The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen - review

The Girl Who Chased The Moon
Sarah Addison Allen
fiction/magical realism
2011

****** (6 out of 6 stars)

cover - beautiful cover.  I'm not sure it really represents what's going on in the story.  It does in a way, but there's way more to the story....

The Girl Who Chased The Moon is another beautifully written story with magical words, happenings and atmosphere.  There is so much to this story - it's not just about the main character - Emily, but about her mother and a boy from a strange family long ago.  It's about Sawyer and  Julia, who had one night long ago, and came from different walks of life.  It's about Dulcie (Emily's now deceased mother) and her past.  And about Vance - the grandfather of Emily, over 8 feet tall and a rather reserved man and his lost love.  

Emily is a young under 18 year old, whose mother has recently died.  Not knowing any other relatives, Emily and her grandfather have been put in touch with each other and her grandfather tells her she's welcome anytime.  Emily travels to Mullaby to meet her grandfather and plans to go to school there at least for a little while.  When she gets there, she's surprised at just how tall her grandfather is, and how he seems so aloof.  Not only that, but she's not prepared for how the town reacts to her coming to her mother's hometown.  Seems the mother Emily has grown up with - workaholic, putting other people's needs ahead of hers and her family, working very hard for the unfortunate - is not the same Dulcie that left the town of Mullaby so very long ago.  Emily has some surprises in store.

Emily's first surprise is her room - with the wall paper that supposedly changes according to the mood of the occupant. At first the changes of the wall paper didn't come into play much - something I was hoping would be a frequent occurance, but toward the end of the novel, there were some dramatic changes.  Emily is taken under the wing of Julia - a former rebel who has her own secrets to overcome or hide.

Julia and Sawyer - a lawyer, grew up going to the same school, but never really walked in the same circles.  her father was a hardworking man and Julia was a rebellious teen who colored her hair vibrant pink.  Sawyer grew up with the other priviledged kids of Mullaby, but one night the two come crashing together, leaving a lasting impression on the both - though they don't really talk much until Emily's appearance seems to set some forces in motion, drawing secrets out and exposing things some would rather not have exposed.

There is so much more to this story - it's a wonderful story full of that magical realism that Sarah Addison Allen has been known for.  There are these lights in the back yard that Emily is told to ignore - does she follow the edict?  of course not.  The Girl Who Chased the Moon is about secrets, history and the story of how these secrets cause more damage remaining secrets than they do when finally exposed.  There are quite a few stories interwoven with each other, all affecting the others.  It's a very well written addition to Allen's other stories with quirky towns and characters with that touch of magic that she's known for.  I recommend it for a wonderful afternoon of reading.

One of the fun things about Sarah Addison Allen is that she includes not only an excerpt on her site, but recipes that her  characters use, and other little tidbits that are connected to the novel.  It's fun to explore her book pages.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper
Sarah Addison Allen
fiction
2011
*****  (5 out of 6)


Cover - The cover is nice - has a sense of mystery to it.  It's pretty, pleasing to the eye.


The Peach Keeper is set in a southern town (Southern, United States), a typical small town with your average small town feel, where people seem to know each other their whole lives - a place where some can't wait to get a way, and where some feel stuck, and yet others feel like they belong there.  In this novel, there is just a touch of the magical realism that Allen is known for.


Willa Jackson is doing her best to be uber-responsible to make up for all the strife she believes she caused her father and grandmother in her youth.  She's running a business, visiting her grandmother at a nursing home regularly - she has each night planned out with such responsible activities such as vacuuming, washing her hair - she's so responsible she doesn't even go out to have fun.  Luckily for her, she's rented out space for a young girl named Rachel to sell coffee and coffee themed desserts in her store - and Rachel is making up a new science.  Analyzing people's coffee orders.


Paxton Osgood is another responsible soul - so responsible that she hasn't left home at the age of 30 because she listens to her mother.  She runs a women's society that was started by her and Willa's grandmothers and is in love with someone she doesn't think will ever love her back.


