Review: Shades of Morning by Marlo Schalesky

Shades of Morning: A Novel by Marlo Schalesky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Marnie hates her name. She hates what it is that she has done to herself. What's she done to him.

Taylor has always wondered why it's taken him so long to contact her. Would she ever take him back?

Emmit is going to live with Marnie after her sister (Emmit's mom) dies tragically. Only thing is, Marnie has never met Emmit. She had no clue that Rose had a child. Why hadn't her estranged sister ever shared this news with her?

Marnie goes to the airport to get Emmit after receiving the email from Taylor that Rose is dead and she is to care of Emmit according to Rose's will. She never expected what she saw in Emmit when he came off the plane. He was "damaged goods" in her mind. He has Down's Syndrome.

Could she ever love this nephew that she didn't know she had? Would she ever be able to get past the regrets of the past?

First of all, I want to commend Marlo Schalesky for writing a book about Down's Syndrome. My heart melted when I learned that Emmit had Down's. I hate that name for it by the way. These people are the happiest people I have EVER met and that is in spite of the multitude of health problems they have associated with Down's Syndrome! I have a soft spot in my heart for Emmit and others like him.

Second this was a very sweet romance novel. I saw the title Shades of Morning and after reading it thought it should be Shades of Mourning. There is so much loss in this book and Marnie is very deep in mourning. So is Taylor. Emmit is mourning but for very different reasons. However, Shades of Morning is appropriate because through life we go through varying days, even if they are similar. Emmit always saw the best in situations and helped Marnie to see that there is sunshine in every day.

I can't say that I entirely enjoyed this book. I was a little disappointed with the ending. I can't say why without giving away too much. I would have liked to have seen it end differently. It's not a bad story though, I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to Waterbrook Multnomah (click link to purchase book also!) for providing a copy for review!

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