Welcome to Litsy!

This character study set in a small town is both devastating and hopeful. It is a quiet read, one giving the reader access to the secrets and sorrows of the lives of those living in Dalton. Full review at http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-road-to-dalton-by-shannon-bowring...

For those who loved The Road to Dalton for our #EuropaCollective #BuddyRead, the 3rd book in the trilogy will release in the USA on Oct 7, 2025

@CSeydel my heart is full of so many emotions after reading this beautiful book. I loved every minute of it. I wish I could write more but I‘m really just basking in this feeling that will without a doubt develop into a book hangover. Thank you for putting this on your list! ♥️♥️♥️♥️ #auldlangspine #ALSpine @monalyisha

#12booksof2024 @Andrew65

This is a quietly powerful novel in stories following the residents of a small Maine town, their secret hopes and fears, the ordinariness of their daily lives and their major turning points. Beautiful read and my second of the year that I owe to #Europacollective

Recommended by a bookseller at Galena Book and Paper, she said it was one of the best books she had read recently and one of the owner's recent favorites. I hadn't heard of it yet, but it was too good of a recommendation to pass up. It's a quiet novel about the residents of a small-town in Maine and a reminder of the complex lives people lead behind their public faces. Beautifully written! I will read whatever this debut author puts out next.

You‘ve been in my thoughts a lot @BookNAround … hope you‘re all doing ok ♥️

And a huge thank you for thinking of me on my birthday. I‘ve seen lots of press around this book and excited to try a new to me author. Thank you honey xx

Small town Maine, the realities and the blessings, even when the worst happens. Glad I read it.

The tagged book has been high on my #TBR for awhile. Hopefully this is the nudge I need. Plus a beachy read. #bookspin #doublespin

It‘s published by Europa so I think I was expecting a bit more out of this book. Bowring does a great job of describing living in a very remote part of Maine - the sights and smells were accurately and beautifully described. However, I never quite truly got attached to any of the characters. Which is strange because their storylines were compelling. I might try the sequel to see how some of the folks make out though. 🤷🏻‍♀️ A low ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m behind on my ‘June‘ reading with #EuropaCollective
I‘m enjoying this book looking into the lives of the people of Dalton, Maine.
The story gives me the vibes of Beartown. All the feels.

I loved this book, a slice of life in a small town in Maine. Such richly drawn characters, some with secrets, some just living their small town lives. Beautifully written. The kind of book that when you‘re finished, you feel like you‘ve really read something.

#europacollective

Another great read from Europa. In the beginning it feels like you‘re going spend your time in an idyllic small town but as you get to know its residents the layers peel back and you learn the things that are hidden and the things that can‘t be. Looking forward to the sequel.

#EuropaCollective @jlhammar

I seem to be in the minority here. The book is well written and moves fast. I just found it so darned depressing. I will be a pass on the sequel. Stories of Quiet lives well lived, or of hardships encountered realistically I like, lives of quiet desperation not so much. #europacollective

What a powerful book! It‘s set in a small northern Maine town, covers the intertwined lives of a bunch of residents of Dalton. It‘s real, raw, heartbreaking and hopeful. It‘s amazing what some authors can do with words. I feel like all of these people are real #europacollective

Tub reading season is here. 42° C with the humidex today ? we had grade 1 water play day at school and all kids had a BLAST. I dug this out from my pile of books to start, so far not a single person is happy ☹️ #europacollective is my favourite

This was a good one! Loved getting to know the residents of Dalton, Maine. Just ordinary people living ordinary lives. So glad we‘ll be getting more of them in Bowring‘s next book (out Sept 3) Where the Forest Meets the River.

I agree with the Anne Tyler, Mary Lawson and Richard Russo comparisons. I also think if you like Kent Haruf you might really enjoy this.

#EuropaCollective

A quietly beautiful book, full of melancholy but tinged with hope. Not what I was expecting, but it was deeply engaging and emotional. Thanks to #EuropaCollective for putting this one on my radar.

I'm going to put content warnings in the comments under a spoiler alert.

#EuropaCollective

What a great read. To me The Road to Dalton read like a soap opera, in a very good way. I felt a connection with most characters and loved to follow how they interacted. Well written too. I can‘t wait for the sequel, I want to learn more about them, especially about Greg, Nate and Alice!

(Photo: Sacre Coeur, Paris)

#SummerSouls Day 13: Not sure if this is the sun or the moon on the cover but perhaps my lemon daiquiri (non alcoholic of course) will make up for it with the #Sunny prompt today. Loving this #EuropaCollective title for the month of June which I am reading alongside Yuzuki‘s “Butter.”

Another fabulous #europacollective read - I just couldn‘t put it down. I loved meeting all of the different characters - it really felt like I knew them all intimately.

@Chelsea.Poole compared it to Anne Tyler and @Tamra felt it was like Mary Lawson and I couldn‘t agree more with both of you!

