Leaning on Air by Cheryl Grey Bostrom

Leaning on Air by Cheryl Grey Bostrom
Series: A Standalone but includes characters from Bostrom’s Sugar Birds
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (May 7, 2024)

REVIEW BY PRISCILLA BETTIS

Two science nerds marry, and one of them is autistic with an aversion to being touched. What could possibly go wrong?

Celia is an ornithologist and an agnostic. Burnaby is a veterinary surgeon and a follower of Christ. As the story unfolds, their unequal belief becomes an even greater obstacle for the couple than one of them having touch aversion.

In real life, Bostrom and her husband lived in the Palouse Prairie area of Washington state, and that’s where the story takes place. Bostrom’s love for the area comes through when she writes about the carpet of nectar-rich flowers, monarchs on the milkweed, plovers in their nests, redtail hawks soaring from the trees, and, above it all when the sun sets, the star-lit sky.

But it’s not all beautiful. Grief strikes, and every crack in Celia and Burnaby’s marriage is magnified. Oh, can Bostrom write grief passages! They arrested my heart. Just when it seems a specific tragedy is the last and no other tragedies or deaths can possibly occur, life (or Bostrom) throws something else at the couple.

Fortunately, Bostrom gives the reader emotional breaks by lacing the story with nerdy romance and the sweetest children. One of the kids, Cobb, has a few point-of-view chapters. His five-year-old outlook and vocabulary are adorable. As for that nerdy romance, here’s a line from when Burnaby is trying to tell Celia how much he loves her:

He had yet to discover a linguistic conduit with the capability to transmit how much he treasured her.

Cheryl Grey Bostrom, Leaning on Air

And another time when Burnaby and Celia are figuring out how to navigate a long-distance relationship, he says,

“Eighty-two light years from me, but near as–as a thought. Like atomic particles separated after proximity….”

She propped herself on her forearms, scanning his face in the dim light. “You’re talking quantum entanglement, right?”

Cheryl Grey Bostrum, Leaning on Air

If you’re not into physics, don’t worry, Bostrom explains all the sciency stuff readers need to know. And it’s not dry. It’s interesting.

The Christian element of the story is subtle. From Celia’s point of view, faith is represented by a hawk. From little Cobb’s point of view, faith is represented by a parable of a god-horse. Cobb’s Christian theology is pretty spot-on.:-) Because the Christian message is subtle, the story might hit home for seekers or agnostics or readers who simply feel “spiritual” but don’t identify with any one religion. It’d be a fantastic jumping off point for discussions between friends with differing faith journeys.

I took off half a star because there is so much extended family activity that the story got a bit bogged down in places. It could have been leaner (but not by much).

I think readers who enjoy clean, contemporary romance will devour this story! Overall, it’s well-written and truly memorable. A solid 4.5 fish.

I read an advanced copy of Leaning on Air through NetGalley, and I’m happy to share my opinion.