Our Lady of the Forest

In the fog-bound forests of North Fork, Washington, a sixteen-year-old runaway sees a vision of the Virgin Mary, changing the life of the community. An unlikely candidate for revelation, Ann Holmes is an itinerant mushroom picker who is waifish and sickly, lives in a tent, and can barely afford to buy food. Her vision poses a challenge to a young priest, Father Collins, who is wrestling with the struggles of his calling and must evaluate the nature of the girl's vision - yet finds her disturbingly attractive. Meanwhile, for Tom Cross, an out-of-work logger who has suffered since a devastating accident left his son paralyzed from the neck down, Ann's visions hold out hope for a change. Guterson writes a clear-eyed tale about faith at a crossroad.