In A Wild and Heavenly Place by Robin Oliveira (I Always Loved You), one family's abrupt departure from Scotland sets a pair of star-crossed lovers on a breathtaking adventure to Washington Territory. Along the way, Oliveira successfully develops the Pacific Northwest as a vivid character, encompassing both the "unsurpassed beauty" of the region and a nascent 1879 Seattle, "a town so ugly that it defied belief."
Hailey, a privileged member of Glasgow society, meets impoverished Samuel when he gallantly snatches her toddler brother from beneath a runaway carriage. Their attraction is immediate, but the romance is thwarted when a bank failure forces the MacIntyre family's immigration to America. Hailey's gentle strength and Samuel's determination infuse their story with hope, in spite of their separation. Alternating chapters record their silent mutual longing, and the loyalty they each have to their young siblings. Hailey, destitute when a coal mine disaster crushes the hopes her father had for their fresh start, is unaware that Samuel has arrived in the Washington Territory, earning financial stability with his boat-building skills. Reuniting in Seattle, their passion is again forbidden, even as the city rises from "ramshackle wooden buildings" to "the illusion of a burgeoning cosmopolitan metropolis."
Oliveira's details of the Puget Sound's natural beauty and the rapidly growing city of Seattle, infused with the optimism of immigrants from around the globe, tempers the suspense rising from the young couple's frustrations. A gripping, climactic event, pitting Hailey and Samuel against the forces that separate them, determines if the "wild and heavenly place" will indeed be theirs, in this novel of love and resilience. --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.