This Must Be The Place

This Must Be The Place by Kate Raccula

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble

A sudden death, a never-mailed postcard, and a longburied secret set the stage for a luminous and heartbreakingly real novel about lost souls finding one another

The Darby-Jones boardinghouse in Ruby Falls, New York, is home to Mona Jones and her daughter, Oneida, two loners and self-declared outcasts who have formed a perfectly insular family unit: the two of them and the three eclectic boarders living in their house. But their small, quiet life is upended when Arthur Rook shows up in the middle of a nervous breakdown, devastated by the death of his wife, carrying a pink shoe box containing all his wife's mementos and keepsakes, and holding a postcard from sixteen years ago, addressed to Mona but never sent. Slowly the contents of the box begin to fit together to tell a story—one of a powerful friendship, a lost love, and a secret that, if revealed, could change everything that Mona, Oneida, and Arthur know to be true. Or maybe the stories the box tells and the truths it brings to life will teach everyone about love—how deeply it runs, how strong it makes us, and how even when all seems lost, how tightly it brings us together. With emotional accuracy and great energy, This Must Be the Place introduces memorable, charming characters that refuse to be forgotten.

My Thoughts:

In the beginning of the book, I thought Arthur was going to be the main character. He takes his deceased wife's mementos in a pink shoe box to seek out Mona to find out more about his wife's past. However, after getting more into the book it seems as though Oneida is the main character and it becomes more of a coming of age story. All the characters in this book are not exactly likable but that is okay. Some of the tenants in the Darby-Jones Boarding House are quite peculiar but they do make for an interesting mix of characters. They all seem to be searching for something even though they may not realize it. Mona and Oneida have the classic troubled mother/teenage daughter relationship. Arthur wants to know why his wife left her hometown and never mailed the mysterious postcard. Mona has a secret she is desperate to keep to herself. Oneida is experiencing her first love. The story kept me on my toes. There were some pretty crazy antics going on in the story, but it is not overdone. When I first saw the book, the cover intrigued me! A cat on a suitcase carried by a parachute is interesting to say in the least. By the end of the book I fully understood the cover. And it all started out with Arthur finding a postcard his wife never sent! Brilliant! I will keep an eye out for more from Kate Racculia.

I received this book for my honest review from Jason at Henry Holt and Company. Thank you to both Jason and Henry Holt.