This book took me back to my teen years and the relationship I had, at times, with my mother. It also had me thinking about the kind of relationship I might have with my own daughters as they grow older. 
 The writing is lyrical, which, in my opinion, adds to the beauty of the book. There were so many times I got caught up in the writing of the book and found myself sighing with pleasure, not because of the events of the books, but because the description was so beautiful. 
 This book came at a good time in my life. Strout paints a picture of two awakenings-- one of mother and one of daughter. Facing an awakening of my own, I feel like the book spoke to me more than it might others.