Bats

Short book description:

BATS is an unlikely love story set in a small New England town. 

Jean Woodland has always been an outsider although she has lived her entire life in Derby. She identifies more with bats than her students or neighbors.

Mylo, the handsome guy who bags groceries at the local market, lives on the margins of society in a residence for developmentally disabled adults. His innate helpfulness may have created an obstacle too great for him this time.

Together they discover a bat colony on the brink of extinction. Jean's activism on behalf of the bats and conservation embroils her in battle with a development company and her next-door neighbors whose livelihood depends on the company. Raising three young children, the young couple have enough struggles of their own.

Daring to do something amazing, Jean and Mylo embark on a road trip in a vintage Airstream. What begins with a sense of promise, quickly degenerates into something neither can navigate. Or can they?

Cathie Smith Keenan grew up in rural New England, where she developed a curiosity about nature, a sense of adventure and love of road trips. She taught in Afghanistan with the Peace Corps, owned a weekly newspaper in Southern California, and worked as a clinical social worker in community mental health. She lives in Vermont with her husband and no dogs at present.