By VIKTORIA SUNDQVIST

Sometimes, I find the best books are the ones you have no idea what they're going to be about. "A Watershed Year" by Susan Schoenberger was one of those books for me.

My interested was piqued by the fact that Schoenberger is the West Hartford editor for Patch.com, and I had seen her around Twitter and other social media circles. "Let's see if she can really write," I told my co-workers.

Turns out, she can.

I was instantly drawn into the life of Lucy McVie, the main character. The book starts with McVie saying farewell to a dear friend, and possibly the love of her life, as he is dying of cancer. But after his death, she receives some emails he had arranged to send her every month, and she decides to make some changes in her life.

The most intriguing part of the book to me was Lucy's travels to Russia to adopt a 4-year-old boy - all on her own. Her struggles to make the boy love her are sincere and heart-wrenching. But with the support of her somewhat unusual family - all very strong characters in the book - Lucy perseveres.

Schoenberger will speak about her book at Essex Library on May 31. DETAILS HERE.