The Girl in the Garden

When teenager June and her infant son, Luke, are abandoned by June's boyfriend in a 1970s coastal New England town, they are adopted by the town's similarly wounded inhabitants. June's arrival becomes a catalyst for townsfolk Mabel, a grieving widow; Iris, a wealthy recluse; Oldman, a kindly World War II veteran; and Duncan, the town's lawyer, as well as visiting Vietnam veteran Sam—who escorts Iris's daughter, Claire, back home from New York—to open themselves to human connection and move on from their pasts. As emotional as the story is, it is to Wallace's (The Housekeeper) credit that it does not tip into melodrama. Each resident's story is shared in nearly dialog-free chapters reminiscent of short stories. Narrator Elise Arsenault's deliberate, cheery delivery is a good match for the tone of the novel. The book is broken up into tracks every five minutes, which aids bookmarking.