Book Review - Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

What an enchanting book! I must admit, I was awarded an ARC from the publisher, but it came after I left for a month's vacation. I hated missing out on reading it so much I purchased it from Amazon, and I am so glad I did!

Reminiscent of a tale told by Sarah Addison Allen, but somehow softer and sweeter, this book is magical realism and women's fiction at its best. The story of a decades old mystery and death, it explores the lines between family, forgiveness, friendship, enchantment, and food.

Anna Kate is new in town, although her family roots reach far back. Her grandmother, Zee, left Anna Kate the Blackbird Cafe in her will, with the stipulation that Anna Kate live in the sleepy town of Wicklow for two months before she can sell the cafe. Anna Kate promised her mother, Eden, that she would attend medical school, so her plan it to grant her mother's dying wish while at the same time meeting the terms of her mother's will. Nothing ever goes to plan, however, and Anna Kate finds herself charmed with the local population, but anxious to stay away from blood relatives her mother warned her of.

Full of blackberry tea, magical pie, a mysterious cat and four and twenty blackbirds, the story of Wicklow charms the soul. The characters are well rounded and likeable, even Anna Kate's prickly paternal grandmother, Seely. Reading this book was a balm I did not know I needed, and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every page.

What a beautiful excerpt: "While on earth, it’s the job of us guardians to tend to the trees, nurture them, and gather their love to bake into pies to serve those who mourn, those left behind. You see, the bonds of love are only strengthened when someone leaves this earth, not diminished. Some have trouble understanding that, so it’s the pie that determines who’s in need of a message, a reminding, if you will; it’s the love in the pie that connects the two worlds; and it’s a tree keeper who delivers the message."

Book Review - Seed Savers, Book 4; Keeper

The fourth installment of the Seed Saver series by Sandra Smith begins with Lily, Arturo, and James hiding out in a Pacific Islander camp in the mountains of North Carolina. The world is safe and protected, but James knows that he cannot stay in hiding for long. Eventually the team relocates to the city of Portland, Oregon and rejoins the Seed Saver revolution. In the meantime, Clare and Dante are finishing their Seed Saver training in Canada, but discover they cannot safely go home to their mother. Eventually they are spirited away and reunited with Lily in Oregon.

As the story progresses, so does the action in the story. Rose has been recruited to be a member trained by the GRIM, and her adoptive guardians follow Trinia out west; tensions escalate, along with political unrest; an unknown source has begun leaking political information from the past creating more dissension for all factions. Between the Seed Saver movement, the mysterious Jalil, GRIM, and the political unrest chaos is beginning to seem eminent. It is this 4th novel in the series in which the tone becomes increasingly more dystopian, although less violently so than the Divergent or Hunger Games series. Where will it all lead?

Eerily reflective of so many things in our current society, this series can create great discussions for students; about political control, cover-up of harmful information, and about political unrest, the topic of food preservation, or even as basic as how seeds can be genetically modified in the name of good health and profit.

Book Review - Seed Savers: Unbroken, Book 5

I am admittedly sad to see the series end. I am not a huge fan of reading series books, one after the other, but I found myself wanting to do that with this series. Originally written for children, author Sandra Smith upped the level of interest throughout the series to include a bit of teen interest - intertwined romantic twists, teen rebellion against parental authority, rebellion against political concerns about the wrongs being waged in society. I would consider the books age level appropriate for upper middle-grade through young adult.

The topic is truly relevant in the world today; whether one believes in global warming or not, or whether one believes in the slow acquisition of food sources, and genetic modification of American food by corporate giants or not, these are concerning topics in our world. Sandra Smith's series offers an easy to read "what-if" scenario that takes place in the not to distant future about these very real societal concerns. What if a corporation decided to slowly take over all food production including the very source of food; including harmful pesticides to control unwanted pests and these leeched into the food we grow and eat? What if the government knew about the dangers, yet turned a blind eye for financial gain and better control of the people? What if people were not able to make informed choices about the food they put in their bodies? What if we could not grow our own vegetables, herbs - raise our own meat source? These are things we take for granted every day, and we still count on our government to keep us safe in our choices.

Fictionalized with just enough truth to make the reader question "what-if", this is an eye-opening series, and as a school librarian, I will be sure to promote these books with my peers and get them in the hands of students; children who will one day be affected by some of these very timely topics.

Book Review - Seed Savers, Book 3 Heirloom

In this third installment of the Seed Savers series by Sandra Smith, the action amps up a bit. Clare and Dante are safely installed in Canada after their harrowing adventure north on their bicycles. They are intent on learning all they can about gardening and growing their own food.

Lily is on the run - south, to see if she can discover the truth of her father and his incarceration for being the leader of the Seed Saver movement. On a personal note - it was fun reading about Lily's adventures in Plant City, Florida - where I currently reside. Plant City, today, is a hugely agricultural setting, and the juxtaposition of Lily's world and this current world do not go unnoticed. It is easy to see that a conglomerate can easily gain a monopoly on the world of seeds and hybrid plants. Before he died in 1990, my father-in-law was a local farmer, and he complained heartily about having to purchase new seeds each year; try as he might many seeds he tried to nurture and save did not make it to the next planting season. It is all over the news, too, about Monsanto and their pesticide products; this fictional YA series is so timely and so frightening all at once.

Lily's adventures become more harrowing as she discovers that she is being followed. The characters in this book are "growing up" and their positions become more aligned with middle grade to young adult readers. The topic is so current and fresh, and interesting. Anyone who is interested in the environment and the future of our food supply will surely get an education and a what-if theory from reading these books. I am looking forward to finishing the series!