In A Loved Place: Paradise Lost, Bonnie Smith is growing up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the 1930s. She moves from town to town as her musician father struggles to put food on the family table. With each move, she looks for a best friend who will connect her to that place. The story covers the time from 1932 to 1960, during which she realizes people with money are the favored in life’s competitions. In her quest for wealth, she sets her sights on Alfeo Strong, the richest boy in town and her brother’s best friend. When Alfeo’s sister dies in a car accident, Bonnie both likes and fears the attention of his heartbroken mother as she gives Bonnie the dead girl’s clothes and speaks to her like her lost daughter. Who will she be marrying, she asks herself? Alfeo or Alfeo’s mother?
