Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe
This novel is about grief and the different ways people deal with it and it is about love and family. Frankie left her fiancé Alex's funeral when she couldn't take the situation anymore. At first she doesn't know where she is going, and then she realizes that she is going to Alex's family cabin in the Washington forest near the ocean, a place she's been to only a few times, but that Alex loved. It's not far from where they lived, and where Alex died in a surfing accident.
Frankie is part of a large Italian family. She has one sister, Bella, a wild child who ran off a few years ago. Her father is widowed, and works hard as a mechanic at his brother's garage.
Frankie wants to be alone, and she is for a short while. Then Jack shows up, the caretaker for the cabin. He has been tasked by Alex's mother to evict Frankie from the cabin, but he is sympathetic to her situation. Then there is Jack's daughter Huia, a bit of a forest sprite, at home in the woods and eager to share what she knows about the plants and the creatures with Frankie. Then she meets Merriem, a neighbour who has a garden as expansive as those of her Italian aunts, and who is willing to share with her neighbours, including Frankie. Then her sister Bella shows up. Frankie is upset that she left years before, and won't let her in the cabin, and finds her sleeping in her car.
Then Frankie's dad visits, bringing clothes and food. He is followed by her extended families of aunts and cousins, all bringing food. Alex's brother comes as well. He apologizes for his mother and says he doesn't mind her staying there.
As she finds that she can't escape from the people who love her her, or from her past. she also has to face some truths about Alex that are difficult. She must also think about forgiveness and how she deals with her own family and Alex's family around all the things that arise.
This is a novel that invites reflection, and makes you think about your own relationships.
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