THE OUTER BANKS HOUSE

Author: Diann Ducharme ISBN: 9780307462237 6/2010 HISTORICAL FICTION Publisher: CROWN
Time Period: 1868 North Carolina

As the wounds of the Civil War are just beginning to heal, one fateful summer would forever alter the course of a young girl’s life.   In 1868, on the barren shores of post-war Outer Banks North Carolina, the once wealthy Sinclair family moves for the summer to one of the first cottages on the ocean side of the resort village of Nags Head. Seventeen-year-old Abigail is beautiful, book-smart, but sheltered by her plantation life and hemmed-in by her emotionally distant family. To make good use of time, she is encouraged by her family to teach her father’s fishing guide, the good-natured but penniless Benjamin Whimble, how to read and write. And in a twist of fate unforeseen by anyone around them, there on the porch of the cottage, the two come to love each other deeply, and to understand each other in a way that no one else does.   But when, against everything he claims to represent, Ben becomes entangled in Abby's father's Ku Klux Klan work, the terrible tragedy and surprising revelations that one hot Outer Banks night brings forth threaten to tear them apart forever.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

THE OUTER BANKS HOUSE is a charming, meandering, coming-of-age tale that shows just how divided post-Civil War life was. It brings to focus the differences in those involved in current events at that time, as well as showcasing the inherent similarities between all people, regardless of race, religion, or political leaning.
 
This story is well written, with characters who certainly come to life, not only by their thoughts and words but with their actions. So descriptive was the passage highlighting a homemade wind chime that I could nearly hear the seashells clinking melodically together. One of the best parts—my favorite part, actually—is the vivid descriptions of the coastal area. Nags Head comes brilliantly alive, every grain of sand and squawking shore bird so vividly depicted that they seem real.
 
There is a feeling of layers to this tale. The haves and have-nots, school learning in contrast to life lessons and love wrangling with mere attraction...the story intersects and divides upon itself, leaving the reader wondering just where Abigail Sinclair, perhaps one of the most down-to-earth seventeen-year-olds around, might finally find herself. I especially enjoyed the letters interspersed in the telling of her story. They give yet another dimension, and insight, which served to round out the plot.
 
All in all, THE OUTER BANKS HOUSE is a definite keeper. I loved it, and I believe others will, too. Well done!

Kay James