Book Blurb
For fans of Sarah Addison Allen, Aimee Bender, and Alice Hoffman, The Night Garden is a luminous novel of love, forgiveness, and the possibilities that arise when you open your heart.
Nestled in the bucolic town of Green Valley in upstate New York, the Pennywort farm appears ordinary, yet at its center lies something remarkable: a wild maze of colorful gardens that reaches beyond the imagination. Local legend says that a visitor can gain answers to life’s most difficult problems simply by walking through its lush corridors.
Yet the labyrinth has never helped Olivia Pennywort, the garden’s beautiful and enigmatic caretaker. She has spent her entire life on her family’s land, harboring a secret that forces her to keep everyone at arm’s length. But when her childhood best friend, Sam Van Winkle, returns to the valley, Olivia begins to question her safe, isolated world and wonders if she at last has the courage to let someone in. As she and Sam reconnect, Olivia faces a difficult question: Is the garden maze that she has nurtured all of her life a safe haven or a prison?
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Toot's Review by Stacy Sabala
Olivia Pennywort owns and works on Pennywort Farm. She knows her farm is special and calls to people. It’s why she allows those looking for answers to stay in barn. People have been flocking to the Pennywort Farm to walk the maze for years. Olivia’s mother started the maze but died when Olivia was a child.
After her mother’s death, Olivia’s father let his grief rule him. He distanced himself from everyone except Olivia. When she was sixteen he moved into a shack in the ravine. Olivia was left to care for the farm, the maze and the boarders by herself.
She was also taxed with keeping her own secret. She was poisonous herself. People would break out in poison ivy if they brushed against her bare skin. As a result she couldn’t touch anyone. She threw herself into the work of the farm and isolated herself so she wouldn’t put anyone at risk.
Of course everything changes when Sam Van Winkle comes back to town. Her best friend from childhood and the only one she’s ever loved has come back home and moved across the road from the farm. He wants to get to know her again. She panics but wonders if she can be happy with Sam. She is also wondering if there is a way to make things work.
Unfortunately the thing with secrets is they always seem to come out. When Olivia’s secret is discovered Olivia’s world falls apart.
The story was interesting, but it had a hard time keeping my interest. I would read for a while then do something else when I lost interest. This story and the characters were good but they didn’t arouse my engrossment of the story. The storyline kind of simmered slowly along as it evolved around Olivia.
There was a paranormal twist with Olivia’s ability with plants that sparked my interest. Olivia was obviously lonely as a result of her poisonous touch.
I did like how the author wrapped things up. She never really reveals how Olivia and Sam manage the physical part of their relationship. It leaves you wondering a bit. I give it a 3 out 5.
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