The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

I read Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen soon after it was released in the trade paperback format and loved how delightful the books was...and then I was lucky enough to win an ARC copy of The Sugar Queen from LibaryThing's EarlyReviewers program. In fact, it was winning this ARC that inspired me to later create my blog. Allen's third effort, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, is due out in hardcover March 16, 2010. In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestelling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world…no matter how out of place they feel. Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother's life. For instance, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew-a reclusive, real-life gentle giant-she realizes that mysteries aren't solved in Mullaby, they're a way of life. Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes. Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson's cakes. She offers them to satisfy the town's sweet tooth and in the hope of bringing back the love she fears she's lost forever. In Julia, Emily may have found a link to her mother's past. But why is everyone trying to discourage Emily's growing relationship with the handsome and mysterious son of Mullaby's most prominent family? Emily came to Mullaby to get answers, but all she's found so far are more questions. Is there really a ghost dancing in her backyard? Can a cake really bring back a lost love? In this town of lovable misfits, maybe the right answer is the one that just feels…different. Sarah Addison Allen always interweaves more than one plot into the story and you can always expect a strong sense of community and a bit of the romantic and mystical. She creates such wonderful characters and each must overcome obstacles, awaken to their potential, gain courage to face their fears, and have faith. The cover art on the hardcovers is very beautiful...although I am not fond of the tp format of The Sugar Queen...I wish they would keep the covers identical from one format to another! Chapters Amazon

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

Meg Waite Clayton has written a well researched, cleverly woven story of 5 women, Frankie, Linda, Kath, Brett and Ally, who first meet each other at a park in front of their homes, and subsequently discover each have a dream of writing. They make a pact to meet once a week to help critique each other’s scribbles and over 4 decades they support each other through turmoil and success, with an enduring loyalty to their sisterhood.

The Wednesday Sisters inspired in me a yearning to have such a sisterhood of my own. The author speaks to the loneliness and wish for accomplishment, friendship and personal growth that is present in all of us. Though the story starts in the late 1960s the themes of self-discovery, dreams, prejudices, and disappointments are familiar no matter what era you live in. Weaved into the story Clayton also confronts many stereotypical ideas of the time related to gender, race, and science, an admirable and bold literary effort. This is a book I never knew I wanted to read but was waiting for to find me.

My Rating: 4.0

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a uniquely charming novel with a distinctive voice. 

Juliet Ashton is living in an England emerging from the aftermath of World War II. During the war Juliet wrote a humorous column called Izzy Bickerstaff Goes to War, which was subsequently bound into a collection because of its popularity. We meet Juliet at the end of her promotional tour for the book and, although proud of the accomplishment of Izzy, she is determined next to write a not so humorous narrative of…something. Not sure of what her future holds or what she will do next, a telegram arrives for Juliet from a Guernsey Island native who happens to possess a book by Charles Lamb that was once hers, and he requests her help in knowing more about the author. A correspondence is struck and Juliet becomes ever more interested in the man, his friends and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society that they formed during the German occupation of the Island during the war. As the Society members write to her she becomes more and more interested in their lives until finally she decides to set sail for Guernsey Island and determine her future. 

The uniqueness of the novel is that all of the writing is in letter format. Like others who have read this novel I was drawn into the evermore-interesting details of the Society members and the intertwining relationships of the characters. I fell in love with Juliet and all of her new friends on Guernsey and was sad to say goodbye.

My Rating: 4.5

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