That's Just Peachy: "The Peach Keeper" by Sarah Addison Allen

Last week I shared my musings and love for the South and it's sassy culture.  As I was thinking about which books I would review during January, I wanted to share a wide variety of genres and author styles.  Today's review is shifting gears into a realm of magic and mystery.  Today we travel into the world(s) created by Sarah Addison Allen.  Specifically, I will be sharing my musings about "The Peach Keeper" which I found in a lucky thrifting adventure in Rexburg, Idaho last year.

Sarah Addison Allen's writing style is so interesting to me.  She writes stories that nearly jump off the page because she has a gift of writing with such imagery.  The other interesting element of her books is the reader doesn't know they are entering a magical world right away.  She develops the main characters and then slips in the magic.  Lastly, she presents characters with a LOT of depth.  I've read three of her books and each one I was emotionally attached from start to finish.  She has a way of bringing these people to life in such a way that I was almost positive that magic could be real because of how she wrote about it.

The reason I mentioned last week's post about the South is because this book takes place in North Carolina. As is par for the course in books set in the South, there's usually a socialite, debutante character and a commoner, perhaps quirky character because that's just how they do things.  In this book, the socialite is named Paxton and the quirky commoner is Willa.  They are polar opposites in their pedigree and life paths.  Paxton has taken on the hefty task of restoring a local, historical inn that has a long line of history and scandal attached to it. Willa's family built the inn that Paxton purchased and the circumstances of the property leaving the family were full of scandal and betrayal.

Another interesting element of this book is how we watch the characters learn to interact with each other in spite of their polar life paths up to this point.  The author has created a wonderful side-by-side, of sorts, to show how Paxton's life with all its glamour, high society and expected perfection isn't worth more than Willa's life with its simplicity and authenticity.  Willa's family has been attached to stories of scandal and betrayal that have caused people to think less of her family for hundreds of years. It's not until Paxton discovers a buried skeleton under the lone peach tree on the property that she decides to bring Willa in to her circle to answer some questions or at least find some clues.  And this is where the magic and mystery really unfolds.

A number of themes are presented in this book that I loved.  First, is that of reinvention.  Who are we really? Are we someone who is created by our status or social class inherited at birth or do we make our own world? It's all peachy to live in the bubble of wealth and glamour to the outside world, but is it that great on the inside? Throughout the book, a number of characters are faced with this challenge to overcome.  It would be easy for everyone to point fingers and blame the scandal and betrayal on the lack of status, but that's not really the case. Status doesn't equal perfection, but lack of status doesn't necessarily mean imperfection either.

The second is the ability to leave things in the past.  So, Willa's family was scandalous, what of it? She wasn't there, she didn't have a say in how her family members behaved and yet somehow it's still her problem.  To a point, I think we live out the consequences of family members gone by, but it doesn't have to be that way.  In the end, the choices that we can control are only our own.  Period. It's refreshing to me that I don't have to live with this kind of pressure over my head.  I would also submit that this is something that comes with fame and fortune more so than living a quiet, humble life.  The reader also learns about Willa's past and how her choices as a teen weren't exactly the best, not because of her family history, but because she chose them.  Ultimately, the division is resolved and Willa and Paxton come together to solve the mystery they are presented because it will benefit the community as a whole and their families as well.

I couldn't put this book down and loved the element of magic along with the mystery. There is also some sweet lovey plot line that happens and it's cute.  Like I said before, I knew I was reading a fantasy of sorts, but I had to convince myself that magic wasn't real because the author wove it in to the plot with such ease and made it come to life.

My recommended reading group would be age 13 and above.  It's a PG read with relationship elements, mystery and magic.

The moral of the story: Status doesn't equal perfection, but lack of status doesn't necessarily mean imperfection. The choice is ours as to which matters most.

Happy reading, my amazing, geeky lovelies!
-R



More Books by Sarah Addison Allen

Missed last week's book review? Click here to read it!