February 18, 2023
Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg
Arthur Moses is a sophomore in high school, a sweet caring boy, when he meets and falls in love with Nola McCollum. But Nola has enough boyfriends and just wants to be friends with him. Arthur loves nature and enjoys caring for plants and watching the birds, and he talks about everything with his older brother Frank who is also his best friend. Frank shares his thoughts and problems with Arthur as well, including his dream of becoming a writer, his relationship with his English teacher, and their abusive father. When their father finally lands a job and things begin to look up, a terrible tragedy rocks the family. Arthur has to learn how to continue living and deal with his grief and loss, while discovering the kind of life he wants for himself.
A lovely heartwarming story about love in its many forms, loss and grief, and the meaning of family. Readers first met Arthur in Berg's previous novel The Story of Arthur Truluv, where Arthur is an 85 year old man who lost his beloved wife and now goes every day to sit by her grave and talk to her while he eats his lunch. This is a prequel to that novel, providing backstory about how Arthur and Nola met and the events that shaped the man he became. I found it almost impossible to put down, which is surprising since it is almost entirely about relationships and there is little action. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.
A town like Arthur's in the 1940s
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