SUMMARY

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS

A NOVEL M.L. STEDMAN

Preface

Tom and Isabel were busy doing their things at the little island off of Australia, suddenly Isabel
listens cried on the wind. After some time, Tom stood up, saying there were a boat washed up on
the beach. They started it out, and get a baby and dead guy. Isabel is all over the baby, and she
gave a piece of advice to Tom to wait till next morning to report the boat.

Chapter One

Looking back a bit to 1918, we saw Tom, doing a job interview to become a lighthouse worker.
He was given the job, and complete his training and all is grand. He then started a temporary job
on Janus Island, and gets sent over to the southwest to work. There he saw some people, and they
plan a game out of getting a lady’s unmentionables. A guy followed a lady and was trying to
have them, but Tom helps lady by convincing guy to leave her alone. She said thanks to him, and
they continue on their way.

So Tom’s got some issues from the war, but he looked to keep himself under control, and looked
decent guy all around. A bit of a loner, perhaps, but he looked cool enough. He stepped up when
he needed to, which were good.

Chapter Two

Extended description of Port Partageuse, and how it was affected by the war, and some great
cheese analogies. Tom showed up there, met a lady, and fed the birds with her. He later went to a
dinner party with the harbourmaster, and meets a bunch of dreadfully boring people who like to
talk about roads. The only interesting person is the lady he fed the birds with, though she implies
not to let on that they’ve met.

Port Partageuse sounds freakishly like my hometown in Canada, with the whole small town,
everybody up in your business thing. But it also is endearing. I think I could live there.

Okay, there is a person at this dinner party that liked to talk about roads. Not kidding. I guessed
everyone had got their thing, but you really couldn’t come up with a better obsession than road
construction? Poor guy.
Chapter Three

Tom went to Janus Island, and made friends with the guys who worked the boat. He got
introduced to the job, and were left there for three months by himself.

Three months is a long time when your only other company is a few animals. I guess it was a
busy job, but even so. I would need a lot of good books to make that work. But Tom looked to
like it.

It was fantastic to live on an island, though. Perhaps one a little closer to land than Janus. I
actually grew up on an island, but a much larger one. I missed the ocean now that I lived in the
prairies, so I could totally live on a little hunk of land in the middle of the water.

Chapter Four

Tom did his job, and after three months, the boat returned with goods and a words from Isabel.
She told him not to get eaten by a whale. He wrote her back.

Goodness, it must have been a relief to see another human being after three months. Not to
mention, you’ve probably eaten all your good food by that point. Tom looked less excited than I
probably would be. It must have been a something to get a love letter (sort of?) after that long by
yourself, just to know that someone else is thinking about you, even though you barely know
them.

Chapter Five

Tom got to go to the mainland for a while, as his position on Janus Island had become
permanent. He went on some dates with Isabel, and even if he did not admit it, he was totally
smitten. She kept poking at his past, though, making him all uncomfortable and weird. They
talked about having babies, and Isabel was very much into procreation. Isabel wanted him to take
her back to the island, but he thought he’s too old for her and that she wouldn’t want that life.
She gave him the weirdest kiss I had ever read, and then he showed her how to do it properly.

Isabel was that crazy kid who had been always too big for the small town that they grew up in.
She looked like fun, though. I thought the kissing scene towards the end of the chapter was
fantastic and sweet, and as crazy as I think they were, I got myself really rooting for them as a
couple.

Chapter Six
Tom went back to Janus, and got that he missed Isabel, and wrote her a few letters and sent her a
gift. In his last letter, he informs Isabel that if she was willing to risk it, so was he. He takes a
short leave so that they were able to get married.

Finally, Tom and I were on the same page that islands are lonely places when no one was
around. His letters were very sweet, and I really enjoyed reading them. Could you imagine
proposing to someone, and then keeping to wait to find out what they say three months.

Chapter Seven

Isabel had gone the island, and looked to be loving it so far. It looked like she and Tom had their
own little world, though it takes some getting used to. Isabel gets a map, and names all the
different parts of the island.

