I didn’t exactly know what I was getting with this book but after a few friends recommended it I dove in. Understanding the different characters ahead of time helped (I saw an overview on Goodreads), as there are a lot of characters. I thought the writing was beautiful and the book really captures small town living beautifully. For those that like character driven books in small towns this is a winner.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. The drama and complications unfold like a car traveling a winding road, which takes us to Dalton.

This strong character-driven novel features people whose lives intersect in personal and public ways, fueling the tension and drama of the story. There's a young mother experiencing postpartum depression, and a teenage boy, who is confused about sexuality. Another young woman is in an abusive marriage. There are two older couples who've lost the romance and magic in their marriages. And two women who are more than friends.

All of these people are wonderful characters that I very much enjoyed reading about in this wonderful debut novel by a very talented author.

Dalton is a small idyllic town in Maine where everyone seems happy. On the surface, that is. Bowring deftly delves into the long buried memories and secrets of this community. Each character is so human as they confront the joy and sadness of life. I loved the beautiful writing and each character's connection to the earth. This is ultimately a story about families and friendships and the importance of connecting with others.
The Road to Dalton is a quiet little treasure.
Thanks to Europa for publishing these gems and supporting debut authors.
Thanks to both Net Galley and Europa for an early read.

Bowring's writing is compelling as she gets under the skin of her characters and their private struggles however The Road to Dalton feels a bit like a collection of well-written short stories. The lives of the characters often intersect but I feel that the book didn't ever come together as a whole although readers of small town novels will still find a lot to enjoy here.
My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance review copy.

Dalton, Maine is a small town where everyone knows everyone and everything. But even so, there are secrets aplenty. Read this if you like a small town setting and family secrets. Propulsive and thoughtful.

Thank you to the author, Europa Editions and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is less a novel and more a loosely interwoven collection of stories focusing on a small rural community where life is hard-scrabble, outsiders are regarded with suspicion and grudges are carried through generations. This makes the book sound like a really depressing read, but the author's writing is beautiful - spare and yet rich - and makes the different characters compelling, each in their own quiet way. Lot of heavy issues are mentioned, e.g. domestic abuse, post-partum depression, so this may be a difficult read for some

THE ROAD TO DALTON is an immersive novel that follows a large cast of characters in a rural Maine town where secrets are difficult to keep. I really enjoyed the sense of community that emerges from the narrative, and the writing is lovely and elegant. The time period means technology like cell phones aren't an issue. I appreciate the novel's relatively brief length. No need to add extraneous padding; this story is the right length, and other writers would do well to follow its example of brevity. Some readers may find the lack of a tidy conclusion less than satisfying; however, the ending adds to the "real life" feel of the book. Recommended for fans of literary fiction.

The Road to Dalton is a story of the lives of several people living in the town Dalton in Maine. The story's focus moves between many characters: married couples, two women lovers, parents and their children, and an adolescent boy. I appreciated the complex exploration of important topics, such as post partum depression, domestic violence, and sexual identity. Most of the characters were authentic and I felt a connection to them as I read their stories.

The many stories are interwoven well and I enjoyed the feeling of understanding a community that I got from the novel. At the end, I felt no closure, though, and I think this was because there were so many storylines and so many serious issues for a shorter novel. I did enjoy reading the story and I think the stories are important, but focusing more on a single protagonist, or maybe two at most, would have allowed a deeper look into these lives. In particular, I think the boy Greg's story was very compelling and I would have read a whole novel about his journey.

This was an interesting book. I believe this would be enjoyable for fans of familial lineage books (think: Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing). It follows a cast of characters in a small town and how they develop and grow around a few key events (TW: suicide, suicidal thoughts, eating disorder). The characters are fairly diverse in their identities and I enjoyed getting to know them all!

As a Mainer, I especially appreciate Bowring's portrait of a small community far from any cities. The novel has many "main" characters whose stories are interwoven, which is the way of small towns. As readers, we can know more about them than their neighbors do, and their secrets drive their interactions in ways that may seem inexplicable to others. The ending does not provide tidy resolutions to their situations, but is satisfying just the same. We can hope that the author will continue to explore some of these characters in future books.

A full review will be sent later as I wanted to get this book listed for the June review session. A full review will be added at a later date.

Shannon Bowring does a wonderful job of capturing the subtle nuances of late 20th Century rural life in her wonderful debut, “The Road To Dalton”.

Dalton is an isolated outpost in the forests of far Northern Maine. Everyone knows everyone. Memories are deep, generational, grudges are long-lasting. Life is harsh, both the physical and the metaphysical. Trauma often runs deep. People try to keep secrets, but secrets are hard, if not impossible, to keep. Everyone is self-sufficient, until it is clear that self-sufficiency may cost you your life. At the end of the day, everyone is part of the community, though being accepted into it can be a whole other thing.

I can’t over-stress the pleasure that I felt reading a rich narrative where it is 1990 and mobile phones and social-media are not present. The inability to assume that everyone is “on the grid” and available at all times increases the challenges and risks, joys and sorrows of life and death. The pace is deliberate until it suddenly explodes. It is a more genuine life, for better and for worse.

I can’t wait for more from Shannon Bowring. She has her finger on the pulse of real people living real lives. We can never get enough of that.

PS. Loved the “soundtrack”.

Thanks to Europa Editions and NetGalley for the eARC