River's Call - review

I was interested in reviewing River's Call by Melody Carlson based on the publisher's synopsis:

It is the 1960s and Anna's daughter, Lauren, is confused, broken-hearted, and pregnant. The difficult situation seems to bring out the worst in the selfish girl. When Lauren chooses to stay with her manipulative Grandma Eunice, Anna worries her daughter will never become a mature adult and the relationship between Lauren, Anna and Eunice becomes even more strained. However, when she hits the lowest point in her life, Lauren returns to her mother, the river, and the Inn and Shining Waters. As time passes, Lauren, now a mother to her own defiant teenager, faces a new crisis, one that puts the entire family at risk.

I enjoy stories set in the mid-20th century and I always enjoy reading about family relationships. The multi-generational theme appealed to me as well. This is actually Book 2 of Melody Carlson's Inn at Shining Waters series. I haven't read the first book in the series and starting out I thought that was going to be a problem. In the first chapter or two it seemed like I was picking up in the middle of a story, but I soon got engrossed in the story being told in this book, and that didn't matter any more. Of course, it would be interesting to go back and read the first book just to get a better picture of the back story, but Book 2 stands on its own pretty well. I especially appreciated how each of the main characters-- Lauren, Anna and Eunice-- grow and change as they learn to understand each other better. It was an enjoyable story.