Willa's grandmother, Georgie and Paxton's grandmother, Agatha have a history that goes way back.  Agatha's family has always been rich and of the high society.  Georgie's family used to be rich, but lost their fortune long ago...


Colin is Paxton's twin and has come home to help Paxton landscape an old property she's been renovating - this property used to belong to Willa's grandmother's family.  Colin is the type that leaves home.  Willa is the type that left home and returned, but feels like she needs to stay.  Sebastian - Paxton's unrequited love - left home long ago and ended back home.  Paxton is one that feels like she belongs....


Even though over the years, Paxton and Willa haven't been friends, their lives - along with Colin's, Sebastian's and the grandmothers' lives all converge.  There was a huge peach tree (which no know why it even growing there) on the renovated property, slated to be replaced by a native oak and it was hiding something.


I have enjoyed all of Sarah Addison Allen's three previous books.  With each, I ended up thinking - wow, what an amazing book.  After I read The Peach Keeper, I thought, that was a good book.  I'm not sure what the difference was for me.  There was some of the magical realism, as in the other books - but I guess I was expecting a lot more of the magical, the mystical.  It was there, just not as much.  I liked it, I liked it a lot.  I didn't love it like the other three though - and I want to emphasize here, that The Peach Keeper was a good read, with interesting characters, narration and good dialogue.  But where in the past books the magical realism was almost like another character, here it was more in the background and since I was expecting more of that, that's probably why the book was good rather than amazing for me.  Probably not fair, since I'm comparing it to the previous books - and usually I try to judge each book on its own merit.  So I'll probably hang to it for a while - a year, maybe - and re-read it.  See if next time, it's amazing for me. 

It's Monday, and I'm Reading This and That, That and This...

It's Monday - and not only is it Monday, but it's coming towards the end of July.  I find myself beginning to feel a bit panicky - normally I would be looking forward to going back to running the afterschool program, as well as returning to the library job I have; but the school district, in all their infinite wisdom decided to change the way they run things, which meant that I and about 7 other employees lost their jobs.  Along with that, the other participants in the afterschool program lost their contract, which means that all the people that were working with us lost their jobs....Bottom line is I'm going back to less than half the time I did have, and feeling a little panicky about how I'm going to make ends meet.  (This is turning into a personal mini-rant blog)  

I finally broke down and applied for unemployment insurance.  I'm sure I qualify, since there's a line there about people who have lost part of their income - in so many words.  I should have done this earlier, but things weren't so tough earlier.  Hindsight is always better than foresight!  But I'm not sure I filled out the application right - there's no way on those applications to explain that I worked for the same place for over 15 years, and yet was paid from three different budgets, and now my hours are less than half.....Oh well.  I filled out the application and submitted it.  Now I have to just let it go and see what happens.  Things have been very tough around here.  Between my son who lives with us losing his job, my husband being out of work on workman's comp and them lowering their payments, and me losing most of my income, things have been mighty tight.  I've never seen our fridge empty for so long a period before.  We went from spending $200 a week on groceries to less than $50 a week.  No fruit, little veggies - if it weren't for the tomatos we're growing, we'd have NO veggies.  Eating healthy costs too much money.

Keep your fingers crossed for us, please.  I know there are a lot of people having a hard time - we've been going backwords and now we're older - it's harder to just go out and find work now at our ages and with our respective conditions.  I wanted to be planning my retirement soon, not worrying about paying bills and eating! 

Thank god for the books I already have here!  I'm going to have to start entering book contests again to get new books if things don't turn around - haha!  I actually have many books here that I haven't yet read, so this will be a good time to start chipping away at mountainous TBR pile that I've been adding to for the past few years...  seriously - I have books that have been waiting for five years!   :)

Sorry bout the rant - Guess I felt the need to publicize my bad financials, at least I actually cut a lot of this out.  There was more, much more.  LOL!  So on to the books I've read.....

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is a weekly book blog hosted by Sheila at BookJourney.  We "get together" and "talk" about what we've been reading and what we're going to read - or what we'd like to read.  It's fun.  Lots of people are taking part - over 100 people go to BookJourney to take part.  

Finished Reading:

I'm picturing an anthology here, but I've only read one story from it - Full Scale Demolition by Suzanne McLeod who is at the top of my alltime favorite writers - I will buy any story with her name on it - and read anything I can get my hands on with her name on it.  This is a re-read for me, but sometimes the second time around for a short story is even better.  I find that I tend to rush through a short story - get all over enthusiastic or something.  So the second time around, I usually appreciate the story more.  And this one was a fun short story.  Gave an interesting, dangerous event from Genny Taylor's job, and had everything you need in a short story - danger, just a tease of lust/romance, good plot and fun characters.  Genny Taylor is the main character from the Spellcrackers.com series (The Sweet Scent of Blood, The Bitter Seed of Magic).   Fun to give myself a little tease when I know I'll be able to read the next in the series very soon.  The Shifting Price of Prey (#4) will be coming out in August of this year, in the UK - but come hell or highwater, I'm going to have a copy - sooner or later.  :)  it's a firm goal. *g*

The only other book I read this past week was The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen.  This is the fourth and most recent novel by Allen, and had that touch of magical realism that I look forward to in her writing.  Review will be posted soon (I actually wrote it already! and it's scheduled for posting via the scheduling thing-a-ma-jiggy.  Sometimes I tend to wait a while before writing reviews.  I think there are books I've read from the beginning of the year that I mean to write.  I post quickly for requested reviews, and some of my favorite authors - but I'm pretty good at procrastinating.  It's an art. *g*) - look for it next week.  Good book, satisfying read. :)

Currently Reading:

I found myself jumping back and forth between a few of my books last week - some of them just didn't really GRAB my attention for the moment. Not at all the fault of the writing styles, or the novels - both of the books that I started to read are well written books.  Good narration, plots are exciting - my mind just wasn't into them at the moment.  Later, I'm sure I'll get to them later and enjoy them quite a bit.  Then I started thinking about that TBR pile I mentioned earlier - I have books that I just HAD to buy right when they came out, books that when I bought them, were put on a shelf (if they were lucky- those are the ones I can find now), or laid down somewhere (those are the unlucky ones, the ones I'm not sure where they are at the moment - did I give them away? did I inadvertantly throw them out? unlikely.  are they HIDING? more likely - damn books-never know what they're up to) meaning to get to them...and up to four or five years later....

Click cover for excerpt

When I'm being organized (haha!it's rare) I put these books in one of four places.  So Sunday I toddled over to the living room TBR shelf and went through a couple of books.  I found one that's been waiting since May of 2010.  2010! I just saw a review on one of the sequels, for crissakes.  So I picked up Hunted By The Others by Jess Haines and started reading it.  In the span of three hours I had made it to halfway through the book, it's interesting - a couple pages of serious informational overload- but the information is actually written in an interesting manner, maybe I shouldn't refer to it as overload.  So I'll call it worldbuilding.  heehee.  This is the book I'll be focusing on this week, probably will end up finishing it in the next day or two - barring distractions.  Then it's on to another from the infamous TBR pile....except;

Expecting in the mail

*from birthday money - (to alleviate some guilt)*

I had just a few dollars to spend on myself for birthday books.  I had noticed that Stacia Kane's latest Downside novel was supposed to out - since the end of June.  But every time I went to Barne's & Noble, I could not find it, neither could I find Tin Swift - Devon Monk's latest steampunk novel.  It's supposed to be out now, also.  What is UP Barnes&Noble??  I didn't feel like ordering it from them (still bitter bout them being the only major bookstore in my town since Borders fell)  so I didn't order any of them from them.  Instead, I found out that I have one month of free prime membership trial from Amazon thanks to having a KindleFire.  The only thing I could get from that was free two day shipping and it'll expire on August 9.  So I ordered Chasing Magic - a print copy because I decided that I'm going to collect print copies of books I love to pieces and get books that I'm not sure about, or would pass on through the Kindle. While I love having a KindleFire, there's nothing like holding a book in your hands.  It's because I was born in the 20th century, 1960.  I'll always prefer holding a book, even while I appreciate new technology that makes it possible to have a bookreader that I can use for internet and playing WordsWithFriends!  Should cut down on the space needed for books, because I don't necessarily want to keep all the books I read.  And when I try to put books-even brand new books- up for giveaway I almost have to BEG people to enter (which I find frustrating - I don't ask for demanding entries or hoop jumping for extra entries and all that)  I should be gettin Chasing Magic within two days (I ordered this a few days ago - so I should get it on Monday, right?) and I also bought something I've been wanting for a very long time.  A DVD of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather.  Over in England they MAKE MOVIES OUT OF HIS DISCWORLD BOOKS!  I want to see them - very much.  Hogfather is one of my favorite of his books, Death takes over the Hogfather role (kind of a rough father christmas) which leaves his job unattended, so his stepgranddaughter, Susan has to take over his duties....fun times are had by all.  Sadly, Tin Swift will have to wait - but that just means I'll have some books to look forward to buying in a few months. I love to make lists of books to buy, something I haven't had to do for a few years.  It'll be fun - a list for my kids to buy for me (Christmas is coming).  

Barnes & Noble - if you had kept these books in stock, you would have made a sale of at least two books to me - too bad.  Now I wonder how many other books you'all aren't keeping in stock... (like they care about selling two books, *g*)

Did you read the whole post?  Wow - pretty cool.  Thanks for reading, have a good reading week, hope all the books you read this week are good - great.  Have a good week, and hug all your loved ones

A trip to the bookstore with a young companion

Weekend before last, I had a serious craving to be in a bookstore. I remember mentioning it around my granddaughter - that I might go to the bookstore later that week.... She heard me and got all happy. Said 'granma! when you go, come and get me and I can get a book too!' (translated from granddaughter speak, this means I can buy her a book. *g*) So I told her sure - if I went I would stop and get her first...

Well, last week I did go to the bookstore, and when I was at the cash register I remembered I had promised to take her.

bad granma

Of course, I felt bad for not taking her. So this week, I had this mad impulse to go AGAIN to the bookstore - even though the gods and everyone else around me KNOWS I have plenty of books to last me sitting around here (not quite all getting read) and this time, I remembered to go get her. Sent a text to my daughter - have Liliana ready, I'm picking her up.

She was ready. She had dressed herself in a pair of gray leggings with small multicolored polkadots and paired this with a pink shirt with large brown polkadots. Gotta love a five year old's sense of style. To complete this outfit was her old bright pink cowgirl boots. (resembling the boots shown in this picture I lifted off the good ol' net) The girl has two very cool suede boots, one pair black, one pair brown complete with metal buckles and circles - wish I had boots like those - but her favorite pair are the old, used, pink cowgirl boots that her cousin's mommy bought her - when she got them, they were way too big for her, and she used them for play. Now they're still a wee bit big for her, but she seriously wears them the most.

girls and their shoes.

The cowgirl boots, the granddaughter, polkadots and I went to the bookstore. She was very patiently helping me look for books for me. She does this by looking for books with scary covers, or dramatically creepy covers...."granma, this will be a good book for you" she'll say. After we found my books, and looked for a book for her mom - which I didn't get because I could get a ppb version for way cheaper (Practical Magic) , we strolled to the kids section.

Let me say here, that as a granma, I do NOT like the way Barnes & Noble has their children's section laid out. It is almost like a maze, and if you have a five year old that is the size of a preschooler, and she's running ahead of you, you absolutely cannot see where she is between all the aisles - and the voices echo. At one point I had to loudly suggest that we meet at the entrance to the children's section. I know space needs to be filled, but how about two open squares, so you can SEE your kids/grandkids? (I live in fear that she's going to get stolen from me while we're shopping= which is why she has to accompany me while I'm looking for my creepy books *g*) We finally found each other and then we (or rather, SHE) found two books for her.

Liliana love Dr. Seuss books - both my grandchildren love them. And she's also recently discovered the joys of the Junie B Jones chapter books written by Barbara Park. She wanted me to read to her at the store (loves to be read to) so I promised to read one chapter of the chapter book. She worked it by waiting until I was a few pages in, then asking to switch to There's a Wocket in my Pocket. So we read that one, and then noticed a little girl who was there with her dad/grandpa (never know, nowadays, can't go by apparent age) who was listening in and getting all happy about the book. Turns out this is a book that gets read to her every single day and she knows all the words by heart. She looked like she was around two years old - very cute, social and spirited *wink, wink*
By the way - I haven't explored many children's publishing house sites - but I am impressed with the webpages that Random House has set up for Seussville and Junie B. Jones. Just click on the above author names for links - each page has activities, excerpts and fun things for kids to do. I'm saving these in a favorites folder for my grandchildren - who like to surf the internet, now that granma has started them off on it long ago. :) a few years ago, I would sit near Liliana and open pages for her, help her drag and click, and change sites for her. Now she can open the internet herself, and she has figured out which folder is the children's folder, and uses the icons to decide what site to go on. From there she just browses and plays. She's able to use my laptop and the desktop. My grandson's father (my son) now only has to set up the page for him, and Elliott can use the mouse, playing and navigating the games and videos. Pretty fun. I know many young children are exploring and learning computer skills - nowadays, but for me, someone who grew up before game systems - this is exciting stuff - to watch grandchildren learn computer skills beginning from age two on. next up - keyboard skills.

Oh - and the books I found for me?

Ann Aguirre's fourth Corinne Solomon novel, Devil's Punch - even though I still haven't finished reading Shady Lady. Started it. Got a third of the way into and kind of lost interest - hopefully temporarily. Her Sirantha Jax SciFi series is one of my favorite series. (new Jax universe series coming! woohoo! )
I also found Sarah Addison Allen's novel, The Girl Who Chased The Moon. Her novels remind me of the best of Alice Hoffman. lyrical, poetic, magical, surreal. Fun reading.
BEST OF ALL!?! The frosting on my bookstore cake, the apparent reason for my intense craving to GET TO THE BOOKSTORE TONIGHT, even though I still am feeling a bit sick.....

STACIA KANE'S fourth and long, eagerly awaited Downside novel

Sacrificial Magic. <---download 3 chapters

ooh man, I'm sure glad I went to the bookstore, and had the $$ to buy a few books.

Oh Yeah!

At the end of our bookstore event, we found the Godiva chocolate bars...my granddaughter very quietly says to me...whispers "granma, I was hoping we could get some chocolate...". Who can resist such a sweet way of asking? especially after she was so well behaved (this is not always the case, believe me, lol) and after she had worked so hard trying to help me find books for myself, not to mention the way she was sweetly waving at the little girl who was listening in on our story, and the way she sat so quietly during the story. I have to say that this was one of our best outings ever. It was short and sweet with no behavioral issues - anyone with children or grandchildren can witness to how much this is a rare and wonderful thing. Kids try, but they don't always have the greatest control. Tonight, Liliana was the best behaved child in the store, as well as being wonderful to spend time with.

So I bought her a $2.50 chocolate bar. When we got to her house, she asked her mom if she could eat it, then broke it in pieces to share with everyone in the house.

Amazing

I'm going to have to plan a trip with my grandson now - see if he would like to go to the bookstore with granma.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - review

I am attempting to catch up on some of the many books I've read without reviewing - I finished this one 7/31/11 - see what I mean about being a bit behind? LOL

