Garden Spells
Garden Spellsby Sarah Addison AllenCharming. Completely charming. I loved this book so much I had the following conversation with my husband before bed the other night."I only have about 12 pages left. I am so sad, I don't want it to end.""Why's that?""I'm really going to miss the characters when it's over."And it's true. Finishing this book made me feel like something was missing inside me. How pathetic is that? I was so charmed by the characters and the writing I felt content and comforted every time I picked up the book to read before bed.Claire Waverly doesn't deal well with change. She likes everything to be the same because that is safe. The Waverlys are regarded as a strange family, things happen when they are around. Claire cooks fabulous food, but things are capable of happening to those who eat it. Things are simple and safe as far as Claire is concerned until the surprise arrival of her younger sister Sydney and her 5-year old daughter, Bay.Suddenly things in Claire's world aren't quite as simple and she finds herself opening up to people, especially her new neighbour Tyler. Claire hopes to find solace in her garden, but is constantly pushed out into the world by her sister and a large apple tree with an attitude.My summary really doesn't do the story justice. By the end of the book I wanted to LIVE in Bascom, North Carolina with these people AND I wanted to have my very own Apple Tree With An Attitude (even though I hate apples). I also feel like I need to learn how to garden and cook well. Neither of which I am particularly good at OR fond of. ;) A lot of the reviews I have seen for Garden Spells have stated they found the book too much like Practical Magic, but I have never seen that movie so I can't comment on that. All I know is that this book made me happy. I needed to feel happy. And even now I look at it longingly on my kitchen table and wish that I didn't have to take it back to the library in a week. It has stayed on my wishlist only because I feel like I need to own a copy of this book to help make my life complete. Yes, I know that is crazy.I loved this book. Plain and simple.