The Clearing

SUPER SWEET

This book is easy to read in almost 1 sitting. The storyline is very simple. It is about a girl that was in an abusive relationship and how she finds the strength to overcome the pain. It is also about a boy who finds the strength to move on and face the future, no matter what the cost. LOVE is what binds them.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Lesley for TeensReadToo.com

Amy has moved in with her Great Aunt to get away from her abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Matt. Now living in the middle of nowhere, Amy is having to make new friends and start over at a new high school. She finds it difficult leaving the past behind and letting her guard down with her new friends.

Seeking comfort from everything that's going on around her, she sees a misty clearing behind her Aunt's house. When she crosses the other side she meets Henry, a boy unlike the others who actually makes her feel safe.

Henry is stuck in the year 1944 with his mother and Grandfather. Nothing changes, nothing grows old; he seeks solace alone in the books he's read dozens of times. When he meets Amy, everything he knows begins to change. His mother suddenly begins to ask questions, and his grandfather begins to remember things he never had before.

Was it a mistake for Henry to bring Amy to the other side? Once Amy realizes what is going on, will she run or decide to stay with the only person who makes her feel alive?

THE CLEARING is an incredibly emotional love story. Filled with mystery, sorrow, loneliness, and heartache, be prepared to grab a box of tissues - it's a tearjerker.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Good!

A boy is stuck in time, unable to move forward after a terrible tragedy befalls his family. A girl moves away from everything to recover from an abusive relationship. They meet in the clearing and fall in love. They learn important lessons and help each other move on. The ending is unexpected and slightly sad.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Clearing by Heather Davis

Trying to get away from her abusive ex-boyfriend and non-supportive friends, Amy moves to a small town in Washington to live with her Great Aunt Mae. Still weary of people, Amy is reluctant to make friends, even with the cute boys that seem to like her. But one day when walking she finds a guy named Henry in a misty clearing behind her Aunt Mae's house who seems different from the other guys she knows. He's old-fashioned, polite, and respects Amy like a guy hasn't before . Though Amy doesn't quite know how different Henry is because in that clearing of mist, Henry is living in the summer of 1944. Amy doesn't know what's keeping Henry and his family stuck in the past but she does know that she's falling for him. Told in the alternating points of view of two teens living decades apart The Clearing is a beautiful romance about standing up for yourself and learning to face your fears and future. I really liked most of the book but the end just felt to neat for me. Everyone should have an person like Aunt Mae in their life; she was so full of life and had such a great love for her broken niece. Amy and Henry were great main characters and had wonderful chemistry. I only really didn't care for Amy's new 'friends', they just didn't feel real and I kept wondering why people would keep trying to be friends with someone who was so closed off. I really recommend this great short little romance and don't forget your tissues because I definitely teared up some!
Rachael Recommends: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl, A Northern Light Jennifer Donnelly, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Evermore by Alyson Noel, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and Twenties Girl by Sofie Kinsella.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Interesting!

In this bittersweet romance, two teens living decades apart form a bond that will change their lives forever.

Amy is drawn to the misty, mysterious clearing behind her Aunt Mae's place because it looks like the perfect place to hide from life. A place to block out the pain of her last relationship, to avoid the kids in her new town, to stop dwelling on what her future holds after high school. Then, she meets a boy lurking in the mist--Henry. Henry is different from any other guy Amy has ever known. And after several meetings in the clearing, she's starting to fall for him. But Amy is stunned when she finds out just how different Henry really is. Because on his side of the clearing, it's still 1944. By some miracle, Henry and his family are stuck in the past, staving off the tragedy that will strike them in the future. Amy's crossing over to Henry's side brings him more happiness than he's ever known--but her presence also threatens to destroy his safe existence.

