All This Belongs to Me
by Ad Hudler
Published by Ballantine
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
Sometimes you pick up a book believing you're in for a nice read and then discover you've hit on a real gem. And All This Belongs to Me by Ad Hudler is a refreshing gem.
Geena is traveling light, with just a bag of clothes destined to be donated--a bag that she finds in the back of her car while trying to locate a Yanni CD. Her marriage is failing and her son has died. Geena is on the run from her life.
Ellis, a 60-something bachelor, is the senior docent at the Thomas Edison museum in Fort Myers, Florida. Life has changed for Ellis since his mother's death and now it seems that everything at the museum is also changing.
Geena's money is running low when she comes upon Ellis' credit card. Since Ellis could be either a man or a woman, Geena decides to bankroll her trip with Ellis' credit card. But not being a truly dishonest person, Geena uses the card to track down Ellis to pay back the money she owes.
And when she finally meets Ellis, she poses as a reporter who is doing a story on Fort Meyers. Geena and Ellis' lives collide and the reader enters a world where marriage, loss and second chances are the dessert.
Hudler is magnificent in his ability to both accurately enter the female mind as well as convey historical information in an interesting manner. His prose drew me in and I found myself alternating between sadness and laughter.
Armchair Interviews says: It's simply a sweet novel that evokes a cozy warmth. Highly recommend All This Belongs to Me.