TITLE: The Girl Who Chased The Moon
AUTHOR: Sarah Addison Allen
PUBLISHER: Bantam Books
PUBLICATION DATE: March 16, 2010
PAGES: 288
GENRE: Fiction
In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world…no matter how out of place they feel.
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.
Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.
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.
Is there really a ghost dancing in her backyard? Can a cake really bring back a lost love?
In this town of lovable misfits, maybe the right answer is the one that just feels…different.
AUTHOR GUEST POST…Every book I’ve written has had some element of fairytale to it. From the sentient apple tree in Garden Spells, to the Rapunzel references in The Sugar Queen. My new book, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, is no different. I actually ended up with a giant in this story.
I remember when I first wrote elderly Vance Shelby into the story of The Girl Who Chased the Moon. He walked into a room and had to duck under the doorframe. That’s when I realized this was no ordinary man, and I began to research gigantism. Vance’s mannerisms became based on information I found on the tallest man who ever lived, Robert Pershing Wadlow. At the time of his death in 1940, Wadlow was almost nine feet tall. It’s such an unbelievable number. It doesn’t seem real, does it? I poured over old film and audio interviews, trying to get a feel for what his life was like, so I could present with veracity this magically tall man in my story.
I have a soft spot for Vance Shelby, my gentle giant. I hope you come to love him as much as I do.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…Sarah Addison Allen is the New York Times bestselling author of Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen. She was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, where she is currently at work on her next novel. You can visit Sarah Addison Allen’s website at www.sarahaddisonallen.com.
FROM THE BOOK FAERY REVIEWS…Unfortunately, I missed this past Thursday’s book signing/reading with Sarah Addison Allen over at Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh, NC. My mom on the other hand was lucky enough to get to her signing over at Barnes & Nobles in Cary. Since I didn’t get to meet up with her Thursday, Mom got her to sign all of my books.
Both of us are big fans of Sarah Addison Allen so when I was approached to host her as a guest at The Book Faery Reviews during her book blog tour I definitely jumped at the opportunity. I’ve read her previous books Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen and enjoy the “magic” she invokes throughout her novels. Within the pages of The Girl Who Chased The Moon you’ll find love, redemption, self-discovery, hope and magic of course. The Girl Who Chased the Moon was just as fabulous and I look forward to her others to come.
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