A new Town, a new School, new Friends, and a new Life. Amy's story begins with her moving in with her Aunt into the country; away from the busy hustle of the city and her old self. Adjusting to this new lifestyle is changeling until she meets Henry. Of course she thinks everything is normal and he'll be her first friend, but she doesn't see him at school and her Aunt doesn't know who he is. Then their visits become odder and odder, until Amy realizes what is really happening. Henry, on the other hand, shares this book with Amy. His story begins with a life that is separated by the thick fog that surrounds his home/family and the sad reality beyond. Despite their differences, the two begin a courtship that is very bittersweet.

It was a cute read! I adore time travel tales and this was very easy to get caught up in. Henry's point of view was very realistic (but a little odd in how it began) and very heartbreaking and lonesome at times. Amy's character starts off as a girl who is "running" away from her past problems and remaining almost weak in how she handles situations, but it was nice to see her develop into a stronger person by the end. Overall, it's a book to curl up with and enjoy. It's emotionally cheesy (I cried at the end) and yet, a beautifully unique love story.

Likes: The simple way of life during WWII.

Dislikes: Amy's attitude at times toward her past abusive relationship.

Love love loved this book

If you like romance and star- crossed lvers you'll love this book

My Favorite!

I'm 14 years old and i loved the sweet romance of this book. read it in a day! most of all i liked the ending even though its not how i wanted to end i still love this book!

Amazing

Super creative, beautifully written love story. :)

Beautiful

At first I didnt think I'd like this, but then I couldnt put it down! It was a besutiful story... made me cry in the end! Deffently a must read!!!

Simply Amazing, A Definite Must Read

When I picked this book out in the library, I knew it'd be a book that'd touch me in a way that books like Twenty Boy Summer and Nineteen Mintues did. You want to be these characters. You want a Henry. You want to escape the mundane and sometimes unhappy lifestyle that you're presently in like Amy. Being the romantic sap that I am, this book was simply yet effectively written; this book is very much so powerful and should be read by everyone. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Excellent

No text was provided for this review.

AAAAMAZZZINNG :)

This booked sucked me in from the moment I began to read it! Its an amazing book written by an amazing author. I would definitley recommend this book to anyone over 11. Totally a book you should read :) !!!!!!!

The Clearing? Uh-Maz-Ing!

I haven't had a good read in such a long time. I bought this book just yesterday and I literally couldn't put it down! Everytime I tried to it ended up back in my hands and I began reading it again. Henry is such a marvelous and well though out character and I think Davis actually sat down and planned it like authors really should. There was porbably only one thing I didn't particularily care for was the last chapter. Although well written, it's heartbreaking her having to forget her True Love from the past and the moments they shared together. The book was excellent, but I thought it best if they ended it waith the second to last chapter or at least a good chapter where she remembers but remembers him with happy memories.

A Sonnet review (from All-Consuming Books)

"When Amy needs a break from her old home,
she moves out to the boondocks with Aunt Mae,
and in her mild depression starts to roam
behind their trailer in this clearing--Hey,
it's Henry!--an old-fashioned fellow who's
completely unlike her abusive ex.
They talk, they share. Soon, they don't want to lose
each other, though he's pretty sure she wrecks
the changeless 1940's world, which he
has prayed to a standstill. It if changes now,
he risks his mother's death, if not, Amy
is lost to him. Tissues! You may cry, now.
A reading of The Clearing's sure to bring
some sweet sighs, if you like that sort of thing."

The sensory experience of the novel is nice--it emphasizes scents and moods and even air currents in such a way that it's not difficult to step into the world of the story. I want to live at Aunt Mae's place. Wood stove, brick hearth, hand-stitched quilts, honey jars and homemade jam, acres and acres of back yard, and a friendly German shepherd dog make it sound like just the place to recoup from any type of unpleasant experience. And Amy certainly needs some recovery time, which is part of why Henry's a good match for her. I can see how an old-fashioned gentleman like Henry would appeal to a girl with a wounded spirit.

Comparisons to The Time Traveler's Wife are inevitable, what with the love interests meeting in a meadow, the time weirdness, and the main guys both being named Henry, but the similarities don't extend much farther. To me, it's a little more like the movie The Lake House, where both participants are wedged on the wrong side of time.

