Perennials by Julie Cantrell is a great read. I started reading it at about 11 am on one of my days off during winter break, and kept reading it… until I finished it about 8 pm that night. There were a few interruptions of course, as I have a three year old.
“When two estranged sisters reunite for their parents’ 50th anniversary, a family tragedy brings unexpected lessons of hope and healing amid the flowers of their mother’s perennial garden.
Eva Sutherland—known to all as Lovey—grew up safe and secure in Oxford, Mississippi, surrounded by a rich literary history and her mother’s stunning flower gardens. But a shed fire, and the injuries it caused, changed everything. Her older sister, Bitsy, blamed Lovey for the irreparable damage. Bitsy became the homecoming queen and the perfect Southern belle who could do no wrong. All the while, Lovey served as the family scapegoat, always bearing the brunt when Bitsy threw blame her way. At eighteen, suffocating in her sister’s shadow, Lovey turned down a marriage proposal and fled to Arizona. Free from Bitsy’s vicious lies, she became a successful advertising executive and a weekend yoga instructor, carving a satisfying life for herself. But at forty-five, Lovey is feeling more alone than ever and questioning the choices that led her here.
When her father calls insisting she come home three weeks early for her parents’ 50th anniversary, Lovey is at her wits’ end. She’s about to close the biggest contract of her career, and there’s a lot on the line. But despite the risks, her father’s words, “Family First,” draw her back to the red-dirt roads of Mississippi. Lovey is drawn in to a secret project—a memory garden her father has planned as an anniversary surprise. As she helps create this sacred space, Lovey begins to rediscover her roots, learning how to live perennially in spite of life’s many trials and tragedies. Years ago, Lovey chose to leave her family and the South far behind. But now that she’s returned, she’s realizing things at home were not always what they seemed.”
The back of this intrigued me enough, though I was kinda shaky on whether I thought it sounded good or not. I’m glad I started to read it.
SPOILER WARNING – Highlight to read: As a warning, this book does deal with cancer. This is a hard thing for me to read about as my mother in law passed away after a battle with cancer, and so did my husband’s grandmother. Cancer is such a tough subject to deal with, and when it came up in this novel, (which I suspected long before I knew for sure) I was unsure if I wanted to keep going. However, I liked the characters enough and was wanting to know more backstory, so I did keep going. And I’m glad. Though I cried. A lot. END SPOILERS.
The beginning is slow, but eventually starts to pick up. I’m so used to reading young adult fiction, I was surprised when I realized the main character was 45 years old. It honestly was quite a refreshing change. Because even though she of course did not have her life figured out, she had a career, a house, and a whole slew of different worries. I need to remember to read books like this more often.
I spent most of the book just wanting to royally slap Lovey’s sister, Bitsy. And honestly, still mostly wanted to slap the sister even later. However, the sibling rivalry, the parents, and how the past all factored in, was written very well. It was also spread out nicely and paced through the story.
Though religion is used in the text, it never becomes preachy, and remains powerful. Interestingly enough, it also mixes in some new age/Yoga/Native American traditions as well. I loved the family dynamic, because it was so well written. It also reminds us that parents can make mistakes as well. It deals with adultery, lying, grief, and hurt. It deals with coming to terms with our past, and deciding when to forgive.
There is also a beautiful mix of literature history of Oxford woven into this story, which I greatly enjoyed. The gardens and flower talk (though not my forte) was also enjoyable. Metaphors and layers are used throughout in ways that worked well.
Secrets of the past and present are reveled, Kleenex is needed, and overall it is a story of warmth, emotion and healing.
Advertisements Share this:
