Careful What You Wish for

It's hard to believe the author is only 23 -- her writing conveys depth, understanding, and overlays of life experience she couldn't possibly have. The characters are fully developed and stay with the reader long after the book is finished. The unusual plot keeps you wondering what happens next because you learn early on that this book is one of a kind. Highly recommended!

This book is a beautiful blend of magic and femininity in a small town setting. The characters leap off the page, complete with scents and voices and quirks and histories, and the story weaves a spell around the reader in the same subtle way Natalie and Eleanor weave a spell over the town. I've never read anything with quite this take on magic in everyday life, and what it might have been like to be a black woman just after the emancipation in the south. I really enjoyed it.

As a Southerner I am always skeptical of novels set in the South but written by someone not from there. But Ms. Hermes has successfully avoided the traps and cliches I expected. She has created a beautiful and somewhat sad world for her characters--the true strength of the novel--to inhabit. I highly recommend reading this novel, preferably on a rainy, windy afternoon.