The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Pages 257

Published by Hodder Books in 2010

Book – own copy.

It took a moment for Emily to realize the car had come to a stop. She looked up from her charm bracelet, which she’d been worrying in slow circles around her wrist., and stared out the window. The two giant oaks in the front yard looked like flustered ladies caught mid curtsy, their starched green leaf-dresses swaying in the wind.

Goodreads Summary

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.
Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth and in the hope of bringing back the love she fears she’s lost forever. In Julia, Emily may have found a link to her mother’s past. But why is everyone trying to discourage Emily’s growing relationship with the handsome and mysterious son of Mullaby’s most prominent family? Emily came to Mullaby to get answers, but all she’s found so far are more questions.

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Reading a Sarah Addison Allen book is always such a delight.  Her words fill you with hope and make you believe that magic really does exist. I have loved every book of hers that I have read and this one is no different. This book has a distinctive Southern feel to it, and you are soon caught up in the delightful close knit town of Mullaby, where the residents have some quirky characteristics they keep hidden from visitors.Seeing the village through Emily’s eyes you are captivated by the mysterious Mullaby lights that roam through the woods.  I loved the power that Julia had over people, to lure them to her by the delicious aroma of her home made cakes. Both Emily and Julia are trying to find out where they belong in life, they are both searching for what seems an elusive dream – home. What they don’t realise at first is that they have already found it.  I loved Vance, Emily’s grandfather, also known as the friendly giant. His extremely tall frame hid a shy man who struggled to fill his big personality shoes, .   The author is an expert at making you dribble as you gobble up all the delicious food references amply supplied in her books.  I am always amazed at the magical elements this author manages to conjure up in her writing. Mood changing wallpaper – seriously amazing and something I definitely want.I really loved this book. I found it enlightening, captivating and magically charming. A sugar coated tale, full of inspirational characters on a journey to find home.