Category Archives: Allen, Sarah Addison

Sarah Addison Allen. The Peach Keeper. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2011.

The restoration of the old Jackson place should not have been anything out of the ordinary, but Walls of Water, North Carolina, is not a typical mountain town. Magic lingers in the air, the result of a dark visitor to the logging community in the 1930s.

Paxton Osgood has spent the past few months transforming the dilapidated, supposedly-haunted house into a new bed and breakfast, the gorgeous Blue Ridge Madam. To highlight the grand opening, Paxton has decided to hold a gala celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Women’s Society Club at the Madam. She has invited Willa Jackson to attend as a representative of her grandmother, a founding member of the club and former resident of the mansion. Although Willa and Paxton are the same age, they have never been friends. However, this event becomes an opportunity for them to get to know each other. The two realize that their grandmothers had been best friends, but their relationship was strained when the mysterious visitor came to Walls of Water. As the young women uncover what happened to their grandmothers, Willa and Paxton begin to understand the meaning of friendship and the value of taking chances.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Allen, Sarah Addison, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Romance/Relationship

Sarah Addison Allen. The Girl Who Chased the Moon. New York: Bantam Books, 2010.

Coming home can be a difficult process if the reasons you left in the first place were painful. Coming home to a small town like Mullaby, North Carolina where everyone seems to know all about you can be very awkward. Coming home to a place where there is a gentle giant, men who glow in the moonlight, and people can see and follow the smell of cake, can be wonderful.

For Emily Benedict, coming to Mullaby after the death of her mother is a homecoming of sorts. Although this is her first time in the town and the first time she meets her grandfather, Emily feels a strange connection to the people as well as the place. As she learns about why her mother lost touch with her grandfather, a giant, she discovers a town full of animosity towards her mother, animosity which extends to her too. Only when she befriends a strange boy, Win Coffey, whose signature outfit is a white summer linen suit and who glows in the moonlight, does she understand the truth of why her mother left. The history shared by Emily and Win’s families could complicate their budding relationship, but they are determined to write a new story for themselves.

Julia Winterson has returned to Mullaby after the death of her father. She planned to stay in Mullaby for two years to claim her father’s estate and to expand his barbecue restaurant so that when she sells it she will make a profit. Julia wants to move back to Baltimore to open a bakery, leaving the painful memories of Mullaby behind. However, people who hurt her in the past – mean girls, an impossible stepmother, and a boy, Sawyer, who claimed to love her but wanted her to get an abortion when she became pregnant at sixteen – once again become important figures in her life. When Sawyer expresses his true feelings for her, Julia admits to giving birth to their daughter and putting her up for adoption. Julia realizes that she cannot leave Mullaby because it is and always was her home. Although she and Sawyer have no way of finding their daughter, Julia bakes cakes as a way to try to call her home – a method Sawyer’s mother used to reach him.

Maddie Davis had never been to Mullaby when she traveled there to find her birth mother. For her entire life, she has been able to see the ingredients in cake – flour, sugar, vanilla – in the air, and this sixth sense draws her to the dessert and to the baker. Maddie has finally found the source of that scent that has been reaching out to her for her entire life. And in traveling to Mullaby to meet her birth parents, Maddie comes home.

While each homecoming is not without unpleasant moments, the results are comforting – and magical.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

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Filed under 2010, 2010-2019, Allen, Sarah Addison, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Romance/Relationship, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Sarah Addison Allen. The Sugar Queen. New York: Bantam Books, 2008.

Josey Cirrini, the main character in this novel, is not doing much with her life. At 27 she is still under the thumb of her cold, beautiful mother. Josey likes to stay in her room, reading and eating candy. One day, Della Lee Baker, the town’s tough-talking, bad-girl waitress takes refuge in Josey’s closet. Josey wants Della out, but Della’s strong personality gives her the upper hand. Della fills Josey’s head with new ideas and gets Josey to do her favors. Doing Della’s bidding launches Josey out into the world, which is much more complex and wonderful than she ever imagined. With nudging from Della and help from a new friend, Josey makes a better life for herself.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library catalog.

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2008, Allen, Sarah Addison, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places

Sarah Addison Allen. Garden Spells. New York: Bantam Books, 2007.

The Waverleys of Bascom, N.C. have always been unusual. The family’s women, in particular, have had strange talents for generations and their garden imbues its fruits, vegetables, and edible flowers with seemingly magical properties. Claire Waverly embraced the family’s quirks, but her sister Sydney fled both it and the town of Bascom ten years ago. When Sydney returns with her young daughter, the sisters must deal with both their family’s past and its future. This is Asheville-resident Allen’s debut novel and she has described her style as “Southern-fried magical realism.”

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library Catalog.

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Filed under 2007, Allen, Sarah Addison, Novels Set in Fictional Places