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73rd out of 211 books
—
108 voters
The Year of Fog
by
Michelle Richmond (Goodreads Author)
Life changes in an instant. On a foggy beach. In the seconds when Abby Mason—photographer, fiancée soon-to-be-stepmother—looks into her camera and commits her greatest error. Heartbreaking, uplifting, and beautifully told, here is the riveting tale of a family torn apart, of the search for the truth behind a child’s disappearance, and of one woman’s unwavering faith in the...more
Hardcover, 369 pages
Published
March 27th 2007
by Delacorte Press
(first published January 1st 2006)
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Jun 15, 2008
Lisa Vegan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone who enjoys well written novels with realistic and sympathetic characters
This is such a beautifully written and compelling story. I really enjoyed it and I found it difficult when I had to put the book down and do something else.
I loved that I didn’t know how it would end, and I won’t ruin it for those of you who haven’t read it, but the book was suspenseful and emotionally moving from beginning to end.
I live in San Francisco and it is the main setting for the book and, unlike many books that supposedly take place in the city, the author got just about everything rig...more
I loved that I didn’t know how it would end, and I won’t ruin it for those of you who haven’t read it, but the book was suspenseful and emotionally moving from beginning to end.
I live in San Francisco and it is the main setting for the book and, unlike many books that supposedly take place in the city, the author got just about everything rig...more
13 likes · like · see review
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31 likes · like · see review
The blurb on the front caught my attention: "Highly recommended [for fans of] authors like Jodi Picoult and Jacquelyn Mitchard."
Well, given my affinity for Jodi books and the fact I read Mitchard's "The Deep End of the Ocean" a few years back and liked it, that was more than enough to cause me to pick up Michelle Richmond's novel.
"The Year of Fog" is reminiscent of Mitchard's book in that it deals with the disappearance of a young child. However, the way the story is laid out reminds me more of...more
Well, given my affinity for Jodi books and the fact I read Mitchard's "The Deep End of the Ocean" a few years back and liked it, that was more than enough to cause me to pick up Michelle Richmond's novel.
"The Year of Fog" is reminiscent of Mitchard's book in that it deals with the disappearance of a young child. However, the way the story is laid out reminds me more of...more
10 likes · like · see review
The year of Fog starts with a BIG, and risky I might add, plot move. After that, the plot slows and character is at the forefront for nearly 100 pages before plot makes another appearance. This is another risk, but for me, Richmond pulled it off. When reading this novel, I kept thinking, "she had to storyboard this." I could visualize her post-it notes, so many under plot at the beginning that she had to devote time to character. I swear I heard her say at page 105 of her draft, "time to switch...more
7 likes · like · see review
I picked this up on a lark at Costco the other day and started to read it. In a nutshell, it is about a woman who takes her fiances' young daughter to the beach on a foggy day and the little girl vanishes. The book details the search for the little girl. I have to say, the writing did not grab me at all. The dialogue was flat and not very nuanced or engaging. I found myself skimming (very surface skimming at that) the book to see how it all turned out. I think it could have been a good short sto...more
17 likes · like · see review
The Year Of Fog tells the story of a kidnapped child. A story that's been told a number of times. And I've read my share of them. But there are a number of things which sets this one apart. First of all, it's told from the point of view of the child's stepmother. A boldly different point perspective. It also includes many beautifully written passages on the use of photography as a means, not only to freeze a moment in time, but to imprint that time into our memories. And for me, it's these brill...more
"There is a girl, her name is Emma, she is walking on the beach. I look away. Seconds pass. I look back, and she is gone. I keep thinking about the seconds, the ever-expanding circle. How I set this chain of events in motion. How I must find some way to make amends."
The Year of Fog is the the story of Abby Mason, a 32-year-old photographer who is about to be married. While Jake, her fiancee, is away visiting a friend, Abby takes his 6-year-old daughter, Emma, to the beach... and Emma disappears...more
A terrifying scenario. You lose a child. What if it's your fiance's six-year old daughter and you've lost her through three second's inattention on a foggy morning at the ocean, while your fiance is out of town?
Your fiance's life is ruined and so is yours. And what happened to the child?
I read 'The Year of Fog' as fast as I could. That wasn't fast enough---I skipped to the end to see what happened. You are a mature person who would never do such a thing. Still, it's a testament to the book's qua...more
Your fiance's life is ruined and so is yours. And what happened to the child?
I read 'The Year of Fog' as fast as I could. That wasn't fast enough---I skipped to the end to see what happened. You are a mature person who would never do such a thing. Still, it's a testament to the book's qua...more
6 likes · like · see review
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5 likes · like · see review
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I liked the photo on the cover of this book and that was the reason I picked it up. I also enjoyed the story, but not the ending.
