Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of "Songs of Willow Frost" by Jamie Ford, published in September 2013. Please forgive my delay in reading and reviewing this novel.

I read and thoroughly enjoyed “The House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” years ago; thus, I looked forward to reading this new novel. The story follows William Eng, a 12-year-old orphan, who is trying to locate the mother who left him at the Sacred Heart Orphanage in Seattle during the 1930s. He embarks on the journey with his blind friend, Charlotte, to find his mom, Liu Song, who is presumed to be the Chinese actress Wilow Frost.

Major themes in the novel include the consequences of decisions, loss, love, self-awareness, yearning, and good and evil. This heartbreaking saga spans the 1920s and 1930s as the background story of William and his mother unfolds.

Ultimately, the reader is left to determine how they feel about William’s story. I have to admit, I did not enjoy it as much as “The House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.”