Marin Ellis is in search of a new start after her father and his second wife die in a car accident leaving her the guardian of her fifteen-year-old half-sister, Rebecca. They choose the picturesque village of Goswell on the Cumbrian coast and settle into Bower House, the former vicarage, on the edge of the church property. When a door to a walled garden captures Rebecca's interest, Marin becomes determined to open it and discover what is hidden beneath the bramble inside. She enlists the help of local gardener Joss Fowler, and together the three of them begin to uncover the garden's secrets.
In 1919, nineteen-year-old Eleanor Sanderson, daughter of Goswell's vicar, is grieving the loss of her beloved brother Walter, who was killed just days before the Armistice was signed. Eleanor retreats into herself and her father starts to notice how unhappy she is. As spring arrives, he decides to hire someone to make a garden for Eleanor, and draw her out of or at least distract her from her grief and sorrow. Jack Taylor is in his early twenties, a Yorkshire man who has been doing odd jobs in the village, and when Eleanor's father hires him to work on the vicarage gardens, a surprising and unsuitable friendship unfolds.
My Thoughts: As a young reader I absolutely loved the book, The Secret Garden! So, when I saw the cover of this book it reminded me of a favorite childhood read so I grabbed it.
This is a story of a past life and a present life sort.of intermingled but yet.o.so.different.
When Marin Ellis' dad and stepmom are killed in a car accident, Marin becomes the guardian of her half sister, Rebecca.
Rebecca finds a door . . . a door that leads to a lost garden. When Marin finds out about the garden she is determined to restore the garden to its glory. But she needs help. She hires Joss Fowler, the local gardener. Betwixt the three of them they uncover secrets of long ago and the life of nineteen year old Eleanor Sanderson.
I loved the English ways and descriptions of the lovely country side plus the vicarage made this seem like a wonderful place to live and to find secrets of times past.
The characters were well rounded and easy to like. Rebecca reminds me a "true" fifteen year old. She was eager to have an adventure and found one in the "secret" door.
Katherine Swartz pens a fine story of family, hope and all.is.not.lost when one has a secret garden.
A sweet story with just enough romance, adventure and family togetherness to make this a wonderful read!
*This book was provided for review by Kregel Publications*
- Series: Tales from Goswell
- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Kregel Publications; 1st New edition edition (June 27, 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1782641378
- ISBN-13: 978-1782641377
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