Garden Spells
*****
Sarah Addison Allen

Don't you just love this cover? This apple tree pictured plays a interesting part in the story. The woman pictured here seeems to be one of the sisters in the story. I would love to see the older sister pictured here - she's described as a dark haired woman of a size - not exactly plump but strong, sturdy and beautiful. The apple tree is quite a character in it's own right, a tree that's been in the family for generations.
This is only the second book by Sarah Addison Allen that I've read (the first being The Sugar Queen). When I read the title, I kept thinking that I had read it before, long ago, but after reading the first chapter, I realized that I haven't read it yet - there's some other book with a similar title that reminds me of Allen's style of writing but I cannot remember the name and it's driving me batty (admittedly not a long drive-just ask any of my kids) . I think the author's name had a York in it somewhere... Whatever. Can't remember and don't seem to have it anywhere. Coming back to Garden Spells - what a magical read. No really - it's magical. Like the characters in The Sugar Queen, there are families in the small town that are know for certain qualities, families that have been around for generations, and quite a few quirks.
Claire and Sidney are sisters. Claire spent her first six or so years wandering the country with her mother, never feeling quite secure or quite knowing if there was going to be enough food or warm clothes even though it seemed her mother always provided, usually at the last minute. However, when her younger sister was born, suddenly her mother decides to take her daughters home to Bascom - the small town that the Waverlys have lived in since forever. Claire felt odd about this - felt that it wasn't important enough for her mom to make a secure home for Claire but that her mother aparently felt Sidney deserved a stable home, causing some resentment towards Sidney. So Claire spent quite a few years being very mean to her younger sister and at the same time making herself very useful to her grand mother. Of course, the girls' mother does a disappearing act after trying to make a go at playing mom....
The girls grow up and go their separate ways, Claire remaining home in the old house that generations of Waverly's lived in, and Claire leaving town as soon as she could to lead a wild life.
However - as the story opens, Claire has settled into a staid role in the town - (the Waverly's have always had a bit of a reputation, due to the almost magical ways or talents that many exhibited), staying single and Sidney has ended up in a horrible relationship complicated wtih a young daughter. This book is about Sidney, Claire, Aunt Evanelle, and the apple tree and how their lives connect and disconnect with each others lives, their relationship with the town and perceptions.

Sidney escapes her marriage, running back to Bascom and the Waverly home after promising herself that she would never return. But she'll do anything to keep her daughter safe - even make an attempt to stay in her hometown and live with her sister, though the two of them have never had a great relationship. But her return is complicated. The wife of her former highschool sweetheart feels threatened by Sidney's return even though becoming involved with any man is the last thing on Sidney's mind.

At the same time Claire finds her life becoming complicated with not only her sister and her new niece, but a man that has moved in next door who seems determined to become attached to Claire. She has a few plans to keep him uninterested in her - Claire has a way with herbs and plants. She knows the right combinations of ingredients to make love potions or wines, or foods that affect moods, behavior and actions of others. The Waverly's have always had a few talents in the family.

Sidney has a way with hair, Claire knows plants and herbs and their Aunt Evanelle is compelled to give gifts tha come in handy to people. She's really compelled - for instance, before Sidney came home, she had this urge to bring sheets and poptarts to Claire. Turns out poptarts are Sidney's daughter's favorite. Even the house and the tree have special talents. The house seems to react to Claire's moods. The tree tends to stretch limbs and throw apples at people, trying to get them to eat the fruit. The Waverly's rarely ever ate the fruit, and the townspeople frequently tried to sneak into the yard to get the apples. The apples were said to give one a glimpse of the biggest event coming in their life. Problem was, this is not always a good thing, to know ahead of time what your biggest event is going to be.

So Claire is fighting a growing attraction to her neighbor, trying to forge a new relationship to her sister and niece. Sidney is trying to get begin a new life and is finding it complicated by the jealousy of her ex-boyfriend's wife and even Evanelle - 79 years old - is finding strange complications her her life.
I think one of my favorite things in the book was the apple tree. That tree is quite a stubborn character. Allen's writing is terrific, and the characters - main characters and all the side characters - were interesting and richly described. Garden Spells is an enjoyable read, with just the right amount of magic twists. There are similarities to The Sugar Queen - a sinister male, families with entrenched roles, magic and superstition, loyalties,betrayals, complicated family relationships and forgiveness - but the writing is superb and the characters so fun to read that I wouldn't mind reading more of this type of novel. The ending is very satisfying with even the apple tree getting its way. The sisters find out that all their perceptions of their past isn't at all what they believed, and they find out a way to appreciate each other.

