So Far Away: A Novel [Hardcover]

Meg Mitchell Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 2012

Thirteen-year-old Natalie Gallagher is trying to escape: from her parents' ugly divorce, and from the vicious cyber-bullying of her former best friend. Adrift, confused, she is a girl trying to find her way in a world that seems to either neglect or despise her. Her salvation arrives in an unlikely form: Bridget O'Connell, an Irish maid working for a wealthy Boston family. The catch? Bridget lives only in the pages of a dusty old 1920s diary Natalie unearthed in her mother's basement. But the life she describes is as troubling - and mysterious - as the one Natalie is trying to navigate herself, almost a century later.

I am writing this down because this is my story. There were only ever two people who knew my secret, and both are gone before me.

Who was Bridget, and what became of her?

Natalie escapes into the diary, eager to unlock its secrets, and reluctantly accepts the help of library archivist Kathleen Lynch, a widow with her own painful secret: she's estranged from her only daughter. Kathleen sees in Natalie traces of the daughter she has lost, and in Bridget, another spirited young woman at risk.

What could an Irish immigrant domestic servant from the 1920s teach them both? As the troubles of a very modern world close in around them, and Natalie's torments at school escalate, the faded pages of Bridget's journal unite the lonely girl and the unhappy widow - and might even change their lives forever.

Editorial Reviews

Review

PRAISE FOR SO FAR AWAY:

"So Far Away is the moving story of three very different women whose lives improbably intersect. Meg Mitchell Moore effortlessly moves among a teenage cyber-bullying victim, a mother who longs for her lost daughter, and a 1920s Irish domestic with a shocking secret. The result is a powerful page-turner about love, loss, motherhood, and friendship." (J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Maine and Commencement )

"Meg Mitchell Moore has taken the hot button topic of cyber bullying and crafted a story so compellingly real you will never forget her thirteen-year-old heroine, Natalie Gallagher. Moore's pitch-perfect rendering of this girl's voice is nothing short of stunning." (Laura Harrington, author of Alice Bliss )

"This sweet and thoughtful novel is both tense and elegiac, exploring the damage we inflict on ourselves and each other, and the strength it takes to heal." (Publishers Weekly )

"Moore wields a powerfully emotive style, not unlike that of Francine Prose, in which she displays both deep compassion and winning humor...A beautifully told story of human fallibility and connection." (Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist (Starred Review) )

PRAISE FOR THE ARRIVALS:

"What an intoxicating read! In The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore takes on the age-old topic of parents and children and their children with a fresh perspective, a canny understanding of human emotion, and the absolute best dialogue I have ever read. Both charming and deeply meaningful, this is one book you must not miss."
--- Elin Hilderbrand

"A tender portrait of a tangled, complicated, all-too real family, The Arrivals left me teary and fulfilled. A sparkling, page-turning debut."
--- Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of The One That I Want, Time of My Life, and Department of Lost and Found

"With crisp, insightful prose, Meg Mitchell Moore examines the anxieties, intimacies, wounds, misunderstandings, and joys that bind the Owen family as they face one long summer together. This lovely, satisfying story is an absolute pleasure to read."
--- Kelly O'Connor McNees, author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

"Meg Mitchell Moore's debut novel, The Arrivals, reads like the finest of guidebooks, pointing out the beauty and excitement of an untraveled place, yet simultaneously offering readers a map of their own families, with the intricacies, misunderstandings, heartbreak, and forgiveness found there. Under Moore's deft and gloriously talented hand, the best kind of story telling is woven with epiphany, and readers will emerge knowing a place so close to home in an entirely new way."
--- Siobhan Fallon, author of You Know When the Men Are Gone

"[A] promising debut...Moore finds a crisp narrative in the morass of an overpacked household, and she keeps the proceedings moving with an assurance and outlook reminiscent of Laurie Colwin, evoking emotional universals with the simplest of observations." (Publishers Weekly )

About the Author

Meg Mitchell Moore is the author of The Arrivals. She worked for several years as a journalist and her articles have been published in a wide variety of business and consumer magazines. She received a master's degree in English literature from New York University. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and their three children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books; 1 edition (May 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316097691
• ISBN-13: 978-0316097697
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Meg Mitchell Moore worked for several years as a journalist. Her work has been published in Yankee, Continental, Women's Health, Advertising Age and many other business and consumer magazines. She received a B.A. from Providence College and a master's degree in English Literature from New York University. The Arrivals is her first novel. Her second novel will be published by Reagan Arthur Books in 2012. Meg lives in northern Massachusetts with her husband, their three children and a beloved border collie.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So Far Away June 28, 2012

By Sheri Newton

Format:Hardcover

So Far Away by Meg Mitchell Moore is a marvelously written story about mothers, daughters, and how chance encounters can change the life of people, even if only meeting through the pages of a diary a century after it was written.

So Far Away is a brilliantly woven story told through the two main characters of Kathleen and Natalie. Kathleen is the mother figure whose own daughter wants nothing to do with her. However, when Natalie comes into the archives where she works, she finds the chance to help this young teen with her troubles, and an unlikely friendship begins.

This novel also describes how cyber-bullying and real life bullying can have a devastating effect on those involved, and the message on this is one not to be missed. The character Natalie is a very realistic teen that struggles with being bullied in school, and her source of courage is found through the diary that she finds in her basement.

I really enjoyed this novel, and found it to be a touching story about the struggles of life and how we can find the courage to overcome them, even if from unlikely sources. I highly recommend it.

* Thank you to the publisher of So Far Away, Reagan Arthur Books, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless and timely May 27, 2012

By SRM

Format:Hardcover

This is a complex and multilayered story of love and loss. Meg Mitchell Moore eloquently tells the story of three different women and draws the reader into the joy and heartache of each. She addresses issues both timeless (the loss of a child) and timely (cyberbullying) in a way that stayed with me long after I'd finished reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed but gripping July 3, 2012

By Laurie A. Brown VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The theme of `So Far Away', spelled out frequently, is that teenaged girls are in danger. Always. Whether the danger is girls their own age, predatory bosses, or heroin, the threat is there.

The story has three main protagonists: Kathleen, a 50ish archivist who lost her own daughter many years ago; Natalie, a 13 year old whose parents have split and are ignoring her as she gets bullied at school and on line; and Bridget, a young woman who emigrated from Ireland in the 1920s to work as a maid. Natalie seeks Kathleen's help to find her ancestors for a school project, and ends up finding Bridget's notebook, written when she was old. How Natalie deals with the bullying, how Kathleen deals with her loss and with Natalie and the connection between Bridget and Natalie make up a story of loss, survival, and how much everyone depends on other people.

I couldn't put the book down; it grabbed me and wouldn't let go. But at the same time, I felt it had flaws. Kathleen is incredibly pushy and I actually didn't care for her a great deal, even though I felt sympathy for her situation. Natalie's father was almost a caricature of self involvement. The characters just needed a bit more work. And the theme of girls being in danger at all times being told instead of being shown so many times was heavy handed. Still, it's a very good book, and now I must look for the author's first novel.