Welcome to Litsy!

Two sisters, a child on the autistic spectrum who has the gift of energy healing, two men in love with the same woman, death and dying, and a lot of flowers. There are messages of love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and the fact that words are not the only way to communicate. I also loved how the author used the Victorian tradition of the language of flowers. I loved this gentle book and the way it speaks of death, losing the fear of it.

Death had not felt empty. Instead, it felt like waiting for something special, and its taste was unexpected, almost like chocolate, rich and slightly bitter.

When she opened her eyes, the green hills were brighter, and the wild roses growing along the white-plank fence encircling the cemetery were sunset pink. Normally, the roses wouldn‘t flower for another month, but last year, after the funeral, Antoinette had pushed her hands into the dirt and they sprang to life. They hadn‘t stopped blooming since. Even bowed under a blanket of snow, the pink petals shone like the spots on a butterfly‘s wing.

As in real life, ferns grew along the bank, but in her dream the fronds were made of words instead of leaves. She would sit there, eating leaves, singing under the moon until her throat was raw. Then she‘d run home, wake her mother, and fix everything. Words had power.

“When she loses hope, hold on to it for her. The point isn‘t whether she gets better,” Will said. The point is whether she goes through this alone or has someone with her who loves her, someone who tells her everything will be all right after she‘s gone. Love her enough to believe *that* for her.

As a Hospice volunteer, Medium, and Death Doula—this line really spoke to me!

The day of the funeral, snow covered the ground. Lily stood at the graveside, trying not to stare at the two gaping holes, but looking elsewhere was worse. Rose bent forward like a tree snapped by the weight of ice. Antoinette shrieked at the falling snowflakes. Behind them stood a row of mourners. Snow caught everywhere, on Lily‘s hair, her eyelashes, her cheeks. It was obscenely beautiful, like standing inside of a snow globe.

Antoinette remembered a woman with dark hair and moss-green eyes. A woman who looked like something that bloomed at night.

Puffy white-flowered Bradford Pear trees dotted the landscape. The trees were invasive, able to grow anywhere, including the thick Kentucky soil. They spread like the honeysuckle in the woods behind Eden Farms, but Lily liked them. There was something to admire about a species that planted itself anywhere, even if it wasn‘t wanted.

Shown: Bradford Pear trees in the spring lining our old driveway. Beautiful but they stink!

The titular Antoinette is a young non-verbal autistic girl with a miraculous power; her mother is dying, and her estranged obsessive-compulsive aunt is forced to return to he family flower farm to care for her sister and niece. It's bogged down by a tiresome love triangle and a cast of ultimately forgettable characters. The ending fails to deliver on a major plot point that otherwise could have made for a much more emotional and poignant piece.

This wasn't a terrible book, it just isn't my kind of book. I don't usually read anything like this so I don't know what to compare it to. I only finished it because I'm stuck at my daughter's choir rehearsal and they've been doing the same sing for about an hour 😳

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. I like stories with a touch of the paranormal and the little girl in the story has a disability, a soft spot for me. At some point, though, I'm going to have to face that the only magical realism books I've liked so far are by Sarah Addison Allen.

Starting my first book of the new year after staying up late to watch Clemson WIN! I need to get myself organized as I have no idea what challenges I'll participate in (well, except for Goodreads and the HP challenge) but first some more reading and football.

A little early Christmas present for myself 😆! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

When you're on sick leave for the next few weeks... and the order you placed online with your B&N get well gift card has come in. 📚 Planning on getting some reading done, with Tinker Bell (my fur baby) looking on. #kittygetwellplant 😸🌿❤️

Another #TBRtemptation post for you 😂! This book sounds really interesting and had me at the book jacket. Anyone read this one yet? It sounds so goooood!!!

Loved the magical realism. Reminiscent of Sarah Addison Allen. At its heart it is a story about sisters, love, forgiveness and the sacrifices we make for those we love.

"Don't listen to that woman," her mother said. "Everyone's life is hard in some way. Yours just happens to be easier to see than most."

Several issues. 1. Too much foreshadowing so I had it figured out too early in book. 2. Three POVs but only two narrators for audiobook. 3. Not enough connection or emotion btwn one of the women & the two men who loved her. 4. B/c of point 1, not enough suspense or wonder about ending. Not that this is a bad book but more that it's kind of meh. If you don't figure out the plot early, you may have a better experience. Set on a flower farm

Diving into this, starting tonight. I love @AlgonquinBooks and the audio (w/ Andi Arndt & Cassandra Campbell) should be good. A story about sisters, motherhood, autism, and relationships. Set on a flower farm in Kentucky. This also qualifies for #DebutNovel #Booktober #audiobook

What a gorgeous book. Stunning in its simple message and poignancy. An absolute must-read.

Yay! I won this ARC and received it in today's mail. Looks intriguing!

"The land sang to those who stood still long enough to hear it."

Look what just turned up in my garden! A new novel set on a cut flower farm in Kentucky- coming from Algonquin in August.