Character notes: I felt sympathy for Amy, but I'm not really pleased by the level of attachment she still feels for her nasty ex, or the way she keeps herself from really connecting with Lori and Jackson, two nice kids who make continual overtures of friendship. Henry is sweet. Aunt Mae herself is a jewel--understanding, but not all-knowing; friendly and encouraging, but not a saint.

Read it!!!

Honestly, one of the best books ever!! it has everything in it! i strongly suggest this book.

Lost in the past

Amy moved away from her town to get away from Matt, the ex boyfriend who used her as a punching bag more then a girlfiend. She decides to live with her Aunt Mae in a small trailer, and miles away from Matt. A fresh start, time to be someone new, and live a life where she can forget boys, and just breathe. Yet, things aren't that easy.
Behind her cozy trailer is a clearing filled with mist, and filled with other lives. When Amy crosses thru it, she doesn't expect to meet Henry, and the 1944 life he has frozen in time. He is unlike any other man, someone who cares, and who loves her. Their true love is there, but it can never remain. Henry has to get time rolling again, even if that means losing the love of his life.
THE CLEARING is all about finding yourself, the people you that mean the most, and how to deal with the very love of your life.

WELL WORTH THE $6.03...

LOVED THIS BOOK, I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO ALL WHO ENJOY A GOOD LOVE STORY :)

Sweet and Romantic

I really like The Clearing although it is not without its faults. It tells the story of a broken girl named Amy who moves away from her abusive boyfriend to live w/ her sweet and caring aunt Mae. She wanders into a misty clearing behind her aunt's home to find a mysterious boy named Henry, who she eventually finds out is from the past. The writing is okay and it is written from both of the main characters' povs.

What I didn't care for was Amy or any of her new "friends". Amy herself is sort of suspicious of everyone and everything that isn't a boy she's pressed for...she's just too boy-dependent and weak. The kids she befriend at her new school seem forced and I couldn't understand why any of them would even bother to hang out w/ each other. I really adored Henry and his old school ways - something about that innocent courtship that doesn't really exist anymore seems so sweet.

The story flows nicely but that's about it. I'm sure I could name the climax of the story, but it wasn't all that interesting. The story just is...and that's all. It was a nice and quick read that was probably supposed to make me cry, but it didn't.

good

I think it was a good book one of those that makes you think what if,

Time Travel and Romance!

Amy has just got out of an abusive relationship and decides to move in with her Aunt Mae to the town of Rockville. Wanting to get away from the bad memories and her old high school, she lives in a trailer on forty acres of farmland. What starts out as just a simple move becomes a tale of romance as Amy discovers a clearing full of fog and when she crosses over the clearing, she finds Henry--a boy stuck with his family in the summer of 1944.

As Amy and Henry start to fall for each other, they realize something isn't right. Henry should have moved on with his life but something is keeping him in 1944, too afraid to let his life continue. The novel is a bittersweet romance, but one that ends up making you think how our lives can entwine with others to impact them in ways we can never know.

I really enjoyed the plot. I'm a fan of time travel stories and just reading the way Henry talks--"much obliged"--made me smile. The book shifts between Amy and Henry's perspective and gave a nice juxtaposition of the two different worlds they inhabited. Despite their difference, they connected with one another. However, while I enjoyed the plot, I wasn't too fond of the characters. I didn't always find their affection believable and I think this probably stemmed from me finding Amy annoying. She was a very introverted character who didn't encourage friendship at her new high school, even though Jackson would go out of his way to befriend her. She sort of brushed off anyone who wasn't Henry. She was just a little too boy focused--first with her abusive boyfriend Matt and now with the impossible boy from 1944, Henry. By the end of the book I had a soft spot for Jackson, who was the normal-firmly-in-the-twenty-first-centruy-non-abusive boy. In the end, I was really reading this book for the side characters, hoping for happy endings for both Mae and Jackson.