The Lightkeeper’s Daughters

By Jean E. Pendziwol

I always consider it a find when a book I’ve read stays with me.  The Lightkeeper’s Daughters is one of them.  Pendziwol’s story of the isolated life of a family in the early 20^th century is such a book.  Threaded into this historical accounting is the contemporary story of Morgan, a young woman lost and looking to find someone, something to grasp that will help her figure out where she is headed in life.  Serving out community service hours as restitution for tagging a fence at the senior retirement home she discovers an unlikely link to her childhood and the reasons for her love of the arts.  Pendziwol’s story unfolds with grace and a hard look at a life spent surviving on Porphyry Island where twin girls, Emily and Elizabeth Livingstone and their family live and work the lighthouse that keep the waterways of Lake Superior safe for her travelers. The joys of a childhood filled with nature and few restraints gently unfold like the wildflowers Emily draws. It is also the story of how dark secrets, kept hidden and locked away always find their way to the surface. It is a look back at life that we would call harsh and wild that parallels contemporary life of those who are dropped into the CPS system.  I highly recommend this title to be picked up by libraries and hope that librarians will put it into the hands of teens. 

I wish to thank the publisher for generously providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy for my honest review.

ISBN:  9780062572028

Pub Date:  July 4, 2017

Publisher:  Harper/ An imprint of HarperCollins

Genre:  Historical Fiction