The Peculiar Gift of July

A Novel

By: Ashley Ream

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

With a dash of magic and a cast of oddball, small-town characters, this feel-good novel explores forgiveness, family, and the sense of humor it takes to live with the ones we love the most.

Ebey’s End is a small town on an island off the Pacific coast, reachable only by ferry (assuming the gods are with you and it’s not a Tuesday). It’s a comfortable, familiar (but okay, fine, sometimes lonely) life for its resident grocer Anita Odom. That is, until fourteen-year-old July shows up on her doorstep.

Taking in the recently orphaned daughter of an estranged cousin had not been on Anita’s to-do list. In fact, it’s a terrible idea. Anita is ill-suited, ill-prepared, and absolutely certain the entire enterprise will end in disaster—for both of them.

From the moment she arrives, July seems to “know” what each customer at the Island Grocery needs. They’re small things: a housekeeping magazine slipped into old Mr. Daly’s basket or a coconut cream pie pressed into the hands of Pastor Chet. But one by one, these gifts start to change the lives of nearly everyone in town in ways much larger than they—or July—could have imagined.

It's not long before secrets are exposed and questions emerge, and everyone in Ebey’s End has to open their hearts a little wider to make room for it all.

Great small town characters

I liked the story line and the characters of the small town. It’s a lengthy read, however it was never slow.

Excellent story!

I saw the title said July and thought it might be fun to try it since it is July now. I'm so glad I did. The story is beautiful, funny, and refreshing.

A thoughtful story

I loved how the author introduced each character and then skillfully told the reader how their lives intersect and influenced one on other. The setting felt completely similar and comforting

Not For Me

This story was just too slow moving and long. There were so many times where I would realize that I had zoned out for awhile and missed full pieces of the story. This seems to have other good reviews, but it was not for me. If I hadn't paid for it, I would have never finished it