Why a Booktrail?
2000s: One day a postcard arrives and Shelby’s whole world is turned upside down
Faithful
What you need to know before your trail
Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl growing up on Long Island until one night a terrible road accident brings her life to a halt. While her best friend Helene suffers life-changing injuries, Shelby becomes overwhelmed with guilt and is suddenly unable to see the possibility of a future she’d once taken for granted.
But as time passes, and Helene becomes an almost otherworldly figure within the town, seen by its inhabitants as a source of healing, Shelby finds herself attended to by her own guardian angel. A mysterious figure she half-glimpsed the night of the car crash, he now sends Shelby brief but beautiful messages imploring her to take charge of her life once more . . .
Travel Guide
The author in New York:
The author grew up in Valley Stream where Maravelle buys her house and spent much of her twenties in Chelsea in NYC, where Shelby lives with Ben and later by herself. Many of the places Shelby loves are those also loved by the author – Strand Book Store, the Half King Union Square and the Hudson River. She says she wanted Shelby to be in real places and to give her a map that she knew well.
There are so many lovely places dotted throughout the novel and indeed the city that are definitely worth a visit. The locations from Long Island to Manhattan are fun and varied and with the literary references dotted throughout, the two book stores are particularly welcome!
This is a city which almost feels like a village as it’s where the characters and the author knows well. The author took some ten years to write this novel, has spent much of her childhood and early life in the areas she writes about and it shows.
Streetview Maps
D) Long Island - Green Acres
H) NYC - Union Square
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Faithful
Destination: Long Island, New York City Author/Guide: Alice Hoffman Departure Time: 2000s
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