This was one of those chapters that were designed to give you a snapshot of what life were like
now that the two characters were together. There’s no real plot points in this chapter, but it was
sweet. We got a bit of information on Tom and Isabel that fitted into the upcoming chapters.

Chapter Eight

Isabel got out that she was pregnant. Tom started building a rocking chair, and Isabel excitedly
wrote home about the news. We got a short section talking about how Tom discovered that his
mother had passed on. They discussed names, and Tom wonders how they were chosen for this
baby. The chapter ends with Tom contemplating the sea, and Isabel crying for help.

We had known that this was going to end badly, assuming you’ve read the back of the book. We
knew there was going to be trouble, as much as this chapter tried to convince you otherwise. Evil
author, tried to get our hopes up, just to dash them.

Chapter Nine

It was revealed that Isabel has miscarried. She insisted that Tom not call a doctor to the island.
She struggled with the loss, and the isolation of the island. The plunks on the piano in the living
space, but it was too damaged to work. A man showed up on the boat on the next trip, and Isabel
is furious with Tom, because she assumed it is a doctor. It turned out he was a piano tuner, and
he was able to get their piano into a form of working order.

See, told you it was coming. Poor Isabel and Tom, I could not even imagine. I loved the scenes
of piano tuner, though. Looked such a sweet gesture, and a nice way to turn the story more
positive.

Chapter Ten
Fast forwarding to 1926, Isabel and Tom had miscarried a number of babies. They had buried
them all on the island. The baby and the dead man showed up on the boat, and Isabel warmed to
the baby very quickly. Tom was a little hesitant with the baby, but Isabel helped him grow
comfortable with the child. Isabel named the baby Lucy, and tried to persuade Tom to let her
stay with them, claiming that they were doing not anything wrong by caring the baby safe and
well cared for.

Perhaps it was because I was not the motherly of people, and because I had never had nor desired
children of my own, but the bright, flashing kidnapping light is going in my mind. Perhaps
unofficial adoption would be a better term. But still. You can just keep a baby you find. You
can’t just not report a dead body.

On one hand, I understand that Isabel was feeling desperate for a child after losing so many and
that might have seemed like a gift from above. But even so. Somebody must have cared about
the man and the baby, and would at least want to know if they were safe, even if they kept the
baby on the island in the meantime.

Chapter Eleven

Tom buried the body, and wrote word to the mainland that the baby they had previously lost had
been born. He was trying with taking in the baby and not to report the boat washing up on shore.
Isabel was not disturbed in the slightest about the whole thing, leading to a small spat between
them.

Chapter Twelve

Blue and Ralph showed up with gifts and goods for the baby. Tom was still trying, but Isabel
was in lost in her utopia on the island. Isabel started getting health issues, but her love for Lucy
made her unworried about all.

I got it fascinating how Isabel’s world had change so small on Janus. Perhaps we might all do the
same in that condition. I could not say I had been in the condition, nor would I wanted to, but it
will be surprising to see if that was a real life thing too.

Chapter Thirteen

They celebrate Lucy’s first birthday using the day that they found her. Tom read to Lucy from
the Lighthouse Keeper’s Handbook, and was struck by the repercussions that would happen if
they were ever found out. Isabel was very, very happy, and thanks Tom for allowing her to keep
the baby.
Things were not really getting better for Tom, though he seems to be getting better at forgetting
until he was reminded.

Chapter Fourteen

It had come time for their leave from the island, and Isabel was worried about bringing Lucy to
the mainland. She met her family and neighbors, and all went well, leaving Isabel feeling
relieved. We were told some history about Isabel’s parents, and how their lived had not been the
same since their sons died in the war, and how Lucy had turned everything around. Isabel got out
that she was not be able to have any more children. Tom signed the paperwork for another three-
year term on Janus.

Chapter Fifteen

Lucy was christened, and Tom and Isabel got out that the baby in their arms belonged to
someone in the community, and that the woman had not been able to cope with the loss of her
husband and child. Tom and Isabel argued about what they should do, Tom saying that they
needed to tell someone, and Isabel saying that they needed to at least wait a while.

