Ursula, Under

Ursula, Under is the amazing debut novel by Ingrid Hill.  How a single mother of 11 children had time to research and write this book, I will never know.

The story starts with 2 1/2 year old Ursula Wong falling down an abandoned mine shaft in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is the story of Ursula's parents, Justin and Annie and all their ancestors, both Chinese and Finnish, dating back over 2000 years, whose genes have travelled across continents and through the centuries, culminating in this one unique little girl, Ursula.

The message here is that we are each special and unlike any other, yet not one of us is alone in the universe. We are standing on the shoulders of our ancestors so to speak.

I loved this message and the concept of the book and I think Hill is a terrific writer. However, sometimes I found myself hurrying through some of the stories of the ancestors to get back to the present and find out what was happening with Ursula and her parents and even her grandparents, as these were the characters I really cared about.

Overall, I really liked this book and think it is well worth reading.