The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate
ISBN: 9781414386998
Trade Paperback
Published: September 2014

Synopsis: When successful New York editor Jen Gibbs discover a decaying slush-pile manuscript on her desk, she has no idea that the story of Sarra, a young mixed-race woman trapped in Appalachia at the burn of the twentieth century, will both take her on a journey and change her forever. Happy with her life in the city, and rising in her career with a new job at Vida House Publishing, Jen has left her Appalachian past and twisted family ties far behind. But the search for the rest of the manuscript, and Jen's suspicions about the identity of the unnamed author, will draw her into a mystery that leads back to the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains ... and quite possibly through the doors she thought she had closed forever.

My review: I am so glad that I got picked as one of the sisters in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Book by Lisa. This book was every bit as good as the first book that I read by her (The Prayer Box). The fact that there was a story within a story in this book is an added bonus in my opinion. Jen is such a strong character in this book, she new she needed to leave home at a young age to get away from her past but with the drop of manuscript on her desk she finds the past is not as far away as it seemed. I enjoyed meeting some other characters along the way like sweet Hannanh - I found myself feeling sorry for her and Evan - who is not who he seems at the beginning. I did not care for Jen's dad or sister Mirah as they just did not seem nice to me but then again it is a whole different world where they live and how they choose to survive. There is a mystery in this book and some twists that kept me turning the pages long into the night. I must admit that I read a little over half of this book in one day and I don't do that often. I give this book 5 stars and would recommend it to everyone.