Perfume River

"A beautiful story with raw and rich characters showing humanity at its flawed worst and inspiring best."
A struggling young artist. A bus stop. A boy.
An unlikely friendship is the backdrop for a story about anxiety and hope, about believing in the future and reconciling the past.
Sam Ellings drew everyday people doing everyday things: waiting around at the bus stop, at the grocery store, at the bank. Despite the Cold War tensions of the late 1980s, she figured things would turn out okay. Then she met Rexel, a young boy also looking for answers. Their unlikely friendship is the backdrop for a story about anxiety and hope, about believing in the future and reconciling the past, as Sam navigates her way through the Minnesota seasons in search of happiness.
Did Sam deserve to be happy or not? Wasn't it that simple? All her life, all the men she'd wanted to love, all the chances she'd taken, left her at night with a stereo and a skylight in the ceiling, where all she could see were the icy stars.
Perfume River is filled with a cast of characters as diverse and compelling as those at the bus stop where Sam likes to sit on the sidewalk and draw. Each character brings something to the table that helps Sam figure out how to move forward and embrace what's in her heart.