A very enjoyable story with engaging characters who deal with their problems and try to come to terms with life. As a Wisconsinite, it was great to read about a classic north woods community. Stonich fully develops 3 characters, yet none of the others are flat space-fillers.
Alpo is about to marry Sissy, after mourning his first wife for 20 years. He is concerned about his son, Pete, who has a drinking problem. Sissy and her sister work hard in the family restaurant and worrying about their mother with Alzheimer's. The small community knows everything about the other residents, but also tend to watch out for each other also. ( )

Every story needs a hook, and for Laurentian Divide it's the question of what happened to Rauri Paar, the odd man who winters alone on his island. His appearance heralds the true return of spring to the residents of Hatchet Inlet. But the answer to that question is not nearly as interesting as the stories of the people who are asking it. There's: the widower who's about to marry the woman nearly 20 years his junior (they're deeply in love); his son, the veterinarian who's also a recovering alcoholic; and his fiancee, who's dealing with a mother with major dementia and reeling from the loss of her neice, who was killed in a drunk driving accident. These are the people who tell the story, of their past and their present, that color the book in shades of ice blue and the green of new buds.

Unlike other books small-town books, I never got a sense of the town itself, although the larger scenery of Minnesota on the Canadian border comes through vividly (it may have helped that I was there not long ago). As for what happened to Rauri Paar, the answer is appropriately anticlimactic, serving to satisfy the the curiosity of both reader and town, without overshadowing the characters the reader has come to identify with. The revelation also allows the book to come to a graceful, natural ending. I was pleased to learn that this is the second book in a planned trilogy, although it can be read alone; I'll almost certainly pick up the first one, and I'll be looking for the third when it comes out. ( )

Sarah’s Stonich’s writing has been compared to books by Richard Russo and the similarity is valid insofar as they both write about everyday people and their day to day lives. A son or daughter who has succumbed to substance abuse, a spouse coping after the loss of their mate, a small town that survives on the latest gossip. Everyone in Hatchet Inlet knows the score and the players. There is nothing special about any of them and that is what makes this book such a wonder.

As Pastor Huttala exhorts to his congregation on the opening pages in his Polka Service Sermon, welcome strangers, sit down and share a coffee with the lonely, listen to someone’s grief, don’t turn away, just listen. Pretty basic stuff which makes for a great book with characters like Alpo and his son Pete; Sissy her dog, Jeff, her sister Laurie, and their mother Louise who is barely holding on to her mind, and the missing Rauri Paar, who may or may not be dead.

Great writing that allowed for a chuckle, a tear, a shake of the head and a whole lot of thinking in between. Thank you NetGalley and the University of Minnesota Press for a copy. ( )

If you’re looking for big-time action adventure — this is not your book.
If your looking for a plot twist with a cliffhanger ending — this is not your book.
But... if your looking for a well-written, quirky story with oddly unique characters then, well, g— this IS your book!
Laurentian Divide by Sarah Stonich is the second book in the Northern Trilogy. I suppose you can read this book as a stand-alone, but I would highly recommend reading Vacationland, the first in the series, before diving into this one. A number of the characters and events from the first book are referenced in this novel and, honestly, it would just make for a better reading experience.

If you read this book and really end up enjoying it, I would also recommend checking out Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. Happy reading and enjoy! ( )

Thanks to Bookishfirst.com and University of Minnesota Press for this ARC.

This book started out slow and it wasn't until page 100 when it finally picked up for me. Once it did, I liked it a lot better.

Set in MN, in a small town, the characters were many and their lives centered around their family diner with many friends passing through.

One of the main characters is Alpo, who marries Sissy who is one of the owners of the cafe, her sister Laurie, and other characters. To me, the main plot was finding Rauri, who lives like a recluse on a small island. Pete, Alpo's son, a former alcoholic, fights with his demons daily.

Living in a rural area during Winter can be hard but it didn't focus on the weather much but on the lives of the many people living life here, only their lives and how close they were. ( )

As the thoroughly enjoyable plot evolves from another long and very bitter Minnesota winter, diners are divided about the fate of 40 year long Reserve island resident Rauri Paar. Humor enlivens the telling of many entwined and unusual resident stories as they reveal their conflicting deepest feelings. Even if readers are not Winter
Wonderland fans, this book will likely be a straight read-thru, with its smooth and memorable dialogue.

Suspense builds as the wedding of the two main characters, Alpo and Sissy, approaches. Readers may wonder if ANYONE will survive their personal and geological challenges to make the date.

The book holds only a few letdowns. The Pete and Meg episodes involving animal cruelty, as well as later gruesome descriptions of animal slaughter and deer hunting are not for the tenderhearted. Sissy had odd proclivities. As well, Pete's senseless decision to risk his own life to finally hunt for Rauri felt contrived, predictable, and stupid. Why chose the night before his father's wedding? A real Duh. And, readers may wonder why Louise was left alone to reprise her striptease during the wedding...? ( )

This is a difficult book to categorise. There is a core story to it, but mostly it's a meandering tale of interwoven lives, and the deeply personal truths of the characters. Fragments that might be perceived as annoying digressions, in a different book, become pieces of a rich tapestry thanks to to skill of the writer. I haven't read the first book in the series (this is book 2) but it didn't feel like I was missing anything. There is quite a big cast of characters, but they own their individuality so well, it was easy to keep track of who was who, and indeed this is very much a character driven novel. I didn't find it to be consistently a page turner, but certain places definitely were.
I received my copy from NetGalley. My review is my honest opinion. ( )

I didn’t realize this was the second of a Northern Trilogy when I requested it, but as soon as I realized it, I decided to read Vacationland, the first of the series. Vacationland consists of short stories about characters within the same community whose lives cross paths throughout the years. The characters I read about in Vacationland appear again in Laurentian Divide. It’s probably not necessary to read the first of the trilogy, but it does provide some background information for the second book of the series.

Laurentian Divide mainly focuses on two important events in Hatchet Inlet. One is the wedding of Sissy and Alpo, a local couple who are marrying late in life, and the other is the whereabouts of the last landowner in the Reserve, Rauri Parr.

The locals each face different struggles and Stonich successfully captures the sense of a small town community and how the people come together to help each other. They know everything about each other--but in some ways they don’t know anything at all.

Alpo’s son Pete, the local veterinarian, is a prominent character in the novel as he struggles to maintain sobriety. Pete provides readers with some apprehension when he goes of in search of Rauri on the day before the wedding. I really enjoyed Pete’s story line.

Another character not to miss is Louise, the mother of the bride. Louise is suffering from some form of dementia and lives in a home for senior adults. She often says things that others discount as a symptom of the illness. Well, trust me on this--pay attention to Louise! She turns out to be the life of the party at the wedding.

This is an enjoyable novel and one that will be a favorite to read in order to capture a sense of the Minnesota area near the Canadian border.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the University of Minnesota Press for allowing me to read an advance copy and offer my honest review. ( )

It took a bit, but I came to love the citizens of the Laurentian Divide. Miss Stonich brings these people, and the town to life. A great little story about a great little town. ( )