garden spells

There are people who can't read fiction, because it's not real and they don't have time for what's not real.  (For example, my mother-in-law.  She only reads non-fiction books & only watches the news.)  There are people who can't read non-fiction, because it's too real and there's enough reality during the day.  (And I'm sure there are some in the middle ground...  maybe?)  I'm one of the latter, as is my husband.  We love fiction & fantasy.  Besides some self-help books & "religious" (don't know what else to call them) books, most of what we own is fiction.  (Most of Kris' books happen in the Star Wars universe...  And I'm pretty sure that's fictional.)

My favorite stories belong in the fantasy world.  Magic, dragons, elves and such.  (and yes, occasionally a ring that rules them all.)  I hope to write about some of my favorite worlds one of these days.  Anyway.

I'm excited about a new book coming out by Sarah Addison Allen...  The first book by her I read was Garden Spells - if you like light/easy read, with a little bit of cooking & magic & romance thrown in, you might really like it!  (I'm talking about you, Dana.)  I've read it several times, and I still love it.  I've read her other books as well - The Sugar Queen and The Girl Who Chased the Moon.  I didn't like the other two books as much as the first one though.  Her books have a hint of southern charm in them, along with cooking & baking.  It's almost as though you can smell powdered sugar and chocolate while reading them.  :)

Something about the interaction of the sisters in the book is very touching to me.  One is very reserved and "odd" by the world's standards, and the other is very outgoing and worldly.  They grow up in a small town where everybody knows everything about everyone, and reading their reactions to such life reminds me of the missionary community that I grew up in.  Teenagers react to such an environment very differently...  They may even dislike others who are different - I felt like people who made different choices were weird, or just plain irresponsible.  Sometimes, I felt like their grass was a whole bunch greener.  But in the end...  We're family.  Even though that seems so cliche - "brothers and sisters in Christ" - like it or not, it's true.  That's hard to remember for me, and yet, the reconciliation that takes place in the book reminds me that in the end, family matters.