A Small Town Book with a Lot of Heart

Only upon starting this book that I realized that there was a book that came before this with short stories about some of the characters. That being said, I really feel like overall, it didn't hinder my experience to read this without having read those stories. This was a very charming book, and touched on a lot of important issues considering the environment and the ways in which we as a species interact with it. The omniscient perspective of the story was really helpful in giving a broad overview of the town and its inhabitants. The citizens were very fully realized and had differing backgrounds and stories. I enjoyed the various storylines of these different characters and felt as if every one got a satisfying conclusion.