BOOK BLURB
from Amazon:
From USA Today featured novelist and Western Writers of America Spur award finalist Milana Marsenich, The Swan Keeper is an historical, coming-of-age novel set in 1920s Montana.

On her eleventh birthday, Lilly’s family visits the Cattail Marsh to see the newly hatched cygnets. The family outing turns tragic when Dean Drake shows up with his shotgun. Lilly sees him kill her father, injure her mother, and slaughter the bevy of trumpeter swans. The sheriff, her mother, sister, and best friend all think Lilly is trying to make sense of a senseless accident by blaming Drake. But Lilly knows the truth. Left alone she must bring him to justice.

The Swan Keeper by Milana Marsenich

“Author Milana Marsenich has penned a dramatic page-turner brimming with authentic detail. She knows this Montana countryside inside and out, her vivid descriptions capturing the spirit of the craggy Mission Mountains.”—Maggie Plummer, author of Spirited Away – A Novel of the Stolen Irish and Daring Passage: Book Two of the Spirited Away Saga

MY REVIEW

Lilly has learned about the trumpeter swans from her father. Together they visit the local wetlands to watch and learn about the swans. Lilly is wanting big things for her eleventh birthday, and is especially excited about visiting the swans with her father, mother, and sister. Unfortunately, the day ends in tragedy when a man shows up to shoot the swans.

Set in 1920s Montana, this novel is about a young girl coming of age while dealing with loss, love, and revenge. When Lilly’s mother and father are shot, Lilly sees the shooter. Sadly, nobody believes her. They say she is trying to make sense of a tragic accident, but she knows the truth. Lilly takes it upon herself to prove who the guilty man is and bring him to justice.

A wonderfully written story about family, relationships, and the beauty of nature. This novel does an excellent job of balancing reality with fantasy. Historical fiction with a touch of magical realism. Tragic, heartfelt, and magical.