Jasper’s Road
Jasper’s Road is the follow up to Susan White’s popular novels Ten Thousand Truths and Waiting for Still Water. Life on the Walton Lake Road changes for Jasper Williams when Jake Turner moves to the farm to be fostered by Rachel and Ryan. Jasper finds his confidence shaken and the very essence of who he believes himself to be and where he belongs, undermined.
A near tragedy puts Jasper front and centre making him a hero and local celebrity. What unfolds brings everyone closer to discovering what Amelia always knew. Place, family and love can give everyone the gift of belonging, when they need it the most. “Dad, how come Amelia took me when she never took babies?” “We all took you Jasper. Amelia usually only took older kids but I believe everything just fell into place and you ended up exactly where you were meant to be. The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew. “You didn’t freak out when you saw my messed-up mouth?”
“There was not a thing messed up about you Son. Well, your poop stunk but whose poop doesn’t? You were perfect.
Jasper’s Road is not always an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one that highlights the fact that families do not have to be conventional to work. Jasper’s Road is a good addition to all libraries as a read alone, and it would have extra impact if purchased in conjunction with the earlier volumes Ten Thousand Truths and Waiting for Still Water. Highly recommended.
While this journey down Jasper’s Road is complete, for now, I suspect that there are more travels ahead for Jasper, Jake, Tommy and their families, perhaps in New Brunswick or not, and I really hope that Susan White takes us down a few more of those roads by gifting us with their stories too.