Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Garden Spells

by Sarah Addison Allen 

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Discovery (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553590324
• ISBN-13: 978-0553590326

 The Waverly’s of Bascom, North Carolina, have a reputation for being a bit eccentric.  In addition to their beauty, the women of the clan have uncanny abilities.  Some embrace their gifts, but others, like Sydney, run as far as they can.  Like her mother before her, Sydney escaped to New York and a life away from the small town that has defined the family for years.  Her sister Claire, however, has remained in the family home, and has embraced her destiny, creating a successful catering business with otherworldly charms.  While everyone comes to her for the perfect romantic dish, her own love life is paltry at best.  Her quiet life suits her perfectly, however, and she believes she is content until her long-lost sister returns to the nest with her young daughter, Bay.  Suddenly, everything is changing as Sydney searches for footing in her old home and Claire learns to live outside of herself.  But the past is never far behind and the girls must come together to protect their fragile family from a bigger threat than either of them has ever known.

I really do not know where to begin.  Bascom is a quaint and familiar small southern town filled with the usual suspects.  What makes everything about this book special is the Waverlys.  Oh how I would love to be a Waverly.  Amid their stunning gardens, cozy home-place, and magnificent trees, each member of the family is a vision of womanhood explored.  Shy yet sensual, Claire is the quintessential girl-next-door while Sydney is more carefree and modern and not just a little bit spicy.  Claire’s relationship to nature is so beautifully written that even a city girl will melt with the desire to start a garden.  Bay is precocious and unnaturally worldly while serving as a bridge between the two sisters.  Equal parts Like Water For Chocolate and Practical Magic, Garden Spells is pure literary confection.

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