Publisher: Bantam Books
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 288
Book Source: My local library.
Summary:
Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, 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, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, offering them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth—but also in the hope of rekindling a love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in. (From the author's website)_________________________________________________
This book is sugary sweet summer fun that comes complete with a dash of family secrets, a quirky little town, and two intriguing romances. It's also addictive; I was a little sad every time I had to put it down, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.
Emily Benedict moves to Mullaby, North Carolina a few months after her mother's death to live with her grandfather. Dulcie, Emily's mother, told her nothing about her childhood in Mullaby and the mysterious scandal she ran away from. Mullaby is a small town steeped in tradition, and Emily is mystified when her new neighbors and potential friends exclude her and treat her like a copy of Dulcie.
Win Coffey is a boy about Emily's age whose family was hurt by Dulcie's mysterious sin. In accordance with family tradition and his father's will, Win should have nothing to do with her, but after meeting Emily he strikes up a friendship that aims to rewrite history. He's also hot, and Emily notices.
Emily's first friend in Mullaby is her neighbor, Julia Winterson, a smart thirty-something woman with a talent for baking and a few secrets of her own. The book begins with Emily's story, but it quickly grows to include Julia's, and the two plotlines come together to produce surprising insights into how the past impacts the present and how important a full picture of it is.
In addition that, The Girl Who Chased the Moon is funny, fantastical, and a delight to read. I fell in love with Mullaby and Emily's grandfather's house at first sight:
It had probably been an opulent white at one time, but now it was gray, and its Gothic Revival pointed-arch windows were dusty and opaque. It was outrageously flaunting its age, spitting paint chips and old roofing shingles into the yard.
It has such a personality.
In a nutshell, I loveloveloved this book, and I won't hesitate to recommend it to both teen and adult readers who enjoy books with magic realism, romance, family secrets, and enough complexity to keep the story in one's mind long after one finishes reading it. For readers of Sarah Addison Allen's other books, Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen, this a don't-miss title. It's easily my favorite of the three and is full of the quiet magic, fascinating characters, and delicious language I've quickly come to expect in Allen's work.
2 comments:
Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah! I'll have to pick this one up.
Love the sound of this book and the cover is so magical. I think my library has this one, so I probably pick up a copy to read over there. :) Thanks for the wonderful review.
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