Finally, a new book by Anita Shreve!  It is 1947 in Maine.  After a rainy spring and a very dry summer, coastal Maine experiences a raging fire.  Grace Holland manages to save her own life as well as her two young children,  but her home and all of her belongings are destroyed and her husband has disappeared.  As a result of the fire and with the help of several women, including her mother, Grace goes from being a “typical”  1940’s housewife to becoming an independent,resourceful young woman.

Like most of Shreve’s novels, The Stars Are Fire is easy to get into with good character development and a plot that keeps moving along.  Despite a rather hard to believe conclusion, I found this a very enjoyable read.