The Best Part of Us is a powerful novel about family dynamics and the human need to be true to one’s inner self. Beth, the protagonist, is a tweenager—she feels left out in her family; she’s too old for kid stuff and too young for everything else. Her older brother and sister get to do everything like go to the bonfires traditionally held around the lake where her family vacations, and she has to stay home. She seeks consolation with Ben, an older man who teaches Beth about the land and its ecology. Cole-Misch draws her characters with a fine paintbrush, adding layer upon layer until each character is fully realized and integrating them into a timeframe that spans the past and present.
One of the strongest aspects of this novel is its sense of place. The descriptions of the land and water of the lake are dazzling. The reader can almost smell the forest and the lavender brought over from Wales by the grandmother; feel the pine needles carpeting the ground and the rough granite stones; and hear the keening of bald eagles and the mournful lamentations of the loons; see the sunlight sparking off the water and the glow of the Milky Way and the constellations, Cassiopeia and Andromeda at night; and feel the chill of the air in the forest and the heat of the sun on the docks.
Readers who enjoy nature walks, birding, camping, or just communing with nature in their backyard will enjoy this book.
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