Stars over Clear Lake

For the first time in decades, Lorraine Kindred has returned to the ballroom where she was swept away by the big bands during the 1940s--and by a star-crossed romance. As she takes in the magnificent energy and brassy sounds of her youth, the past comes to life, along with the fateful decision all those years ago that forced her to choose between personal conviction and social expectation, between the two men who had captured her heart. It had been a time of great music and love, but also of war and sacrifice, and now, trying to make peace with her memories, Lorraine must find the courage to face buried secrets. In the process, she will rediscover herself, her passion, and her capacity for resilience. Set during the 1940s and the present and inspired by a real-life ballroom, Stars Over Clear Lake is a moving story of forbidden love, lost love, everlasting love--and self love.

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Bayport Public Library	FICTION ELL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	FICTION ELL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Oakdale Library	FICTION ELL	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Mesmerizing and romantic, Stars Over Clear Lake transports readers to the Surf Ballroom, where musical acts became legends in the 1940s and which holds the key to one woman's deepest secret.

Lorraine Kindred's most cherished memories are of the Surf Ballroom, the place where youth lost themselves to the brassy sounds and magnetic energy of the big band swing, where boys spent their last nights before shipping off to war--and where Lorraine herself was swept away by a star-crossed romance.

Returning to the ballroom for the first time in decades, Lorraine enters a dazzling world she thought long vanished. But as the sparkling past comes to life, so does the fateful encounter that forced her to choose between her heart and her duty all those years ago--and Lorraine must face the secret she's buried ever since. Along the way, she'll rediscover herself, her passion, and her capacity for resilience.

Set during the 1940s and the present and inspired by a real-life ballroom, Loretta Ellsworth's Stars Over Clear Lake is a moving story of forbidden love, lost love, everlasting love--and self love.

Author Notes

LORETTA ELLSWORTH grew up in Mason City, IA. A former teacher and a graduate of Hamline University with a Master's Degree in Writing for Children, she is the award-winning author of several young adult novels . She has four children and six grandchildren and lives in Lakeville, MN. Stars Over Clear Lake is her first novel for adults.

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Publisher's Weekly Review

Ellsworth alternates between 2007 and the 1940s, as one Iowa woman's journey into the past helps her reconcile her present. Lorraine Kindred laments her difficult relationship with her adult daughter, Daisy, as she copes with missing her recently deceased husband, Sid. Lorraine recalls when she once went to the Surf Ballroom before the original burned down. And she evades the questions her son-in-law Harry asks her about the fire and what caused it. Ellsworth gives the reader a view of the original Surf Ballroom, and the time when Lorraine's father hired German POWs from a nearby POW camp to help with their Iowa farm. Lorraine eventually falls in love with one of those men, Jens. Lorraine's most difficult choice was between Scotty, the man she grew up with and her mother's choice for her, and Jens, the love of her life. Ellsworth's depiction of 1940s life in a rural Iowa town, complicated by the tragedies of World War II, vividly brings this novel to life. Yet it is the focus on love, loss, and life choices that will resonate most with the reader. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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