Shaped by the Waves

Cassie George, a young, single mother, returns to her Oregon hometown to care for her Parkinson’s-afflicted aunt in this saccharine but entertaining inspirational romance from Nelson (The Way It Should Be). Cassie’s aunt Shasta, who raised motherless Cassie like her own child, has been hiding her diagnosis for years and is nearing death. Overwhelmed at the prospect of losing her, Cassie takes a leave from her PhD studies and packs up her four-year-old daughter, Lark, to drive from California to the Pacific Northwest. As Cassie juggles caring for a child and Shasta, she receives an anonymous manuscript in the mail that details a woman’s marriage to an abusive husband and the loss of their only child. Cassie, who knows little about her deceased birth mother, becomes increasingly suspicious that the story’s connected to her own. Meanwhile, a local catches her eye, though she worries she won’t be able to balance romance and her caregiving duties. Things unfold predictably and slowly as Cassie uncovers and accepts her past while also returning to a reliance on God. It’s pleasant enough if clichéd, and should do the trick for readers who don’t prize novelty. Agent: Cynthia Ruchti, Books & Such Literary Management. (Feb.)