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Jun 15, 2008

Lisa rated it:

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 j More...

20 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jul 01, 2008

Anne Meade rated it:

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0 comments like (21 people liked it)

Apr 09, 2008

Brian rated it:

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. Howe More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Cardee rated it:

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, " More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2008

Kate rated it:

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 sho More...

1 comment like (12 people liked it)

May 04, 2008

Marika rated it:

"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, t More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 04, 2008

Laura rated it:

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 th More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2008

Nan rated it:

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2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 20, 2008

Mich rated it:

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0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2009

Diane rated it:

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 l More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Melissa rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 03, 2008

Kelly rated it:

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.

Th More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2009

Beth rated it:

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!

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2009

Kevin rated it:

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 bril More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 08, 2010

Laurel rated it:

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 More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 13, 2009

Nikki rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 23, 2009

Alisa rated it:

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1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jul 06, 2008

Penny rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 10, 2008

Jayci rated it:

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 p More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 13, 2008

Helen rated it:

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 Alaba More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2011

Jeri rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 03, 2008

Traci rated it:

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...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 22, 2008

Almira rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 11, 2008

Keri rated it:

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 More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 23, 2008

Jess rated it:

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, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2009

Christina rated it:

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0 comments like

Jan 14, 2009

Kathleen added it

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 devast More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Alicia rated it:

Abby is watching her fiance, Jake's, 6 year old daughter, Emma, while he is away for the weekend. While they are walking a foggy beach, Abby is distracted for a minute. That's all it takes for Emma to disappear. The book follows the year long journey of Abby and Jake as they search for Emma. The effect the loss has on their relationship and on themselves. It is a simple book and a quick read. I liked that Richmond peppered in some information about memory (as Abby tried to recall details o More...

0 comments like

Sep 15, 2011

Allyson rated it:

This was recommended to me by a reliable source as an interesting book but I was very unsure when it arrived to my library. From the cover to the book recommendation blurbs to the subject matter, I never would have picked it up and brought it home.
It is a very fast read and the author has an engaging voice. She moves her story along and while I felt the ending was a foregone conclusion, how she arrived at it was very unpredictable and surprising. I really had no idea how it would devel More...

0 comments like

May 15, 2011

Louise rated it:

I had no idea what to expect from this novel as I’d never heard of the author and didn’t pick it out myself. My husband happened to be going through Costco on Friday and picked me up two books, one of which was this one. I’m pleased to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The book just captivated me and held my attention page after page.

Abby Mason and 6-year-old Emma Balfour were walking along Ocean Beach on a cold July morning in San Francisco. Emma was intently searching the More...

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