I am looking forward to reading other books by Sarah Addison Allen, such as
The Peach Keeper - "Welcome to the Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town's famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be." *blurb from website - doesn't that sound interesting? or how about...
The Girl Who Chased the Moon - "Emily Benedict is about to find out if wallpaper can change pattern on its own, if a cake can bring back a lost love, and if there really is a ghost dancing in her back yard." *blurb from website - how can you resist? I really want to read this one.
So far, these are the only two books left for me to read from Allen's writings. Sigh. Her writing style reminds me of Alice Hoffman's novels in the best way possible.

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen - review

The Sugar Queen

******

Sarah Addison Allen

fiction

2008

When I saw this book at Borders on sale (the hardback copy) I thought "I've heard of this book....a while ago." Then I read the "from the author of Garden Spells"....and though oh yeah, I read that, LOVED it. It had magic and slightly tragic things..but good ending....Well Turns out it's not quite the book I though I read so long ago. Now I remember the "garden" somewhere in the title, and I now remember the name of the author had "York" in there somewhere, but for the life of me I can't remember anything other than that. Whatever the case may be, I am glad I bought this particular book. If you're a fan of the best of Alice Hoffman, the magical fairytale type of writing (remember Practical Magic? or Turtle Moon?) then you would love the work of Sara Addison Allen.

Regarding the cover - I like the design on it, and I kind of like the picture part, but...Well the design part is beautiful and is embossed on the cover, which makes for a beautiful cover. The photograph is a little bleh, but it does kind of match the main character's desires...however the main character is supposed to be a bit overweight, with pale skin and very very curly black hair. Not shown in the photo.

When I first bought the book, I was looking for a "palate cleansing" book. A book that's not UF or SciFi that I can read after I've read a couple of kickass UF novels. After I've read a few of those, then nothing else works for me until I read something completely different. books that I normally would rate a four or five out of six would end up being very boring to me after reading an Andrews or McLeod book. So, when I've read those, I go for something completely different now, just to give the other books a fair chance. Sounds a little obsessively geeky, but there it is.

I was pleasantly surprised to end up reading a fiction book that actually turned out to be a little bit magical, a bit fairytale-ish...in a good way. Sarah Addison Allen's style of writing reminds me happily of Alice Hoffman's writing. Beautiful with a touch of magic and wistfulness. Always with a good ending if not always with a happily ever after ending. The Sugar Queen has great narration, wonderful characters, a great creepy villain who is himself tortured, and very good dialogue. It's not extremely long, and I would have loved reading a bit more (luckily I found some deleted scenes at the website, along with a button for the recipes of the sandwiches a character makes). I sat down to read The Sugar Queen one night, around 10 p.m. and next thing I knew it was 5 a.m. and I had just finished it. I was very satisfied with the book, and yet I was left wanting more.

This is a story of a very subdued young woman (really, she's in her late twenties) who has decided she owes her mother the REST OF HER LIFE, because as a child she threw some dramatic temper tantrums all over town and at home. In fact, the townies all remember her infamous temper tantrums. Her mother keeps Josey under her thumb, at her beck an call. She also puts her down at every chance, further keeping Josey under her control by grounding her self-esteem her heel. Horrible woman....but there's this section that almost makes me feel sorry for her. Almost. Things begin to change though when Josey finds a woman in her closet...and the woman refuses to leave, instead becoming involved in Josey's life and forcing her to come out of her shell and experience life.

Dolly Lee (the closet woman) ends up manipulating Josey into meeting Chloe, who needs a friend. And finds out about Josey's secret crush on the mail man. What follows is the awakening - or the re-awakening of Josey's real personality. Her self respect begins to return. Her mother is in for some lessons and changes also....

Yes, this was a damned good book, and like I said, I want to read more. Luckily for me, I found out that Ms Allen has quite a few books out...

The Peach Keeper - the latest

The Girl Who Chased the Moon - apparently just out in paperback

Garden Spells -the book I though I read, but still need to read

I have three most likely excellent books to look forward to. (lol, I just have to buy them..) The Sugar Queen has been out already for at least three years, but it was new to me and I enjoyed it very much.