When I was a little girl, I didn't read very many fairy tales.
I devoured almost everything with the written word, but for some reason, fairy tales were never on my bookshelves, except perhaps the odd Mother Goose anthology. Oh sure, I knew the basics of the requisite few fairy tales (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan), but they were never much a part of my canon, and until I was in college, I'd only seen three Disney films (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Fox and the Hound, which sadly are not part of the fairy tale set).
But I always liked the idea of fairy tales.
The princesses with their fancy gowns and tiaras, the toil and strife they endured with good grace, and of course, the touches of magic throughout and the Prince Charming who arrives just in time to save the day and sweep her off her feet.
Everyone likes those stories, right?
But these days, they are harder and harder to find on the shelves, as libraries and bookstores shelves are stuffed with hardboiled mysteries, murder, mayhem and violence, and of course, chintzy romance reads.
And so, it was with great joy that I recently found and read a fairy tale for little girls who are all grown up now, but still need to believe in magic.
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is just such a fairy tale.
Allen delicately weaves the story of the Waverley sisters, Claire and Sydney, who were raised in North Carolina in a rambling old house with a garden filled with secrets and magic. Older sister Claire stays rooted in Bascom, insulated in her home, fully engaged in her work as a caterer, using flowers from the special garden to affect those who eat her recipes. Her main interaction is with Evanelle, an unconventional woman who is destined to give things to people – things they don’t know they need yet, whether it’s a box of Pop Tarts or a silver spoon. But the things are always significant, and always have an affect on the lives of those Evanelle touches, though it has made her quite the town eccentric. The Waverleys are regarded with suspicion and mistrust in Bascom, as many believe they have the power to curse those around them.
Younger sister Sydney, on the other hand, was the child who fled Bascom at a young age, continually moving on, moving away until something happened to keep her rooted to her spot until she could take it no more. Fleeing with that most precious to her, Sydney makes the pilgrimage back to North Carolina, back to the rambling house and the strange embrace of family, where Sydney and Claire must begin the process of knowing each other again.
With Sydney’s whirlwind return to Bascom, the sisters’ lives intertwine again like creeping ivy, pulling in magic, fate, love, lust, romance and the squaring away of the past. And of course, no fairy tale is complete without a romance or two – will the stranger next door manage to capture Claire’s skittish heart? Will Sydney be able to let the past go, and let in a new love from the past? Only time, and magic, will tell…
This is just a delightful novel - truly a fairy tale, from the "Prince Charming(s)" who dot the pages to the changes the magical garden can wrought on those who partake of it to the triumph of the “princesses” over the big, bad evil that pursues them.
Allen's writing is gentle, warm and evocative - you can truly spell the lavender and peppermint in the garden, can hear the apples thudding to the ground from the huge tree near the fence, and can taste the sugared delights Claire serves to those around her. The reader truly becomes wrapped up in the sultry nights of North Carolina, living in the rambling house with Sydney and Claire.
This novel is a true escape from the world - a tender tale for when the regular world gets to be too much.
Just what all us grown up princesses need.
A fairy tale, indeed.
Sarah Addison Allen's newest novel, The Sugar Queen, was just released on May 20th. To visit Sarah on the web, visit: http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com.
Looking to ask the Loud Librarian a question or comment on one of her reviews? Email her at Marissa.Priddis@CrucialPop.com.
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