LANGUAGE OF THE SYCAMORES

Author: Lisa Wingate ISBN: 0451213920 2/2007 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: NAL

Karen Sommerfield has been hiding from life-immersing herself in a high-powered job-until the day the company downsizes her out of a job and the doctor tells her that she may have cancer. It's a double blow that sends Karen on a search for herself in the last place she ever thought to look: Grandma Rose's old farm. As Karen's hectic schedule falls away, she opens up to the unexpected. In the quiet of the Missouri Ozarks, she hears the soft, secret language of the sycamore trees, and discovers answers and a joy to make her life complete.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Once in a long while you come across a book that just speaks to you. You savor it while reading, and can't seem to let go of it long after you finish. THE LANGUAGE OF SYCAMORES is such a book.

Ms. Wingate weaves her spell around the reader and captures that elusive something that makes a book unforgettable. I'm not sure how she's able to turn something heartwrenching into something heartwarming, but she's accomplished it with this novel. Apparently the third book in a series, THE LANGUAGE OF SYCAMORES could easily stand alone. Most references to events from the prior books are told in such a way to give just enough information, but not too awkward for those who already read the first two books.

THE LANGUAGE OF SYCAMORES is one of the best books I've read in a good long while. I highly recommend it.

Kendra Patterson