THE LIGHT OF LUNA PARK by Addison Armstrong

 

In the spirit of The Orphan Train and Before We Were Yours, a historical debut about a nurse who chooses to save a baby's life, and risks her own in the process, exploring the ties of motherhood and the little-known history of Coney Island and America's first incubators.

A nurse's choice. A daughter's search for answers.

New York City, 1926. Nurse Althea Anderson's heart is near breaking when she witnesses another premature baby die at Bellevue Hospital. So when she reads an article detailing the amazing survival rates of babies treated in incubators in an exhibit at Luna Park, Coney Island, it feels like the miracle she has been searching for. But the doctors at Bellevue dismiss Althea and this unconventional medicine, forcing her to make a choice between a baby's life and the doctors' wishes that will change everything.

Twenty-five years later, Stella Wright is falling apart. Her mother has just passed, she quit a job she loves, and her marriage is struggling. Then she discovers a letter that brings into question everything she knew about her mother, and everything she knows about herself.

The Light of Luna Park is a tale of courage and an ode to the sacrificial love of mothers.

MY THOUGHTS: 

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS ONE.

This is a debut novel that will turn you into a weeping pile of mush. It's beautifully-heartbreaking. It's a subject that I have never read about. At least in part. I never knew about the incubators in Luna Park. I never knew they had been around for such a long time. What I did know is how awful women were treated in these times. Whether from being a nurse, teacher or pregnant mother. How dare you show yourself if it's obvious you are expecting. That just turns my stomach. How can women think they want to go back to the times before they had rights. Before they were allowed to have minds of their own. To be treated like second class humans. As nurses they had to keep their mouths shut and do what the male doctor told them. 

This book is told from two different time periods and two different women. It is done in a way that you will wonder who the two will eventually intersect. How they are related. I did guess as you may too. Not a big secret but I won't tell. 

In 1926, Althea Anderson was a young nurse in training. Only twenty four years old and working hard at getting her nursing degree. She was alone and making her way in the world. Both of her parents were deceased. Her mom during childbirth. Her dad just a few years before. The things Althea sees and does will make you love her. She's a strong young woman who only wants to do what is right. What is best for a very tiny early preterm baby. From there her life will never be the same.

In 1950, Stella Wright, is a young school teacher. Only twenty four years old and teaching children with special needs. It had been written in law that all children deserved an education no matter what and she takes this very serious. She's married and loves her husband more than anything. While he wants children Stella is not quite ready yet. She's still mourning the loss of her beloved mother just three months earlier. Her husband, Jack, is a wonderful man who she adores. He has nightmares and episodes from his time in the war. He doesn't want to talk about it and she feels he should.

This story will take you places. It will touch your heart in ways you will not be ready for. It's a historical and a romance all in one. It's a learning read too. At least for me it was. I got so angry at how the women were treated. Not only in the early twenties but also in the fifties. How dare they pretend to have a mind of their own. How dare they voice an opinion. Now I do have to say that Jack was not a pretentious pig like most of the men. And you will meet Charlie who is not either. Two men who value a woman's opinion. For that time period they were jewels for sure.

This book was great. This author took me in and didn't let go. I read this book until very late and I rarely do that. I didn't want to put it down. I hate that it ended but loved the ending too. This story made me laugh a few times but made me cry those big ugly tears too. The ones that make your eyes feel raw. The good kind.

Thank you #NetGalley, #AddisonArmstrong, #PenguinGroupPutnam for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

5/5 huge stars and it would be more if possible. I highly recommend this one to you.