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The latest installment of the Anderson Book Club is Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.  It is the story of two sisters who have long been separated by life and personality.  Claire Waverley uses her gift of cooking with edible flowers to affect the moods and feelings of their consumer.  She has remained in her home town, embracing her gift while avoiding life.  Her sister Sydney, however, ran from her home much like their mother did years earlier.  Only in returning home does she begin to discover her own Waverley magic.  Together, the two sisters begin to realize how alike they are.

This was a happy, magical-feeling book.  Simple and sunny.  An Aunt of Claire’s and Sydney’s, Evanelle, is one of my favorite characters in a novel in a long time.  Evanelle’s Waverley gift is that she needs to give people certain objects that they will need in their future, although she does not know why they will need it or when.  It was a lot of fun to see what objects she would bestow next, and what unusual use they will come to.  Overall, this book was a nice, joyful read.

4/5

Want to read along with the Anderson Book Club?  The next book is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.