After finishing my last book, I was in a bit of a
book hangover. I could have moved onto
the next book in the series that I was reading, but I just wasn’t ready yet (it’s
hard to leave those worlds sometimes).
As I was scrolling through Facebook, one of the book blogs I follow
(shout out to Scheva over at Ana’s Attic Book Blog), posted about a book that
she had read that, despite the cover (definitely not one of my favorites, and
as the saying goes- Never judge a book by its cover), ended up being one of her
favorite reads for 2013. The blogger was
singing this book’s praise, it was only 99 cents, and I was in desperate need
of escaping into a new book world, so I said what the hell and 1-clicked that
bitch! I sure am glad I did! This is possibly one of my favorite recent
reads. Let me introduce you to The
Sweetgum Tree by Katherine Allred.
Synopsis:
Sweet tea, corn bread, and soup beans-
everyday fare for eight-year-old Alix French, the precocious darling of a
respected southern family. But nothing
was ordinary about the day she met ten-year-old Nick Anderson, a boy from the
wrong side of town. Armed with only a
tin of bee balm and steely determination, Alix treats the raw evidence of a
recent beating that mars his back, an act that changes both of their lives
forever. Through childhood disasters and
teenage woes they cling together as friendship turns to love. The future looks rosy until the fateful night
when Frank Anderson, Nick’s abusive father, is shot to death in his filthy
trailer. Suddenly, Nick is gone- leaving
Alix alone, confused and pregnant. For
the next fifteen years she wrestles with the pain of Nick’s abandonment, a bad
marriage, her family and friends. But
finally, she’s starting to get her life back together. Her divorce is almost final, her business is
booming, and she’s content if not happy- until the day she looks up and sees
Nick standing across the counter. He’s
back… and he’s not alone. Once again
Alix is plunged into turmoil and pain as Nick tries to win her love, something
she resists with all her strength. Only
one thing might break the protective wall she’s built around her emotions- the
truth about Frank Anderson’s death. But
when that truth comes out and those walls crumble, neither Alix nor Nick is
prepared for the emotional explosion that could destroy as well as heal.
My Review
“A sweet gum is
the chameleon of wood, its corky exterior hiding its inner ability to imitate
anything from cherry to mahogany. But
its real value, one unrealized by most people, is its deep red heart, steady
and strong. They see only the pale
fibrous wood, easily warped, that surrounds the core.”
One of the main things I absolutely LOVED about
this book is the fact that the reader is given the opportunity to watch the
characters grow, see their relationships develop, learn what really makes them,
well, them. The characters are real and
their actions and experiences evoke real emotions in the reader. You get to see the spunky, free-spirited 8
year old Alix set out on a mission to save Nick, the local town drunk’s
son. Reading about the events of their
childhood, you get a real feel for Nick.
Your heart genuinely bleeds for all that he goes through, but I love it
too, because you get to see how sincerely good he is. Just like Alix sets out to save Nick from
what the town thinks of him, Nick sets out to be Alix’s protector.
“But there are
more kinds of hurt than physical ones, hurts that run ever deeper and leave
bigger scars, and not even Nick could protect me from himself.”
As they progress into their teenage years, their
bond begins to change from just friendship.
Like all teenagers, they begin to discover the opposite sex and
consequently discover each other.
“After all, I
was southern, and southern women are selectively bred for their ability to
flirt.”
Even though they are clearly in love with each
other, not everyone wants them together.
Events transpire. There are
secrets that threaten to tear them apart.
Lies and half-truths that are told.
“Mothers. Can’t
live with them, can’t hit them over the head with a board.”
And even though I knew it was coming from the
description in the synopsis, it still hit me hard when Nick leaves. Alix is left heartbroken and in unfortunate
circumstances, but she does everything she can to make the best of the
situation and do what she has to do. The
Alix we read about in the second half of the book is completely different than
the Alix in the first. She has had to do
what she had to do, and that has left her with a hurt buried so deep, that it
would take a miracle to heal it.
“You can’t turn
love on and off like a light switch, no matter how hard you try. All you can do is wall it off, one brick at a
time, until you’ve created an impenetrable fortress around your emotions. And once that fortress is built, you
camouflage it so well that even you can’t see it anymore.”
Enter the miracle in the form of Nick, returning
15 years later. Can Nick heal the hurt
buried inside of Alix, or will he end up damaged just as she is when the
secrets of their pasts are revealed?
“Twenty-six
years ago, a feisty little girl, armed only with a tin of bee balm, set out to
save a ragged, lonely boy.”
“We were two people who had hurt each other
beyond words, and things like that aren’t easily fixed.”
In honor of this book being set in the South, the best wine I would suggest to go with it would be some good ole muscedine wine... can't beat it!
~Love, Twisted Chick~
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