A definite five star read for me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Once In a Blue Moon July 24, 2010

By Zippee

Format:Hardcover

My feelings toward this book were a lot better at the beginning than at the end. As the book went on, the characters began to wear on me - I found them to be annoying and entitled, Miss Honi Love being the exception. The ending dragged on for too many pages, and "shockingly," it ended picture perfect for the characters. A little more true-to-life grit would do this book some good.