Oh, here we go. Not only did the child belong to someone still alive, but it belonged to someone
who was from near Isabel’s home and someone who was completely heartbroken. Because just
knowing that someone missed the child was not enough, right? This was why you did not kidnap
children, no matter how good your intentions were! There will almost always were someone
whose heart got broken.

Chapter Sixteen

Tom and Isabel went back to Janus, and argued about what they should did with the new
information about their child. We visited Hannah, who was Lucy’s real mother, and find out that
someone had left her a letter saying her child is safe. We also got some history on Hannah’s
father.

It was interesting to learn about Hannah and her father, though most of the information in this
chapter seemed unnecessary to the story. At least, with the chapter I stopped at this week. Why
do we need all these details about Hannah’s father? Are they going to be important later? I might
be in trouble if so, because I’ve forgotten most of them already.

Chapter Seventeen

This chapter told Hannah and Frank’s love story. We got out how they met, how her father
disapproved of him because of his heritage, and that they had baptized their baby. We got out
that Frank and Lucy ended up in the boat because they were escaping some drunk’s intent on
hurting Frank.
Favorite quote: ‘History was that which is agreed upon by mutual consent’.

I absolutely adore that quote. I couldn’t resist including it.

Chapter Eighteen

Back on the island, things were going normally. Isabel comments to Lucy about the importance
of telling the truth, and Tom got all funny about it. Lucy, with help of her mother, got Tom a star
atlas for his birthday.

Tom feels guilty, Isabel were manipulative. It’s getting old. Something new please?

Chapter Nineteen

Bluey and Ralph show up with supplies, and Bluey inquires what it was like to be a husband and
a father. Tom’s not very helpful. Lucy burned her hand on a hot pot.

It was really interesting to hear more about what was going on in Bluey’s life. I rather like his
character, and I was curious to see where he ends up in all of this. He looked too important to
just be some random side character.

Chapter Twenty

Tom got a letter from his father, with a locket that had been left for him by his mother. His father
had passed away, and Tom struggled with his grief. Lucy tried to sit on her biological father’s
grave, and Tom snapped at her, leading it to be a thing that comes up with Isabel later. Tom
continued to have guilt issues. Tom still wanted to tell Hannah her daughter is with them; Isabel
still did not want to. There’s potential for the family to move to another lighthouse, far away
from Portageuse, and Tom was eager to get the position.

Am I allowed to smack Isabel? Because I really wanted to. I liked Tom in the beginning of this,
and she kept trying to ruin him with her manipulative, ignorant ways. Now he’s just spineless,
and was not doing anything. I think he should ignore Isabel and tell someone that the child isn’t
theirs. He’s a big boy, he could think for himself. He probably won’t though, because he loved
her. The trouble is, she’s going to drag him down with her, and he’ll have no one to blame but
himself for not standing up against her sooner.

If you’ve missed it, I’m not a fan of Isabel at this point, and growing less so of Tom. I’ve got my
fingers crossed that this gets better in future chapters. So tune in next week for Hilary’s
continued rant on why Tom needed to leave Isabel and do what’s right.
Chapter Twenty-One

Tom, Isabel, and Lucy went to Port Partageuse for a celebration of the lighthouse. Tom mets
Hannah there and realizes that she was the lady he saved from the sailor on the boat, back in the
day. Everything is very awkward.

I had no idea how Tom and Isabel thought they were going to avoid Hannah when they lived so
close, and staid in the same town when they’re on shore. They were getting a little too
comfortable on their island, I think. It was interesting that Hannah and Tom had met previously,
adds another dynamic to the whole story. Isabel was not going to be happy about this.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Isabel was not happy about Tom knowing Hannah from before he moved to Janus. They send
Lucy out to play with the cat while they bicker about it. Lucy went missing, but was soon found
playing with some scorpions. Things are super awkward between Isabel and Tom.

What did they think was going to happen when they sent their child out to play in a place bigger
than the island she’s spent most of her life on? Really, though. A cat was not a guardian. I did
like the part with the scorpions, though. I thought that was cute.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Hannah’s father ups the reward for news of his granddaughter. Hannah heard her mailbox in the
middle of the night, and got a package containing her daughter’s rattle, and a note matching the
handwriting from the last note. Bluey’s mother got out that Bluey recognizes the rattle from Tom
and Isabel’s place, and tried to convince him to turn them in for the money.

