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Paperback : 463 pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (April 1, 2021)

Go on a powerful journey of forgiveness and healing with The Light Through the Leaves, a transcendent novel of love, loss, and self-discovery by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars.

One unbearable mistake at the edge of the forest.

In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended—for just a few minutes. But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well—into grief, guilt, and addiction. Convinced she can only do more harm to her family, Ellis leaves her husband and young sons, burying her desperate ache for her children deeper with every step into the mountain wildernesses she treks alone.

In a remote area of Washington, a young girl named Raven keeps secrets inside, too. She must never speak to outsiders about how her mother makes miracles spring from the earth, or about her father, whose mysterious presence sometimes frightens her. Raven spends her days learning how to use her rare gifts—and more importantly, how to hide them. With each lesson comes a warning of what dangers lie in the world beyond her isolated haven. But despite her mother’s cautions, Raven finds herself longing for something more.

As Ellis and Raven each confront their powerful longings, their journeys will converge in unexpected and hopeful ways, pulled together by the forces of nature, love, and family.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“How did you get like this?” “Like what?” “Like here but not here. Like this snow I can’t touch without it melting in my hand.”

 

What Audrey Lind did forced our family skeletons out of the closet and turned them into flesh-eating zombies.

 

She never would trust fate. It always did what it wanted. Fate didn’t give a damn how good a person was, or how innocent a baby, before it swept them away.

 

“Can I hug you while you’re out of character?” “Okay. But hurry before the real me comes back.”

My Review:

 

This absorbing book was tragic, emotive, brilliant, shrewdly paced, heartrending, and crafted with exceptionally deft and thoughtfully insightful writing. I fell right into this divinely conjured tale while implanted and entrenched with her struggling characters throughout every well-crafted scene. I could hear the water flowing, smell the plants, and feel the bitter cold of winter and the blazing sun of a tropical summer.   Glendy Vanderah has magic in her words. She spun me upside down and sideways, and I loved every minute of it.

 

Glendy Vanderah worked as an endangered bird specialist in Illinois before she became a writer. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in rural Florida with as many birds, butterflies, and wildflowers as she can lure to her land. Where the Forest Meets the Stars is her debut novel.

Connect with Glendy

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