Famous in a Small Town: The Perfect Summer Read

A magical tale of destiny and small-town charm. The summer read you've been waiting for!


"Full of summertime delight...and sweet, nostalgic charm, Famous in a Small Town is a beautiful reminder to...fully embrace the magic that lives inside you." --Heather Webber, USA TODAY bestselling author of Midnight at the Blackbird Café

For most of her eighty years, Mary Jackson has endured the steady invasion of tourists, influencers and real estate developers who have discovered the lakeside charm of Good Hart, Michigan, waiting patiently for the arrival of a stranger she's believed since childhood would one day carry on her legacy--the Very Cherry General Store. Like generations of Jackson women before her, Cherry Mary, as she's known locally, runs the community hub--part post office, bakery and sandwich shop--and had almost given up hope that the mysterious prediction she'd been told as a girl would come true and the store would have to pass to...a man.

Becky Thatcher came to Good Hart with her ride-or-die BFF to forget that she's just turned forty with nothing to show for it. Ending up at the general store with Mary is admittedly not the beach vacation she expected, but the more the feisty octogenarian talks about destiny, the stronger Becky's memories of her own childhood holidays become, and the strange visions over the lake she was never sure were real. As she works under Mary's wing for the summer and finds she fits into this quirky community of locals, she starts to believe that destiny could be real, and that it might have something very special in mind for Becky...

Bursting with memorable characters and small-town lore, the enchanting new novel from the bestselling author of The Clover Girls is a magical story about the family you're born with, and the one you choose.

Don't miss bestselling author Viola Shipman's charming new novel, THE WISHING BRIDGE
--where an ambitious executive rediscovers the magic of family, friendship, home...and Christmas!

Other books by Viola Shipman:
  • The Secret of Snow
  • A Wish for Winter
  • The Edge of Summer
  • The Summer Cottage
  • The Heirloom Garden
  • The Clover Girls

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Published Jun 13, 2023

352 pages

Average rating: 7.11

9 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Larry Burns
Feb 03, 2024
7/10 stars
Great Northern Michigan mentions.
Aundrea todd
Jan 07, 2026
10/10 stars
Absolutely love all things, Viola Shipman!!!!!
This book shouts do what makes YOU happy!
Margie Pettersen
Oct 27, 2025
8/10 stars
A wonderful, heartwarming story of love, friendship, growth , and small town life. I adored the town of Good Hart, Michigan and plan to visit it when we travel to Michigan next year. It is so coincidental that I chose to read this book at this time since we are planning a trip to Michigan and I was eating fresh cherries while reading this book on a family vacation surrounded by all my children and grandchildren. The wonderful female friendships of Becky and Q, and Mary and Francine were amazing.
Cortese
Jan 28, 2025
7/10 stars
Easy breezy light read. No matter your stage in life you can always change your path & follow your dreams.

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