The Girl Who Chased the Moon

The Girl Who Chased the Moonby Sarah Addison Allen

Emily Benedict has come 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, not only wishing to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also dreaming of rekindling the 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. (amazon.ca)

You have no idea how much it pains me to have to wait for new Sarah Addison Allen books. It is especially painful because I wait for them to come out in trade format since I refuse to pay the insane price of the hard cover. I now know I will love her books immensely and therefore know I must own a copy, so I wait. This particular time I had plans to read it during the summer because my crappy library actually had one copy. It was always out and there was an insane waiting list for it so I said forget it.My dear friend Monkey sent me an amazon giftcard for my birthday last month and I used that to preorder this here book. When it arrived earlier in the week I was just finishing off another book and then I devoured this one happily.Once more I am greeted by characters that made me laugh and cry and feel at home. Once more I turned the last page of the book only to be shocked that it was over because I didn't realize I had read so fast. Once more I was sad the book ended because I was going to miss these characters.Allen has a way of writing that makes you want to be a part of the town she's chosen to tell her story. You want to be out on a porch swing, sipping lemonade and wondering when the heat wave is going to end. You want to smell sugar and lemon and vanilla and you think you CAN while you read. You want a room whose wallpaper changes depending on your mood.You want to BE the story.I am constantly in awe of how strongly a Sarah Addison Allen story affects me. I don't feel anything remotely like I do when I read her novels than when I read anyone else's. Even if it's a story from a favourite author. Her books comfort and content me in a way I can't describe and like no other.So far, I believe this to be my order of preference for the three books I have read. Out in front, Garden Spells, a close second, The Girl Who Chased the Moon and in third place The Sugar Queen. I am curious as to where The Peach Keeper will fall in this list. It comes out in March and seems to be $28.99 in my local shops. Gah! Maybe I will try and wait on whatever waiting list my crappy library might have if they get it in, because I am lonely without her characters.Something that makes me happy: Everyone I have suggested Garden Spells to has loved it. I am now trying to convince all of these people to read Allen's other books and it's working. I am now passing out her books in my office, starting with my boss. The stories are contagious in a good way. ;)Buy the Book: Amazon | AmazonCA | Book DepositoryUK