If they were smart, no one would have left any noted or anything for Hannah. Really, though,
you don’t leave clues when you wanted to keep your kidnapped child. I’m starting to think that
Isabel and Tom aren’t the brightest of the bunch. Presumably, the rattle was left by Isabel, since
she wrote the last note, but who even knew anymore. They’ve both dug themselves a nice hole to
lie in.

Good on Bluey for thinking of turning them in. Finally, someone is trying to make things right,
even if it’s for the wrong reasons.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tom and Isabel had been back on the island for a week when the boat returns with police aboard.
They question the pair separately, while Isabel told herself that this is all Tom’s fault. Tom
admits to sending the rattle, they fought. There’s a storm, so police keep them separated until
they could get to shore.

This chapter had me super confused. I had thought that Isabel sent the first letter to Hannah. But
it was mentioned in the previous chapter that the handwriting matched the first, and now Tom is
admitting to it. I feel like I missed something somewhere.

I got a kick out of the fact that Isabel believed that this is all Tom’s fault. Maybe it’s his fault you
got caught, for wanting to do the right thing. But you KIDNAPPED A CHILD. And that wasn’t
Tom’s idea. That was Isabel. So if anyone is at fault here, it’s Isabel for wanting to be a
kidnapper in the first place.

If Isabel was a real person and I saw her, I swear I would smack her for being so stupid.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tom was taken to a cell, Lucy is confused. The doctor’s wanted to examine Lucy, but Isabel was
hesitant to be separated. The police opt not to throw Isabel in jail until they know she was
involved, because of the social effects it could had. The doctor returns with Lucy, only for her to
be taken away to her real mother. Isabel’s parents are called to take her home.

I know Tom told them that it was all him, but he really should have thrown Isabel under the bus.
It was more her fault than his. She’s the manipulative one, he’s just spineless. The only person I
feel bad for in this whole thing is Lucy. She’s too young to understand what’s happening and
why she’s being taken away from the people she loves. This was going to be a hard transition for
both her and Hannah.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Hannah’s father was very suspicious of Tom. Lucy was having a hard time adjusting to the
changes in her life, and Hannah was struggling to connect with her. Isabel continues to refuse to
comment on the whole thing.

It’s hard to read about Lucy as she struggles to cope with the changes. She had no say in any of
it, and she’s been taken away from the only life she ever knew. It’s also hard to watch Hannah
struggle to get to know her daughter again. But at least she has gotten some closure over the
whole thing.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Isabel struggles with her life without Lucy. Ralph tried to convince Tom to tell the truth, but
Tom did not listen. Tom got questioned about whether or not the man in the boat was really
dead. Hannah takes Lucy to a doctor, in hopes to finding a way to connect with the child, and
bring her back to being happy.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bluey went to visit Tom, and Tom was clearly upset with him. But he gave Bluey a message to
give to Isabel, who ends up sick upon hearing it. Lucy continued to struggle at Hannah’s, and
everyone else struggles with the loss of her. Hannah finds Lucy using dolls to pretend about her
old life, and stopped her a couple of times, going so far as to make a ‘Grace’ doll for her.

I did not feel one bit bad for Isabel through this whole thing. She deserved to suffer for what she
did, for kidnapping Lucy. I think it’s terrible that she’s letting Tom took the fall for the choices
she made. They both should be punished, because even though his guilt, Tom played his part, but
Isabel should definitely took the harder fall.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ralph tried to get Tom to admit that Isabel played a role in Lucy’s abduction, but he resisted.
Hannah tried to coax Lucy by getting her a kitten to play with. Hannah’s father took Lucy to
some of their land, where there are horses and a forest, and told her that the forest will be hers
someday. This was the most positive we have seen Lucy since she was taken from Isabel, and
they see it as a good sign.

I was liking Ralph more and more as this book goes on. He looked like one of the few who had
his head on the right way.

