Review Detail

It's 1940, and Rosemary Rivers parents, who have struggled with employment and have had to split up their children, have decided that it's no longer safe to stay in England. They decide to go to the US and stay with the father Leslie's estranged mother, Charlotte, in Wisconsin. Rosemary, who has been staying with an aunt, is looking forward to the move, even though she is apprehensive about reconnecting with her brothers, Patrick and Kenneth, whom she hasn't seen in five years. The journey by ship goes well, if a little awkwardly, and the family is fortunate that a man is willing to sell them a car for $22 at the end of their train ride. The grandmother's property is enormous, and had been run as a resort by her grandmother and her Aunt Ann, the wife of Leslie's deceased brother. Leslie and Charlotte often bickered, and the mother's controlling ways are what motivated Leslie to move away from home. At 72, she hasn't changed much, and tells her son right away that he needs to get a job. Rosemary is enthralled by the gardens, and makes friends with Jacob, who works on the property. Her grandmother is nice to her, taking her shopping for clothes, telling her about the family's Ojibwa heritage that the father has never discussed (the family name is really Rivière), and asking Rosemary for a big favor. Charlotte has always wanted to win all of the ribbons at the Sturges County Fair, but can't do it alone. Rosemary does her best, and encourages the rest of her family to help as well, which they do mainly because Charlotte has promised any cash prizes to them. Rosemary is also interested in the attic full of antiques that her cousin Corinne shows her, and a farmhouse on the property. Two days before the fair, when preparations are well underway, her grandmother slips on the stairs and has a concussion. The family bands together to get the produce and flowers to the fair, where they make a decent, but not winning, show. In the end, the grandmother doesn't care about the winnings; she is just glad to be able to make peace with her son and his children, and even gifts the family part of the property that they can use for running a resort. Even with the war raging in Europe, Wisconsin is the paradise of which Rosemary has long dreamed.