AIMEE'S RESTORATION

A novel about a woman who wonders if she can ever find love again.

Aimee McCormack, the widow at the center of Marr’s story, has emotional scars from her brief but miserable marriage. However, the center of her world is now her teenage son, Jeremy, and she’s more focused on him than ever since their arrival in the city of Chamberlain, as he’s about to begin military school there. Aimee is a secretary for a law office, and her new friend Jane Ross is hoping to set her up with her cousin Robert Dalton, a handsome local building contractor who’s employing the law firm to settle his late grandfather’s affairs. Aimee is, at first, a bit standoffish; not only does Robert closely resemble her abusive former husband, Todd, but she’s also convinced herself that neither she nor Jeremy needs another man in their lives. However, as Aimee grows more comfortable in the welcoming atmosphere of Chamberlain and she’s invited to baseball games, church services, and other events, she grows closer to Jane and Robert. And as the date of Jeremy’s departure for military school draws nearer, she seeks solace in her Christianity, a theme that runs throughout the book. When extra expenses at Jeremy’s school force Aimee to take a second job, she wonders what plan God has in mind for her. Marr writes about her developing story in such an open, inviting prose style that readers will find themselves involved in the narrative right from the start. Early on, for example, Aimee feels God’s “gentle touch upon her heart,” which slowly revives her from the trauma of her marriage, “removing layer upon layer of the bitterness…much like a person would peel an onion.” Even so, the plot itself is deliberately low-key, burbling along with mundane matters involving jobs and meals. Aimee’s relationship with Jeremy, in particular, is well drawn, and Marr’s Christian readers will likely feel the book does a good job of portraying their faith in everyday practice.

An engaging, faith-based novel about starting over.