It was also good to see Lucy starting to adjust a bit to the whole thing. It’s a lousy situation for
her, so it’s good that she’s starting to get a little more settled and calming down about the whole
thing. It will probably haunt her for the rest of her life, unfortunately, but at least she was coming
to some sense of peace with it.

Chapter Thirty

Isabel went into town with her mother, and ran into Lucy and Hannah. It’s a hard moment for
everyone involved. The police try to use Tom’s military history to get him to admit about killing
Frank.
Chapter Thirty-One

Lucy was still not happy at Hannah’s. Gwen saw Isabel sitting near the park, and decided to take
Lucy to see her, which pleases them both. Gwen tells Lucy to keep it a secret, but Lucy played
the whole thing out with her dolls, and Hannah saw. Hannah was understandably mad at her
sister. Tom wrote a letter to Isabel from the police station, and the police try to convince him to
give up Isabel

I could totally see where Gwen was coming from in her ideas. It’s so hard to watch children
suffer, and I could not imagine being in the middle of the whole thing. I also understand
Hannah’s perspective, because she’s been repeatedly told that she needed to keep Lucy away
from Isabel. It was a really interesting dynamic and something we had not seen as much of in
this book. Made for a nice change.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Hannah went to the police station to talk to Tom. Lucy went missing, and they immediately
approach Isabel regarding whether she’d seen the child.

When Lucy went missing, I thought that this story was going to take a heartbreaker ending and
that Lucy was going to die of exposure or something like that. And I was so excited. Not because
I’m heartless and like seeing kids get hurt, but because those endings are always the best. The
ones that take what you’ve been rooting for since the beginning of the book, and just tear you
apart.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lucy went looking for her home, but went lost making her way to the sea. The police find her
asleep on the beach. Everyone was relieved.

Obviously, Lucy was fine. I was disappointed because that would have been the best plot twist
ending. A missed opportunity, I think.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Isabel went to talk to Ralph about everything that happened, because she needed to get it off her
chest. Isabel went to the police station, but ran into Hannah on the way. Hannah said that if she
said that it was Tom’s fault, she’d let Lucy come and lived with her. Isabel said it was Tom.
Isabel went home and finally reads Tom’s letter.

This chapter really showed the desperation Hannah was feeling with Lucy and how to make
everything work. Could you imagine offering to give up your children, just for the sole purpose
of making them happy? Even if it was the best thing to do, that would be so impossibly difficult.
But after struggling with Lucy all this time, I could only imagine just how desperate Hannah
must be to make her daughter happy again.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Isabel went to the police stations and tell them the truth about what happened. Tom and Isabel
were reunited in prison. Lucy was spending time with her grandfather, and insisted that she was
not Grace. Her grandfather decided to compromise, and started calling her Lucy-Grace. Lucy-
Grace was more accepting when she was returned to Hannah.

It’s about bloody time that Isabel owns up to her mistakes. She deserves everything that was
coming for her.

I loved seeing that Lucy was starting to come around to her new family, and that she was finding
ways to make her old life and her new one come together. I thought the name thing was a really
slick idea. Good on Septimus for that one.

Chapter Thirty-Six

After being released from a 3-month sentence, Tom ran into Hannah, who still had not forgiven
them, but has chosen to move on. Tom is living in Albany so as to be closer to Isabel, who was
in a nursing home.

I did not quite catch why Isabel was in the nursing home. I know she had cancer later, but maybe
I missed something?

Chapter Thirty-Seven

In 1950, Isabel had died of cancer, with Tom at her side. They were come to terms with
everything, though they still missed Lucy. After the funeral, a young lady showed up looking for
the Sherburne’s. It turned out to be Lucy-Grace. Isabel had left some things for Lucy, if she ever
showed, but Lucy opts to leave them so she has a reason to return.

I thought it was really sweet that Lucy came back to see Tom. Even though that was such a
cliché in these sorted of books. Every book that I’ve read where a kid is taken away from
someone, or given up for adoption, or something along those lines, had this ending. But it was
sweet, so we’ll let it go and not judge too harshly.