The Kelly family lives in a fishing town in Maine where they have been renovating their dream home on the oceanfront called, "The Salt House." As the family is hit with a tragedy, they all deal with grief in different ways and their dreams are put on hold.

"Somehow we'd managed to survive losing her, each of us in our own way. But now we had to figure out how to live without her. Together."

Jack puts all his energy into his lobster business, staying away long hours and always coming home late and exhausted.

Hope is a writer who hasn't been able to write since the tragedy occured. She has spent an entire year not working and crying through the days in a fog of grief and dispair.

Jack and Hope's marriage is in shambles and may not survive. They have two daughters, Kat and Jessica. Kat is eight and worried about her family. Jessica is about to turn seventeen and when she meets a boy that has ties to her father's past, the shit hits the fan.

A great read for anytime, but perfect for the summer. ( )

4.5 stars.

The Salt House by Lisa Duffy is a poignant portrait of a grief stricken family who are trying to cope with the tragic death of their baby.

Although it has been one year since the heartrending loss of baby Maddie, Hope Kelly is still mourning her daughter’s loss. Unable to move forward, her once happy marriage to Jack is faltering and she is somewhat distant from their two daughters, eight year old Kat and sixteen year old Jess. Since she has not been able to write her column, the family is also struggling financially since they are juggling two mortgages. Renovations on Jack’s family’s home, The Salt House, are also at a standstill and he refuses to give in to her pleas to sell the property. Although Hope is aware she is emotionally disengaged, she cannot seem to be able to remove herself from this destructive pattern.

While Hope gives in to her grief, Jack throws himself into work and spends long hours out on the water hauling in his lobster traps. He is barely able to pay the bills as their savings dwindle and Hope’s income dries up. In the midst of trying to salvage his marriage, his unresolved past comes back to haunt him when Ryland Finn returns to town and threatens Jack’s livelihood. Jack is already on edge when his exhaustion and stress lead to out of character behavior that could have devastating consequences.

Unlike their parents, Jess and Kat have worked through their grief over Maddie’s death. Kat is in tune with the strife between her parents and she is trying to make sense of puzzling bits of their overheard conversations. Jess’s friendship with Alex brings unexpected complications to her life as she tries to keep their relationship under wraps.

The Salt House is a beautifully rendered story of sorrow, healing and love that is quite entrancing. The characters are complex and their struggles to learn how to live without Maddie are deeply affecting and realistically portrayed. Lisa Duffy strikes a perfect balance between sadness and optimism as the Kelly family finally begins to emerge from their grief. An absolutely captivating debut that will linger in readers’ hearts and minds long after the last page is turned. ( )

Review:

This book took a while for me to get into, actually it took me the whole book. I did not have the heart to DNF this one. I think that it was just to sad and depressing for my taste. This book is very well written with a beautiful setting on the coast of Maine. The main character Hope is trying g to come back from a year long depression due to her baby's death. I felt so sad for this family as each member has a voice and is telling their own story of dealing with this death and the pain that they are in. Each character is well developed and I would have to say that Hope was on my mind the most during this book. Her grief and pain just jumped off the pages and for that I have to commend the author on writing such a beautiful story. It just did not hit the mark with me.

Wrap Up:

I am sure that many readers will absolutely love this book, I just found it too sad and I just could not get past that feeling.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge ( )

For a minute there, I was bookclub-aholic (that should really be a word). I got sucked into every book club that had the same interests as me on Goodreads. I found TONS of them, joined, and jumped in head first. And let me tell you, IT IS EXHAUSTING!

I am the current Vice President of my school's book club and was the President last academic year. We put in a lot of work deciding on books, making polls, reaching out to members, designing challenges and games to spark interest and activity, and bless anyone that is tasked with that job.

Needless to say, I had to quit some of the clubs I was a part of. There were too many notifications on my phone/computer/tablet, too many books that I "had" to read, and just not enough time spent on reading. How can anyone one person read that many books! It's impossible, BUT I found something AMAZING in the process.

SHE READS!

Shereads.org, if you don't know, is an international book club started by two amazing women that love books. How can that be any better? After I found them, The Salt House was their book of the month. Not typically my go-to read, but that's what is great about book clubs, sometimes you read something outside of your comfort zone and end up absolutely loving it.

I really enjoyed this one and I hated it for making me cry!!!!

I'm not one for providing a big synopsis (you can look that up on Goodreads that easily enough) so here's the nitty-gritty on how this novel just touched my soul and shredded to pieces, only to glue it back together in the end.

This story circles around a family suffering the loss of a child and it is heart-wrenching. Whether you have kids or not, you can feel this family's grief. Every surviving member is suffering in one way or another and they are drifting apart, but in the end family is more than blood and they find their way back together.

The chapters are split up to provide each character's perspective, which I love by the way. I was able to see what each character thought of the same situation and the chapters that were in Hope's perspective, the mother, had me crying almost every time. I felt like I was Hope and it hurt, Dear Lord, did it hurt. I had to convince myself to read but not because the story was horrible or poorly written, but because I didn't want to be sitting in my bed ugly crying over my kindle... it isn't waterproof after all. I knew it was going to be a tough one, but jeez the emotions smacked me right in the face and hit me over the back of my head.

And Kat. Wonderful, innocent, and beautiful Kat. I forget how simple things are to children at times and her childlike view of events never once felt like a work of fiction.

What I appreciated the most about this novel is its attention to the grieving process. For each family member, it was different. Some were ready to move on more quickly while others where just trying to stay afloat. Life still happens, school resumes, jobs require attention, and bills have to be paid, and this novel recognized that and showed it all.

Just thinking about it, makes me get a little teary-eyed, but it was so well-written that I welcomed the tears in the end.

There is a "happy" ending of sorts as well. Of course, nothing can bring back the youngest family member, but everyone overcomes the debilitating aspects of grief and welcomes their new lives to come. It is about life, love, hope, and family.

Now, here's the bad news (sort of) She Reads is no longer doing selections. Gasp! But, as of this posting, they are "going forward by going back," and I understand that completely. What started out as a couple of women savoring their latest read turned into constant requests by authors to have their books the focal point of the club and that can get exhausting.

I'm glad I came across them when I did and I look forward to anything they share in the future. They introduced me to a book a little out of my comfort zone and I thank them for that. ( )

Hope and Jack Kelly’s marriage has hit a speed bump. Hope has been depressed since the tragic death of their youngest daughter. She cannot move forward from her grief and is unable to continue her work as a writer. The family is struggling to pay their bills due to renovations on their second home named, “The Salt House”. They can’t seem to finish the construction which forces them to continue making payments for two homes.

Jack works as a lobsterman in Maine and is part owner of the business. Work has helped him avoid his grief and to ignore his marital problems. His two teenage daughters are in the background watching their parent’s marriage implode. Jack's feels threatened when his high school rival, Finn, moves back to town and makes claims to their family’s lobster business. The added stress begins to build and Jack lashes out at family and friends. His unresolved grief and hidden secrets are in need of an outlet.

The Salt House is an interesting perspective of how burying problems can lead to deep rooted consequences. This is portrayed very clearly as each family member of the Kelly household narrates a chapter from their perspectives. This is a debut novel by Lisa Duffy. ( )