Review By: Anonymous
Published: 2024
Genre(s): Adult Fiction, Romance, Family, Relationships
Audience: Grades 12 and Adult
Content Warnings: Family abandonment, divorce, loss
Goodreads Link: Counting Miracles
Publisher’s Summary:
Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather’s military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone: happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew—and where to find him.
Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina, to ask around. He’s been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell, and he wants to hear it. To Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting—and possibly leaving in just a few weeks.
Meanwhile, nearby, eighty-three-year-old Jasper lives alone in a cabin bordering a national forest. With only his old dog, Arlo, for company, he lives quietly, haunted by a tragic accident that took place decades before. When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest—a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather—he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers.
As these characters’ fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle . . . but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever.
Review:
I’ve read all of Nicholas Sparks’ books, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, and Safe Haven. Counting Miracles had a similar familiar feel as other books by Nicholas Sparks. Like a lot of his stories, this one has a few different storylines happening at once, but they all come together in a really smooth, meaningful way.
The main character, Tanner Hughes, is a former Army Ranger who has never really had a place to call home. After his grandmother passes away and shares a big family secret, he heads to Asheboro, North Carolina, to find some answers. That is where he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a single mom with two kids. There is an immediate connection between them, and you can tell right away that Tanner might finally have a reason to stick around longer than he expected.
Then there is Jasper, an older man dealing with his own loss, who ends up bonding with Kaitlyn’s son by teaching him how to whittle wood. As a dog lover, I was especially interested in Jasper’s dog, Arlo, who was as devoted and loyal a dog as you would hope for an older, lonely man. Arlo is a faithful companion right to the end.
The only downside for me was that the ending felt a little predictable, and I mostly saw it coming pretty early. But even so, I appreciated that everything wrapped up in a satisfying way.
Counting Miracles is not a YA book, but older high school students who enjoy emotional, character driven stories would probably connect with it. There is nothing inappropriate, just a slower paced, thoughtful story about love, loss, and finding your place.
