Saving Mossy Point by Donna Winters

This novel is an enjoyable blend of reality and fairy tale. The time is the near future, Politics and finances have been instrumental in splitting the state of Michigan. Upper Michigan is now the fifty first state – the State of Superior. The new state is in dire financial need and selling off the financially draining Mossy Point State Park seems to be in the works for the immediate future.

For retired school teacher and widow Betty Hanson,that is unacceptable. Losing the park would mean the town of Mossy Point would fade to nothing. When Betty tries to convince the head of the General Land Office that the park needs to remain open, he reminds her that the park would need to make money. That has about the same chance as a turtle has of flying, he says.

But Betty comes up with a plan. She gathers her friends and together they begin cleaning up one of the old park buildings, a great place for a folk school. But a potentially devastating problem soon arises. Grumpy old Mr. Schram had shown up at the work sight, uninvited, and proceeded to break his hip. Just as the folk school gets going, that “cantankerous old coot” and his fancy daughter threaten to sue.

That's the reality. How it all works out is a bit of a fairy tale, yet an enjoyable one. Betty is a committed Christian who prays and reads her Bible regularly throughout the book. That was really refreshing. There are some quirky characters in this novel, though. Some of them are pretty unrefined, a little rough around the edges. They rather reflected a real community of people. Even the ones with abrasive personalities worked for the good of the community in the end. I liked that.

This is a great novel for senior citizens as many of the characters are retired. I really liked the composition of the novel. Take a little reality, add a bit of a mystery, mix it around with elements of a fairy tale and cover it all with a light romance and you have a fun novel to read. I recommend it.

You can watch the book trailer and read the first chapter here.

Donna Winters adopted Michigan as her home state in 1971 when she moved from a small town outside Rochester, New York. She began writing novels in 1982. Her husband, Fred, a former American History teacher, shares her enthusiasm for the Great Lakes. Together, they visit historical sites, restored villages, museums, state parks, and lake ports purchasing books and reference materials, and taking photos for use in Donna's research. Her familiarity and fascination with these remarkable inland waters and decades of living in the heart of Great Lakes Country have given her the perfect background for developing her stories. You can find out more at http://greatlakesromances.com/.

Bridgewater Publishing, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Upon the Rock Publicist for the purpose of an independent and honest review.