** spoiler alert ** I really liked this book and for the first two thirds I could barely put it down ... but the last third was slow and I didn't like the ending. I thought the situation Ian found himself in at 18 years old was unimaginable and to jump in - sacrificing his own interests set up for a wonderful story. However, I would have liked some more thought to how the children felt about their situation. Basically without a mother or a father at a very young age. I wondered about their feelings towards or gratitude for Ian. Also, Ian jumped into his non-traditional church during a dark time – it surprised me that he never wavered from his original feelings about the church. Ian spend most of his adult life looking for a sign from Danny of forgiveness ... not sure if the ending answered this or just showed that life is full circle.