Excited to hear that there‘s a sequel.

#WeeklyForecast 25/24

I am reading (combining audio with print) Butter for #CampLitsy24 and Wandering Stars for #CampToB.
The third read is the tagged one, this month‘s #EuropaCollective choice. All seem so good!!

I loved this! Would've liked more of a resolution for Greg, but I think we'll get that in the next book, which I've just pre-ordered. #EuropaCollective

#europacollective picked a winner this month!

@jlhammar

Congratulations to the author of this month‘s #europacollective book!

Perfect timing! 😃

I‘m just about to start this and looking forward to it after other Littens‘ reviews thus far.

I am feeling hopeful that this will be an engrossing read for #europacollective I have been struggling through a serious of beautiful but slow going books recently and these two phrases just from the prologue have me invested: “Inhale the smell-wood pulp and spruce sap and pine resin. Taste it in your mouth; feel the sawdust coat your teeth.” And “stretch your legs, feel your tired spine crack and settle into its familiar ache”

I enjoyed every book this month! All good in different ways. It‘s going to be tough to fill in my bracket! Now I just need to catch up on my reviews…

#EuropaCollective #serieslove #bookspin #exploringLA #fromthefrontporchpodcast #audiobooks

The best kind of Sunday morning. 😊

Bowring writes a compelling contrast between the inner lives of her characters versus their outward appearances. (True self vs social constraints) Reminds me a bit of Mary Lawson. I felt like it would have been more cohesive had it focused on fewer characters and by extension had fewer quasi climaxes. Overall a pick and I would definitely read her next novel! #EuropaCollective

repost for @jlhammar

#EuropaCollective ✨June 2024✨ REMINDER

Hiya Collective!

Our next #buddyread, a debut, takes us to 1990 small-town Maine. One reviewer said that Bowring is “operating in Richard Russo and Anne Tyler territory.” High praise!

Read the book sometime in June, post your review &/or any thoughts along the way and be sure to tag the group.

original post:

All are welcome!

Gotta be honest, I voted for this one because I grew up in Dalton. Dalton, Massachusetts. not Dalton, Maine, but aside from more Mooses and poutine, 1990 ME is pretty much 1990 Mass.
The writing is fabulous, which is what I‘ve come to expect from Europa Editions, and it‘s really taking me back to those pre-cell phone New England days. A yellow Walkman, even! I had one of those! 💛

#europacollective

Another winner from the #EuropaCollective which was not on my radar whatsoever. I saw this compared to Anne Tyler (love!) and Richard Russo (just finished Empire Falls) and I agree!
The Road to Dalton features a huge cast of characters who aren‘t without their flaws but are perfectly human. There‘s also tragedy and readers should check TWs. I loved it and looking forward to what others think!

How apropos I‘m starting this at bedtime. 😌 #EuropaCollective

Quick stop at a coffee shop, for lunch and caffeine, in Massachusetts on the way to Maine ☕️ 📖

Nearly finished with the #EuropaCollective read for June and it‘s a real winner in my book 😉

#EuropaCollective ✨June 2024✨ REMINDER

Hiya Collective!

Our next read, a debut, takes us to 1990 small-town Maine. One reviewer said that Bowring is “operating in Richard Russo and Anne Tyler territory.” High praise!

Read the book sometime in June, post your review &/or any thoughts along the way and be sure to tag the group.

All are welcome!

Starting the #europacollective because I have a busy schedule these next few weeks/month/year. 😜
It was a lovely beginning to the day at a sweet little cafe on a beautiful morning.
Loving it already!

#StorySettings Day 18: Perhaps a #Train is needed to go on The Road To Dalton? Our #EuropaCollective title for June! Ready for it! 📚📚📚

I loved this and did not want it to end. It reminded me of my very favorite book Olive Kitteridge. Beautifully written and heartbreaking but hopeful, too.

Ready for the new year! Hoping to read more from my shelves. (After I finish all my library books🤪) #bookspinbingo

A story of interconnected characters and events in a small Maine town. The kind of book I really enjoy and I did enjoy this one, a portrait of the daily, imperfect lives of people, private and yet never really private in a town this size.

A little town on the border of Maine & Canada filled with a rich tapestry of characters.
The book addresses Postpartum Depression, & the aftermath of everyone left who has to deal with their loved ones suicide.
Postpartum depression is so often overlooked even by doctors that the one suffering doesn‘t feel as if she can talk about what she‘s going through.

My daughter suffered from PPD with the birth of her first baby. Luckily I knew the signs.

This was my favourite type of book - a book that explores a small town and the various lives that are lived there. This book is set in the 80s and looks at the challenges of a small, poor town and the hidden lives and desires and compromises. There is tragedy in this book, but there is also hope. An absolute gem.

On my way home to Charlotte with one of my new purchases.