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Reviewed by C.R. Hurst for Readers' Favorite
Finding Isobel by Mary Behan follows a young woman’s journey of self-discovery that leads her to question her current path and to find her future by uncovering her past. Isobel appears to have a bright future ahead of her. She is in a committed relationship with a good man and has plans to enroll in a veterinarian program until she discovers her employer and good friend, Maggie, has committed suicide. In her suicide note, Maggie urges Isobel to meet with her estranged adoptive parents to learn more about her biological parents. Isobel takes her advice and, despite her boyfriend’s misgivings, travels alone to New Zealand. There she meets new friends, reconnects with her adoptive parents, and learns some dark truths about her birth parents' troubled life in war-torn Bosnia.
I found Isobel’s journey a realistic one. Although many of her decisions often seemed foolish and short-sighted to me, I nevertheless understand how a young woman could make them. Driven by a need for self-knowledge and never having parents who were willing to offer her guidance, she must face her past and plan for her future primarily on her own – though she does meet some colorful characters along the way. My favorite was a Maori woman named Stan, a cantankerous and independent soul, who befriends Isobel and offers some diverting comic relief in Finding Isobel. Author Mary Behan is especially good at creating characters whom readers can both laugh with and root for – similar to those we might meet in our own lives if we are lucky enough.
