Just Jennifer

The Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick

In the small new England coastal town of Granite Point live three sister Sorrel, Nettie and Patience, with a long history in the community and with a special gift for growing the most lush flowers, abundant, perfect vegetables and herbs that transcend their typical growing seasons.  Patience also has a special gift, the ability to put these herbs and flowers together to create tinctures, balms and salves that have helped soothe, comfort and even heal the community over the years.  The first hint that the lives of the Sparrow sisters are about to change is the arrival of a new young doctor, Henry Carlyle.  Henr6y and Patience are drawn to each other with a fervor and energy that frightens each.  Henry is skeptical, perhaps even concerned, about the concoctions Patience creates and the willingness of the community to use them, at times, in place of more traditional medications.  When a tragedy occurs, the town looks to blame someone and Patience finds herself in the middle of a grieving town.  But the town’s anger and accusations harken back three-hundred-years into the past and in present day Granite Point, the sisters’ plants begin to wither, the fruit, once so abundant on the trees, dies, the lobster nets are pulled out of the sea empty and the town begins to fade.  It will take the women of the town to rally around Patience and band together not only to save the sisters, but their beloved town as well.

His delightful debut novel will appeal to fans of Sarah Addison Allen with its strong female characters and familial and community bonds and touches of magic.  Granite Point is vividly depicted to the point of familiarity or even perhaps even a longing to be there.  Patience’s special gifts are balanced with her temperament to create an interesting and multi-dimensional character.  Much is revealed about the Sparrow family, but a tantalizing final sentence will spark imaginations and the possibility of more from the Sparrow in the future.