These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

 

This is a moving narrative about a father's love for his young daughter and the sacrifices he has made to keep her with him.  Cooper has PTSD after several tours in Afghanistan but you won't get that backstory right away. He and his daughter Finch live off the grid without electricity, friends or any connection to the world as we know it.

The story begins when Finch is eight years old and you learn of how Finch is quite a capable young girl.  She has never known any life before this one where they live in the Appalachian Mountains.  They prepare for winter and stock food in the root cellar.  Once a year Cooper's friend Jake arrives with loads of supplies.  Cooper and Finch look forward to that time not just for the supplies but the friendship with Jake.

This is a slow start but I loved all the revelations about Finch's mother, Jake and Cooper's back stories and the reason this father and daughter live in isolation.  Cooper is basically a very good man but circumstances drove him to choose the situation he's in and things are about to take a turn for the worse.

Love, friendship, choices, redemption are themes in this book.  I was very invested with the characters and how things played out.