A review by karenavila85
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
4.0
Tom and Isabel are great, loving, and respected citizens who lived in a lighthouse on Janus. One day, Tom notices a boat on the land. As he investigates he finds a dead man with a young baby on board. Tom is ready to do the honorable thing and report the accident, however, his wife Isabel has suffered multiple miscarriages and she convinces him to keep the baby. Tom, understand his wife's pain agrees and never reports the accident. Little do they know that the baby's mother is alive and searching for her infant. As they all crossed paths, Tom and Isabel must decide whether it is right to keep the baby or give her up to her biological mother.
Wow, what a conflicting story. I didn't know what side to be on because I understood every character's pain and life threatening choices. I honestly don't know what I would have done if I was put in Tom or Isabel's position. I understand that Isabel only wanted to give Lucy a good life but I know that if I had a daughter missing I,too, would do anything to get her back. Losing a child was so hard for Hannah and never finding any closure of her husband's death really got to me. I know all she wanted was to be reunited with her daughter but at the same time this issue was bigger than anyone's pride. All their decisions really put Lucy's well-being in danger. Lucy was only a child. She didn't know what was going in so in the end it really affected her. I don't think Tom's decision was completely selfish. I just thing that his guilt finally took over because he knew from the moment that he met and witnessed Hannah's pain over her daughter, that keeping Lucy was morally wrong. I know Isabel was hurt and betrayed but if she only placed herself in Hannah's shoes and stopped thinking about her selfish needs, she would understand. I will say the beginning of the story was slow as you learn how Isabel and Tom met. Things don't pick up until Tom is arrested for lying about Lucy. At that point you just can't put the book down, especially, when you don't know what each character is thinking or the decisions they are planning to make. It gets you fired up 'till the very end.
Wow, what a conflicting story. I didn't know what side to be on because I understood every character's pain and life threatening choices. I honestly don't know what I would have done if I was put in Tom or Isabel's position. I understand that Isabel only wanted to give Lucy a good life but I know that if I had a daughter missing I,too, would do anything to get her back. Losing a child was so hard for Hannah and never finding any closure of her husband's death really got to me. I know all she wanted was to be reunited with her daughter but at the same time this issue was bigger than anyone's pride. All their decisions really put Lucy's well-being in danger. Lucy was only a child. She didn't know what was going in so in the end it really affected her. I don't think Tom's decision was completely selfish. I just thing that his guilt finally took over because he knew from the moment that he met and witnessed Hannah's pain over her daughter, that keeping Lucy was morally wrong. I know Isabel was hurt and betrayed but if she only placed herself in Hannah's shoes and stopped thinking about her selfish needs, she would understand. I will say the beginning of the story was slow as you learn how Isabel and Tom met. Things don't pick up until Tom is arrested for lying about Lucy. At that point you just can't put the book down, especially, when you don't know what each character is thinking or the decisions they are planning to make. It gets you fired up 'till the very end.