South of Superior ~ Ellen Airgood
Genre: Adult Fiction
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
384 pages
ISBN: 9781594487934
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours
Life seems pretty close to perfect for Madeline Stone. Her fiance is a well-heeled, well-schooled, handsome man-about-town and she has a pretty easy, breezy life, waiting tables, socializing with the lovely people of Chicago, having very few strings to deal with.
Her life is slightly nudged out of her comfort zone, one day, when a letter arrives from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and bringing her past back to her in quite an emotional turn of events. Before she knows it, she has a broken engagement, her bags are packed and she is headed for the desolate, out of date, not-so-tourist town that birthed her so long ago.
In moving to the frigid north, she finds herself face to face with the mistakes her family made before her time. She soon finds that the weather isn’t the only cold thing about the tiny, tight-knit community and it isn’t long before Madeline finds herself in over her head in a tribe where they don’t speak Chicagoan and have secrets deeper and wider than Superior. Though the town offers little in the way of warm-fuzzies, Madeline eventually finds her rhythm and throws her energy into making it a place she might call home.
This sweet, simple, yet elegant and well-crafted, story is Ellen Airgood’s debut which is a bit surprising, considering the amount of emotional depth woven throughout. It has more than a few spots that tugged at my heart-strings as a mother, daughter and just a friend. It’s a lovely summer read but could also be considered for a warm, cozy winter night, as well. Though it’s written about the UP, I’m pretty sure that the small town commentary could be applied to down Maine or small town South, too. A fairly universal tale, this is definitely a great read.
About Ellen
Ellen Airgood runs a diner in Grand Marais, Michigan. This is her first novel.
Visit her at her website and on Facebook.
Ellen’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, June 7th: Tina’s Book Reviews
Wednesday, June 8th: Book Reviews by Molly
Thursday, June 9th: Colloquium
Monday, June 13th: Reading on a Rainy Day
Tuesday, June 21st: Bookstack
Wednesday, June 22nd: Life In Review
Thursday, June 23rd: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Monday, June 27th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, June 28th: Rundpinne
Wednesday, June 29th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Thursday, June 30th: Good Girl Gone Redneck
Monday, July 4th: Library of Clean Reads
Wednesday, July 6th: Iwriteinbooks’s blog
Thursday, July 7th: Book Journey
Thursday, July 14th: Acting Balanced
Iwriteinbooks's Blog 
I have been seeing a lot of reviews on this book, and have to admit that it looks intriguing. I am glad to hear that you liked it and that it was such a great read for you. I might just have to pick it up! Thanks for the great review!
I have this and hope to get to it soon. I haven’t read too many books set in the UP and am curious about it since I seem to be the only one in my family who has never been there.You have me curious now and I just may have to move it up the tbr pile.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one – it sounds like a perfect book for summer.
Thanks for being on the tour! I’m featuring your review on TLC’s Facebook page today.