The first thing to draw me in was the beautiful cover. I love this time period so that was another attractive element. The writing is beautiful and very descriptive and very sad but not so sad that I am turned off from the story. I definitely want to what happens to this family after their experience with losing their son. I love the way the author described the mother's feelings for her son. She knew that something wasn't quite right but she loved him completely. They all loved him completely which is why they were devastated to lose him. Unfortunately, from the description of the book it sounds like this won't be the only experience the family has in facing the death of a loved one.