Abby Mason has a wonderful relationship with her fiance, Jake and his child, Emma. Abby takes Emma for a walk along a beach in San Francisco but looks away from her momentarily, only to have Emma disappear in the fog.
Abby is frantic...she searches everywhere for her and calls the police to get them involved. So begins Abby's search...for the little girl lost and even...more
Abby Mason has a wonderful relationship with her fiance, Jake and his child, Emma. Abby takes Emma for a walk along a beach in San Francisco but looks away from her momentarily, only to have Emma disappear in the fog.
Abby is frantic...she searches everywhere for her and calls the police to get them involved. So begins Abby's search...for the little girl lost and even...more
5 likes · like · see review
A little more than a minute. That's all. Abby didn't look away for more than that, and perhaps it wasn't even that long. But that was all the time it took for her fiance's daughter to disappear into the San Francisco fog.
What happened? Did Emma drown? Or was she kidnapped? Are horrible things happening to her, even as the city turns itself inside out, trying to find her?
Now Abby is guilt-stricken, but she refuses to give up. Long after the police close the search, and her fiance tries to move on...more
What happened? Did Emma drown? Or was she kidnapped? Are horrible things happening to her, even as the city turns itself inside out, trying to find her?
Now Abby is guilt-stricken, but she refuses to give up. Long after the police close the search, and her fiance tries to move on...more
This book is fantastic - I stayed up just to see how it ended. If you have children, a niece, a granddaughter - you must read this book. Abby - the main character who was walking on Ocean Beach when Emma disappeared - could be any of us. Her drive to never give up looking for her & unwillingness to accept the unacceptable is courageous, admirable and riveting. Her strained relationship with her fiance is heartwrenching as well. HIs pain will break your heart and tear at your soul.
This is a...more
This is a...more
I know a book is a great one when I keep thinking about it and the characters for weeks after I've finished it, even after other books have been read and forgotten. This book has that effect on me. I highly recommend it!
4 likes · like · see review
Brief synopsis: A woman is walking along the beach one day with her fiance's young daughter. She turns away for a moment, distracted by something, and the child completely disappears. The would-be stepmother refuses to believe the girl is dead, and is determined to keep searching for clues in order to find out what happened and bring the young girl back home.
Thoughts: I was intrigued by the premise of this story and the idea of how much can go astray in life within the blink of an eye. But the s...more
Thoughts: I was intrigued by the premise of this story and the idea of how much can go astray in life within the blink of an eye. But the s...more
5 likes · like · see review
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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4 likes · like · see review
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This was a difficult book to read and a difficult book to put down. A mother's worst fear is loosing a child...not knowing where they are or what is happening to them. Kidnappings are devistating. In pursuit of educating my kids on the real dangers of kidnapping, I may have over-exposed them to the tragic stories in the news these past few years. I have this urgency for them to "understand" that abduction is real, to be careful, to scream.
Richmond like to use a lot of prose while writing. Though...more
Richmond like to use a lot of prose while writing. Though...more
This book was given to me by a coworker. It is the story of a woman, Abby, who is walking on Ocean Beach in California with Emma, her fiance's daughter. Emma pulls her hand from Abby's and goes ahead, and in a few seconds of distraction on Abby's part, disappears from sight. The rest of the book is the engrossing story of the search for Emma and how life changes for Abby as a result. The book was very descriptive and detailed. Although it takes place mostly in California, Abby is from Alabama an...more
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Nov 15, 2012
Neide Parafitas
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
own,
leituras-2012
"O Ano do Nevoeiro" é um livro contado na personagem de Abby, noiva de Jake, que num dia de Verão, de um imenso nevoeiro, perde de vista por alguns segundos Emma, filha de Jake. O que Abby não sabe é a repercussão que esta pequena distração irá ter na sua vida daqui para a frente.
Passam-se semanas e mesmo meses e a polícia e mesmo Jake acreditam que nunca irão encontrar a menina, pois tudo leva a crer que morreu afogada na praia onde passeava. Mas Abby não desiste e acredita que Emma está à sua...more
Passam-se semanas e mesmo meses e a polícia e mesmo Jake acreditam que nunca irão encontrar a menina, pois tudo leva a crer que morreu afogada na praia onde passeava. Mas Abby não desiste e acredita que Emma está à sua...more
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This book really surprised me. I was expecting it to be a quick, easy read and pretty fluffy. What I found was a book I couldn't put down. The basic premise is this woman who is engaged to a man with a 6 year old daughter. The man goes on a weekend getaway and the woman has charge of the little girl. They go walking on the beach in San Francisco (hense the fog) and the girl disappears. It does go on a bit more in some areas then I tend to prefer. But there were lots of interesting facts about re...more
Every day we read of families who have "lost" their children, either by death or by abduction. What so many in society forget, or don't try to comprehend, is what the people left behind must be going through on a daily basis, how they continue to put one foot in front of the other to survive this event. This book deals with the loss of a young girl, left in the care of her soon to be mother, and in an instant she is gone.
