The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve

The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 stars - In October 1947, fires caused by a long fall drought destroyed towns all along the coast of Maine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_F...). Grace, a young wife with two small children and pregnant with her third, must find a way to save her neighbor and best friend, Rosie, and their four small children when the fire threatens to consume their town, while their husbands are off fighting the fire. They make their way down to the shore with the children, dig air pockets in the sand, and lay with the lower bodies in the water, while covered with wet blankets they brought with. When they are found in the morning, Grace has become hypothermic and loses the baby. The rest of the group fare better. Rosie's husband returns then, having just escaped death himself, but with no news of Grace's husband, Gene. It will be three months before he shows up, burned badly, and a cruel man with no love left within him. How Grace survives the time both before and after his return is a testament to her inner strength and ingenuity.
I enjoyed the book for its historical details, the strong women characters, and the hope that lived on during the bleakest of times. The parts that described the fire and the terror of the town's people triggered memories of my sister's experience during the Gatlinburg wildfire in 2016, that raged around her and they drove down the mountain, arriving safely, but losing their home and everything they owned.
Book 111 of 2020. Also reviewed on https://xbmill.blogspot.com/.

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