I’LL BE YOUR BLUE SKY
The New York Times bestselling author revisits the characters from her beloved novels Love Walked In and Belong to Me in this captivating, beautifully written drama involving family, friendship, secrets, sacrifice, courage, and true love for fans of Jojo Moyes, Elin Hilderbrand, and Nancy Thayer.
On the weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman named Edith Herron. During the course of a single conversation, Edith gives Clare the courage to do what she should have done months earlier: break off her engagement to her charming—yet overly possessive—fiancé.
Three weeks later,
The New York Times bestselling author revisits the characters from her beloved novels Love Walked In and Belong to Me in this captivating, beautifully written drama involving family, friendship, secrets, sacrifice, courage, and true love for fans of Jojo Moyes, Elin Hilderbrand, and Nancy Thayer.
On the weekend of her wedding, Clare Hobbes meets an elderly woman named Edith Herron. During the course of a single conversation, Edith gives Clare the courage to do what she should have done months earlier: break off her engagement to her charming—yet overly possessive—fiancé.
Three weeks later, Clare learns that Edith has died—and has given her another gift. Nestled in crepe myrtle and hydrangea and perched at the marshy edge of a bay in a small seaside town in Delaware, Blue Sky House now belongs to Clare. Though the former guest house has been empty for years, Clare feels a deep connection to Edith inside its walls, which are decorated with old photographs taken by Edith and her beloved husband, Joseph.
Exploring the house, Clare finds two mysterious ledgers hidden beneath the kitchen sink. Edith, it seems, was no ordinary woman—and Blue Sky House no ordinary place. With the help of her mother, Viviana, her surrogate mother, Cornelia Brown, and her former boyfriend and best friend, Dev Tremain, Clare begins to piece together the story of Blue Sky House—a decades-old mystery more complex and tangled than she could have imagined. As she peels back the layers of Edith’s life, Clare discovers a story of dark secrets, passionate love, heartbreaking sacrifice, and incredible courage. She also makes startling discoveries about herself: where she’s come from, where she’s going, and what—and who—she loves.
Shifting between the 1950s and the present and told in the alternating voices of Edith and Clare, I’ll Be Your Blue Sky is vintage Marisa de los Santos—an emotionally evocative novel that probes the deepest recesses of the human heart and illuminates the tender connections that bind our lives.
- William Morrow
- Paperback
- December 2018
- 352 Pages
- 9780062431943
Buy the Book
$16.99
About Marisa de los Santos
A New York Times bestselling author and award-winning poet with a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing, Marisa de los Santos lives in Wilmington, Delaware, with her family.
Praise
“A lovely rumination on the choices we make, with characters we’ve loved for years.” — RT Book Reviews (top pick)
“De los Santos brings her signature style, wit, and charm while weaving in beloved characters from her previous novels. . . .This tender, genuine, and joyful novel is one to savor.” — Booklist (starred review)
“De los Santos…here revisits the next generation of her beloved characters, moving the family saga forward with this engrossing story of unshakable love, personal ethics, and a commitment to life’s larger truths.” — Library Journal
Discussion Questions
1. When Edith first steps into Blue Sky House, she feels her husband Joseph’s presence
everywhere, and she experiences the house as “forthright and decent and kind.” When
Clare enters the house decades later, she also feels a human presence. Have you ever
found a house or some other specific place to have a personality?
2. Clare admires her fiancée, Zach, as a person who “tries so hard to be good,” even when
it doesn’t come easily to him, and she appreciates his desire to be different from his
cold, judgmental family. Have you ever known a person like this? Do you understand
why Clare would be attracted to these qualities?
3. What do you make of Clare’s relationship with Zach?
4. Edith and Joseph are both photographers. How do their photographs reflect their
personalities?
5. Edith feels that she does not “fit” into the social world of small town 1950s. Can you
relate to her discomfort?
6. When Edith and Joseph see the flock of white herons take flight, Joseph says, “’That
was you. You, you. That’s what you have been to me. Exactly.’” What do you think he
means by this?
7. What do you make of Edith’s decision to take George Graham up on his proposal, in
spite of the risks?
8. Why do you think Edith decides to start keeping the “shadow ledger”?
9. What do you think of Clare’s relationship with Dev? Do you understand her decision to go to a different college from him and later to break up with him?
10. Why do you think Clare decides to ask Dev to help her solve the mystery of Blue Sky
House?
11. What do you make of Edith’s friendship with John?
12. When Clare is out in Edith’s canoe, she has the realization that “[S]ome things you
decide and some things you choose and some things just are.” Do you know what she
means? Have you ever felt this way?
13. Early in the novel, Joseph tells Edith, “I’ll be your blue sky.” Later, Edith tells Clare, “The
ones who look like home are home. They’re where you go.” Do these sentiments
resonate with you?