The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Summary:

Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, 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, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, not only wishing to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also dreaming of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

Delightful! And delicious. :D This is a perfect light, for-fun read. What really took me by surprise in this book is the brushes of magic. I was expecting it to be all contemporary and to find logical explanations for everything. Instead, Sarah Addison Allen left me just a bit enchanted, wishing something magical would happen in my life.

This book follows the stories of two women (with intertwined lives). I liked that it combined a teenager's story of finding answers about her mother's past and an adult woman's story of reconciling her past with her hope for the future. So in a way, it's both an adult and a YA book. I liked all the characters really, and though this feels like a fluff read, some of them are going through very real and serious problems. In some of the flashbacks we have to face depression, cutting, suicide, and teen pregnancy. Instead of turning this book into a downer, though, these elements help ground a story that would otherwise be a bit too fanciful and sickly-sweet. Sometimes I felt like the plot got a bit soap-opera-y, but then I decided that with a book like this, the trick is to not overthink it and just enjoy the ride.

Which I did. And now I want to make a cake. Mmmmm.... I promise this book will make you crave cake.