The author has put in so much detailed information, and yet it was not ove...more
The author has put in so much detailed information, and yet it was not ove...more
A good friend suggested this book to me. I was very pleased with it! Very easy reading, likeable characters, emotion I could easily feel. I also liked the switching back and forth from Abby's recollection of events to her education on memory. I thought that was interesting. Toward the end my heart was literally beating so hard I thought people around me might actually hear it. Despite not knowing how life worked out for Abby, Jake and Emma, I was happy with ending. This book would actually be a...more
1 like · like · see review
I was torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one. It's a memorable book, very well-written at times, in need of a very good editor at others. I'm not sure about the accuracy of some of the factual assertions about memory research in this book. The relationship issues are well explored and well developed, and it left me vaguely depressed, which I'm not sure was the author's intent. If you are a step-parent you will likely find the relationships particularly compelling. Definitely worth reading, espe...more
The Year of Fog, by Michelle Richmond. A. Read by Carrington MacDuffie, (one of the very best narrators.) Produced by Blackstone and purchased through Audible.
The first lines of this book set up the story.
"Here is the truth, this is what I know: I was walking on the beach with Emma. It was cold and very foggy. She let go of my hand. I stopped to photograph
a baby seal, then glanced up toward the Great Highway. When I looked back, she was gone." From this devastating moment unfolds the spellbindin...more
The first lines of this book set up the story.
"Here is the truth, this is what I know: I was walking on the beach with Emma. It was cold and very foggy. She let go of my hand. I stopped to photograph
a baby seal, then glanced up toward the Great Highway. When I looked back, she was gone." From this devastating moment unfolds the spellbindin...more
I'm not a usual reader of the commercial-fiction, Picoult-style, emotional melodrama type of book. Perhaps I should have known better when I picked this book, used, at the library sale. What was I thinking? In my defense, the beginning started okay enough. But things went downhill soon after. The author waxes poetic on subjects she keeps repeating (memory, photographs, the day of the disappearance, etc.) for an irritatingly long time. I know the idea was to try to render the story achingly real,...more
This was my second reading of this novel first published in 2007 and a New York Times Bestseller. I'm not particularly drawn to the bestseller lists, but this story resonated with me on several levels. The story of six year old Emma, seemingly disappeared into thin air while walking on a foggy San Fransisco beach with her father's fiance, Abby and Abby's
The magical properties of photography, memory and hope are explored as Abby re-lives the day of the disappearance and is unrelenting in her que...more
The magical properties of photography, memory and hope are explored as Abby re-lives the day of the disappearance and is unrelenting in her que...more
The topic: missing child - the frantic search that follows the moment the child disappears - the sense of hopelessness which sets in when the case becomes unresolved - the painful challenges for the father and fiance - the womans' obsessive need to continue the search - how the entire event determines the lives and relationships of all involved.
Things I liked about this book: 1) the detailed descriptions of the City of San Francisco (one of my favorite cities to visit!); 2) the references and po...more
Things I liked about this book: 1) the detailed descriptions of the City of San Francisco (one of my favorite cities to visit!); 2) the references and po...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books I Loathed: Has Anyone Else Read This? | 4 | 76 | Dec 16, 2011 06:12pm | |
| Inspiration | 1 | 13 | Nov 16, 2011 10:00am | |
| the year of fog | 9 | 116 | Jul 01, 2011 05:13pm |
Michelle Richmond is the author most recently of NO ONE YOU KNOW, as well as the international bestseller THE YEAR OF FOG, the award-winning story collection The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, and the novel DREAM OF THE BLUE ROOM. Her new novel will be published by Bantam in March of 2014. Her books have been translated into ten languages.
Michelle grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and makes her home in N...more
More about Michelle Richmond...
Michelle grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and makes her home in N...more
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“...You find a way, somehow to get through the most horrible things, things you think would kill you. You find a way and you move through the days, one by one, in shock, in despair, but you move. The days pass, one after the other, and you go along with them - occasionally stunned, and not entirely relieved, to find that you are still alive.”
—
55 people liked it
“We take pictures because we can't accept that everything passes, we can't accept that the repetition of a moment is an impossibility. We wage a monotonous war against our own impending deaths, against time that turns children into that other, lesser species: adults. We take pictures because we know we will forget. We will forget the week, the day, the hour. We will forget when we were happiest. We take pictures out of pride, a desire to have the best of ourselve preserved. We fear that we will die and others will not know we lived.”
—
45 people liked it
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