A Year on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball

Women’ Fiction

A Year On Ladybug Farm tells the story of three life long friends who find themselves at a turning point in life. All are divorced or widowed, their children are grown, and they start to look back at the choices they made in life. All three have things they never took a chance on. On a trip through Virginia they find a turn of the century house they all love. It is out in the country on 14 acres. Bridget loves the great kitchen, Lindsay likes the old dairy building that could be turned into an art studio, and for Cici there are a lot of do it yourself projects to get the place in shape.

They decide to make a drastic change in their lives by selling their houses, pooling their resources, buying the house and moving from the city to the country. Their attorney helps them draw up a contract that covers the first year in the house. The contract binds them for one year and after that year they will decide if they want to stay. The year brings new friends, hard challenges, and changes with their families. They find they own sheep, try to grow a garden, end up with a pet deer, make numerous repairs, and add new people to the mix living in the house.

I found A Year on Ladybug Farm to be a pleasant read. This is a good addition to the books that have been written about women banding together. Unlike many of the books on the same theme the story does not include a romance. .

A Year on Ladybug Farm was written by Donna Ball and published by Berkley Books in 2009. You can visit Donna at her website www.donnaball.net.