This is an unusual book for me to review. It’s only available on Kindle at the moment, but it’s only ninety-nine cents. However, Celia Anderson’s The Secret Gift of Lucia Lemon will be released as a paperback in May. It’s a beautiful story of a made family. Thank you to Kaye Wilkinson Barley for recommending the book. Now, I”m passing that recommendation on to other readers.

Tommy Lemon has traveled the world. Now, at seventy, he realizes he’s too young to be in the retirement complex where he lives. But, after a health scare, he panicked. He didn’t panic, though, when he sent money to his godson, Des and Des’ wife, Lucia, along with their son, Isaac. The couple had retired, and he hoped it would provide them with an opportunity. But, the device he sent them was even more special than the money. It might provide the chance for adventure.

Lucia does see the money as an opportunity, and she buys a camper van, Flora the Explorer. But, Des isn’t ready. He never wanted to leave home, never wanted adventure. He’s so angry he leaves Lucia. But, Lucia is still determined to travel. She packs up her son, Isaac, her lodger, Polly, and Polly’s baby, and they hit the road.

Before several days pass, Lucia is building a traveling family. “A baby covered in chips, a flaky twenty-something, a reclusive computer-game buff and his mother who thought she didn’t want adventures, an extrovert re-born adventurer and an aristocrat.” As Polly says, they’re a mixed bunch. They’re a mixed bunch determined to travel the roads of Great Britain, and, maybe elsewhere. Wherever their dreams take them.

But, everything isn’t perfect. Everyone except the baby has an issue that will need to be dealt with as they travel. Can all these people build one big family, despite coping with personal loss, neurodiversity, and heartache? You can only learn more about the gift Tommy shared, and this group of travelers if you pick up The Secret Gift of Lucia Lemon.

The Secret Gift of Lucia Lemon by Celia Anderson. HarperCollins, 2021. 372p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I bought the Kindle edition.