Books: Wish You Well

Wish You Well
By David Baldacci
Copyright 2000, 2007
420 pages

This is a wonderful book.

I have been reading David Baldacci for a while now, and have zipped through many of his tales. He is mostly known for mystery/suspense stories.

This is not of that genre. This is the story of two children, Lou and Oz, who are plopped down in Southwest Virginia in 1940 after a tragic accident. Their father is killed and their mother comatose. There is nothing to do but go live on the mountain farm with great-grandma Louise.

The story is told mostly through Lou's eyes. She is the oldest child, a precocious girl who takes after her father. She does not question the route she must take to find her new path in life.

The book takes on the coal industry, the lumbering industry, and the natural gas industry, too, as it deftly points out how companies move into rural communities, use up the resources, and leave the population barren and bereft. It is at times a chilling discussion of power.

I stayed up very late one night. While I used to do that a great deal, as I have aged I do it less and less. It is a rare book that has me still wide awake and eagerly turning the pages at 2 a.m.

And while part of that was an unusual sleepless night for me, the other part was I wanted to see where this story was going. I had an idea but wanted to read on.

It is my understanding that this book is going to be made into a movie, and Botetourt County where I live is actually in the running for the film location. A facebook site is being courted by county residents, who are submitting photos of the area. You can read a story about the county's efforts here.

Baldacci, by the way, is a Virginia writer. I love to support the local writers, even if they are in the northern part of the state.


5 stars