My Lemon Grove Summer by Jo Thomas

 

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This was a fun, quick read. Jo Thomas is an English author who reminds me of Katie Fforde novels--contemporary women's fiction with a dash of romance and usually featuring a woman in her 30's-40's.

This novel takes place in Sicily, Italy and involves lemons--which I adore so much. I love everything lemon. Lennie and Zelda are friends who have come to the conclusion that life in England is not going to get better. Neither of them are happy with their humdrum lives. Lennie tells Zelda about an opportunity to move to Italy and live in a small town where they will pay for you to stay and help grow the community. Sounds like a win-win, right? And that pesky part about not finding love? 

Lennie and Zelda made a pact years ago that if they reached age forty without finding true love, they would get married. What could possibly go wrong with marrying your best friend?

Off they go to Italy, and meet a few other people who have also taken the leap and moved in the hope of starting fresh. Only problem is the town folks don't want outsiders moving in, and the houses they were promised are falling down disasters. Someone in the village of Citta d'Ora is pulling all the strings to push Lennie, Zelda, and their new friends out. 

There's also the local legend that says if a marriage doesn't happen in the village every ten years, Etna (volcano!) will show it's displeasure. And wouldn't you know, but that volcano is doing some rumbling...will Lennie and Zelda say "I do", even though it's quite clear they are firmly in the friend zone? Especially when Zelda sees Luca and feels the zip of instant connection...what's a woman to do?

This was a fun, quick read that took me away to Italy. Lemons abound in this novel, and I couldn't help but smell them the whole time I was reading this novel. There are even recipes in the back of the book for lemon-flavored treats. My only annoyance was with Zelda continually talking herself into keeping her promise to Lennie even when it was so very obvious they were not attracted to each other. 

I'll be reading more of Jo Thomas--she's an entertaining writer; romance is part of the story, but it's pretty clean--lots of longing looks and maybe a kiss or two.This novel was all about being true to yourself, taking chances, and using your talents to carve out a new life. 

Rating: 3/6 for a lovely novel set in Sicily, full of lemon groves and a sad, dying town that just needs some loving care to come back to life. Characters are enjoyable and just enough side stories to keep it all interesting and moving towards a satisfying conclusion. 

Available in ebook and paperback. 

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My Lemon Grove Summer by Jo Thomas

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

One thing I miss about working in a bookstore is being near the kid's books.  I always enjoyed walking into that space and looking at all of the great stories on the shelves.  I'm pretty sure if I'd had the opportunity to see so many kid's  books when I was a youngster I'd probably have danced around and twirled a bit through sheer excitement.  

I realized as I started reading The Girl Who Drank the Moon that I had read Kelly Barnhill's earlier novel, The Mostly True Story of Jack years ago when it first came out in 2011.  I loved that book; it took place in Iowa, and was very unusual and magical.  What an imagination Kelly Barnhill has--what a gift!

I picked up this novel because it had just recently won the Newbery Award and I was curious.  Whenever I read a teen or young reader novel, I have to constantly check my inner voice and basically tell it to shut up.  I have to remember who the intended audience is, and that they are reading from a much more innocent, non-adult place.  I think it will do me a lot of good to read more young reader and teen books!

So, to the novel.  The Protectorate is a town that is filled with sorrow.  It's always gloomy, the sun never shines, and the people live very poorly.  The Elders and the Sisters run the show, and they have a yearly tradition that feeds more sorrow into the atmosphere (and keeps people under control):  once a year, they take the youngest baby in the village, and leave it in the forest as a sacrifice to the witch that lives there.  This keeps the witch from coming to the village and wreaking havoc on everyone.  It keeps them safe.  This year, a mother fights to keep her child, and is deemed crazy and taken to the Tower, where she is imprisoned by the Sisters.  The child is taken to the forest and left there.  

Here's the kicker:  The Elders have made it all up.  They leave the baby in the forest to die from exposure or, worse yet, animals.  There's no witch, as far as they're concerned.  It's just a way to keep control of the village.  Very teen dystopian!  

Here's the other kicker:  there really is a witch, Xan, who lives in the forest with her friends Glerk, the swamp monster, and Fyrian, the little dragon.  She finds the babies every year, and takes them to the other side of the forest, into the towns and villages there, and gives them to loving families.  She has no idea why they leave the babies in the forest, but she takes care of them and saves them from certain death.  This time, when a baby girl is left, Xan hesitates to take her to the villages for adoption.  Feeding her moon magic, she gives the baby too much, and the baby becomes magical.  Xan decides to keep the baby for herself, names her Luna, and raises her as her grandmother in the forest. Xan knows when Luna turns thirteen her magic will really kick in, and it will be time for Xan to give all her magic and die.  After all, Xan is 500 years old, and ready to be done.  

Of course, this plan doesn't work out that well.  Luna is a powerful little girl, and the magic is leaking out of her constantly. She has no way to control it, so Xan puts a spell on her that will keep the magic tamped down, and make it impossible for Luna to learn about magic or use it until she's thirteen.  

But that's not all that's going on in this story.  There's a young man in the village who struggles with the yearly tradition, and seeks a way to reconcile his feelings and find a solution.  He's got hope, a tiny spark of hope, that things will change.  But the change is not something that the Elders or Sisters want.  

I wondered if a child reading this novel would understand the undertone of powerful people doing bad things, and the oppression of people.  That the face some people put on in public is not who they really are, and it can hide some bad stuff.  That those people you think are bad just by hearing stories or seeing their physical self, actually are very kind and loving people who got a bad rap through stories and gossip.  They are the true healers and good people. 

I did enjoy this novel; I do wonder at the length for young readers.  I'd say advanced readers would swallow it up pretty quickly, but younger kids would struggle a bit.  The writing is fantastic, and the plot is pretty clever.  You can almost feel the magic oozing off the pages.  I enjoyed how the story unfolded and concluded.  Worthy of the Newbery.  Hope to read more of Kelly Barnhill; if she ever wrote an adult novel I'd grab it without hesitation. 

Rating:  4/6 for a beautifully written young reader novel about family, love, magic, sacrifice, and the evil that lurks behind those who are supposed to be looking out for all of us.  

Available in hardcover and e-reader.  

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The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill