Danielle Stewart

“Sometimes a hug is the only way to squeeze someone's worry away.”
― Danielle Stewart, Flowers in the Snow

Five stars. Utterly fantastic. What a beautifully told story and I read it in one sitting.

It is the early Nineteen Sixties. Mary and Alma are friends. They live in a small town in North Carolina.

Alma is feisty and smart. Her parents have instilled in her the value of hard work and education. They live in a shack on a side of town white folk rarely venture to. She fears the white people..with good reason.

Mary is a dreamer. Lost in her head and shunned by everyone from her family to the kids at school, she has nobody.

Mary is called dumb. But she's not. She just doesn't look at the world in the way most of the people in her small town do. She doesn't understand why things have to be the way they are. She doesn't understand the strange alienation she feels from everyone. She doesn't understand that, if God says to help people..all people..in need..why doesn't anyone help the injured African American man by the fountain? Why is she forbidden to go to "that side" of town?

Mary is an innocent. And her dad is a high ranking member of the Klan.

It is in this world that Mary and Alma find each other and their friendship begins to flourish.

In Alma's home, wrapped in the friendship of Alma and her family, Mary learns many of Life's lessons. She also realizes that maybe things do not have to be the way they are.

Winnie, Alma's mom, (and an utterly unforgettable character, , one of THE most unforgettable characters)..teaches Mary to cook. She teaches Mary many things.

If I am making this book sound to cozy, it's not. It is raw and emotional and some parts are guttural. As time goes by and Integration begins to get stronger, the locals in the town, become more and more restless until they decide they can not take it anymore..

This book is beautifully written but can be upsetting because, as you might expect, there are some shockingly violent scenes. But Flowers in the snow is so much more than just another book about that time period. It shows the world, through the eyes of the children, the children growing up in those times, who did not have yet have their own voice and will to change things.

I thought this was a wonderful and enriching read. I should say the book starts in the present and goes back in time, but it is mostly told from that time period.

There are other wonderful characters I have not mentioned such as the brothers..Stan and Simpson. The author sculpted beautifully created characters, each with their own distinctive voice and this book was just a pleasure to read from beginning to end.

The title is also poignant. I will heed that thought and look for sparkly petals during my next cold winter.

To sum up..a beautiful and important story about a time period where such horrifying things were done, that we still weep many tears. I look forward to reading more from this author.… (más)

I'm not sure what I expected from this book. The cover of my edition features a torso and an arm/hand holding what I think is a thin branch with leaves, but the leaves almost look like the head of a dog to me.

This is book 1 of an apparently 9 book series. While I didn't totally hate the book, it took me longer than usual to finish it (usually a sign I'm not that into the book) and I don't plan to seek out other books in the series.

The writing felt amateurish to me and the plot didn't draw me in--though it had the potential to do so. In fact, most of the time, when I returned to this novel, I couldn't remember who the characters were.… (más)

Piper Anderson has been given a fresh start in the picturesque town of Edenville, North Carolina. But her plans of settling into a normal life are derailed when she witnesses a prominent judge in her community committing a violent assault. Running from her own past and fueled by a passion to make the judge answer for his crimes, Piper is forced to decide if she’ll play by the rules or achieve justice in her own way. Complicating things further, Piper finds herself fighting a powerful attraction to rookie cop, Bobby Wright. Although she’s increasingly enamored with Bobby, his staunch belief in the justice system is in stark contrast to her own. She may not share his opinions about the effectiveness of the law, but she certainly can’t deny how safe she feels when she’s in his arms or how every kiss leaves her desperate for more. For Piper, the idea of finally living an ordinary life with a man to love is tempting. However, fate keeps placing the judge, quite literally, in her path. Will she decide the only way to win is to be as wicked as the judge, but with righteous intentions? And more importantly, will Bobby choose to let her go, or follow her as she crosses the line and takes justice into her own hands?… (más)

I’m a fan of Janelle Tedesco’s narration, so I was intrigued when she told me of this book release. The storyline sounded interesting, and so I was chuffed to get a review copy.
The story drew me in right from the start, and I only took breaks from listening for sleeping. I couldn’t put this book down. The language is great, as is the story. The characters are realistic, and a lot of the interactions between Leslie and Paul were very familiar to me.
The story doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, although it is clear that there’s more to tell. I hope the sequels will be recorded, too, and I hope Janelle Tedesco will narrate them.
She’s an amazing narrator, I completely forgot that it was just one person reading the story, and not a whole cast of characters. Janelle has the ability to bring the story to your ears, while making you forget that it is a story you’re listening to, and not various people going about their lives, experiencing good and bad things.
She is never obtrusive, so you can just dive in and totally immerse yourself in the story. I immensely enjoyed the story and the narration, and can’t wait for the sequel.… (más)