THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON

Author: Sarah Addison Allen ISBN: 9780553807219 3/2010 PARANORMAL FICTION Publisher: BANTAM

In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestelling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world...no matter how out of place they feel. Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother's life. For instance, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren't solved in Mullaby, they're a way of life. Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes. Everyone in Mullaby...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

When GARDEN SPELLS, Allen's first book, came out, it was so widely available everywhere that I didn't want to read it. The last book I'd seen pushed that hard hadn't been that great. But the book was a sweet delight, and I've been a fan of this author ever since. Allen's books are full of magic and Southern whimsy.

This book is rooted in the mystery of what happened in Mullaby, North Carolina, a famed barbeque town, eighteen years earlier. Emily Benedict is the daughter of a professional do-gooder, but when her mother dies, she is forced to move to the small town she knows nothing about to spend her senior year with her grandfather. She's attracted to the son of the mayor, but the family acts like it hates her for no obvious reason. What is going on?

Her only friend is Julia Winterson, who is the same age as her mother would have been and bakes cakes and runs her late father's restaurant. Julia has secrets of her own and a forbidden man chasing her as well. Can the magic of the town heal their hearts and help them find love?

THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON is a delightful read and should be enjoyed with a slice of cake. I was salivating just reading about all the yummy desserts that Julia made. Too bad I live so far from the South!

Heather Hiestand