In a garden surrounded by a tall fence, tucked away behind a small,
quiet house in an even smaller town, is an apple tree that is rumored to
bear a very special sort of fruit. In this luminous debut novel, Sarah
Addison Allen tells the story of that enchanted tree, and the
extraordinary people who tend it. . . .
**
**The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar
gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North
Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty
apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued
with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their
history was in the soil. But so were their futures.
A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her
mystical plants--from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and
the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended
to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her
elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts
whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the
Waverleys--except for Claire's rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled
Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had
years before.
When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own,
Claire's quiet life is turned upside down--along with the protective
boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together
again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left
behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the
sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy--if they are
ever to feel at home in Bascom--or with each other.
Enchanting and heartfelt, this captivating novel is sure to cast a spell
with a style all its own. . . .
