"The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman

Synopsis: After returning from war, Tom Sherbourne takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on a remote island off the coast of Australia.  On Janus, Tom and his young wife, Isabel, are cut off from life on the mainland with few visits from a supply boat and even fewer shore leaves.  After two devastating miscarriages and one stillbirth, Isabel can't quite believe her ears when she hears an infant's cries one evening.  She and Tom discover a boat that's washed ashore and in it, a dead man and a tiny baby.  Isabel quickly feeds and swaddles the baby, and against Tom's better judgement, the couple takes the baby in as their own.  The devastating consequences of their choice become clear two years later on a shore leave to Isabel's hometown.  This heartbreaking book is about right vs. wrong and what happens when two people find themselves in the gray area between the two.
Review: This book was excellent.  The author painted a beautiful picture of the island of Janus and of the isolated, blessedly simple, life of the Sherbourne family.  The characters came to life quickly and I felt a great kinship with each of them.  After Isabel agonizingly lost three babies, her decision to keep the infant that washed ashore was not all that hard to fathom.  After all, the signs pointed to the fact that the child's mother was deceased as well so Isabel felt she was simply saving its life and not causing any harm.  Tom's unease at keeping the child was something I was able to sympathize with as well.  There's no clear cut right or wrong here and it's a very thought-provoking tale.  Stedman threw a twist into the story just as I felt I'd figured it out and had me second-guessing myself again, after I'd finally decided whether the Sherbournes had done the right thing.
Spoilers:  I really enjoyed this book and the fact that there was no clear good guy or bad guy.  I found myself siding with Isabel, then with Tom, then back again.  I didn't guess that Lucy's birth mother was alive and I most definitely didn't expect her to be from Isabel's hometown.  It's a little farfetched, but this book was so well-written that I believed it.  My heart broke for poor Hannah and then again for poor Isabel, having her child ripped away from her like that, especially at the hands of her beloved husband whom she trusted so deeply.  I also felt so sorry for Tom who tried to do the right thing, but ultimately hurt his wife, his daughter, and even Lucy's birth family.  I was pleased that Isabel and Tom were able to forgive and live a long and happy life together.  I only wish Isabel had lived long enough to see her Lucy come back her.