From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour:The Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick

Author:Ellen Herrick

Publisher: William Morrow

Date of publication: September 2015

The Sparrow Sisters are as tightly woven into the New England seaside town of Granite Point as the wild sweet peas that climb the stone walls along the harbor. Sorrel, Nettie, and Patience are as colorful as the beach plums on the dunes and as mysterious as the fog that rolls into town at dusk.

When a new doctor settles into Granite Point, he brings with him a mystery so compelling that town healer Patience is drawn to love him even as she struggles to mend him. But when Patience Sparrow’s herbs and tinctures are believed to be implicated in a local tragedy, Granite Point is consumed by a long-buried fear—and its three-hundred-year-old history resurfaces as a modern-day witch hunt threatens. The plants and flowers, fruit trees, and high hedges begin to wither and die, and the entire town begins to fail; fishermen return to the harbor empty-handed, and blight descends on the old elms that line the lanes.

It seems as if Patience and her town are lost until the women of Granite Point band together to save the Sparrows. As they gather, drawing strength from each other, will they be able to turn the tide and return life to Granite Point?

The Sparrow Sisters has been compared to the book Practical Magic. That is what appealed to me because I really liked that book. The story is basically about 3 sisters who live together in the small town of Granite Point. They own a nursery and seem to have an amazing green thumb among them. Plants and flowers flourish under their care. They are deemed the best around. Patience is the youngest and has a knack for using herbs and plants to help heal many of the towns people of their ailments. She is accused of wrongful death when a young autistic boy is found dead of poisoning.

I so wanted to love this book, but in the end, I just thought it was OK. The story had a lot of potential, but there were a few things that bothered me about the story line. I found had a hard time letting go of my logical mind and just enjoy the story. The book is set in modern times, but it had a very old feel to it. Patience herself felt a lot older than she was supposed to be. The romance between Patience and Henry was kind of lackluster.

The big thing that bothered me about the story line was Patience's handling of Matty. If you know that an autistic 10 YO child is not getting his medication regularly, why would you not speak directly to his father or at least the authorities and bring up neglect? Why would you rely on the child to speak to his own father? I get that she felt compassion for him and thought she was helping, but letting a child around any type of plant like foxglove is just irresponsible. In the end, I felt unsatisfied and kind of depressed. The book is left open to have a sequel, so it would be interesting to see what happens next with Sorrel.

About Ellen Herrick

Ellen Herrick was a publishing professional in New York City until she and her husband moved to London for a brief stint; they returned nearly twenty years later with three children (her own, it must be said). She now divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a small town on Cape Cod very much like Granite Point.

Find out more about Ellen at her website and connect with her on Facebook andTwitter.

Ellen’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, September 1st: Raven Haired Girl

Wednesday, September 2nd: Booksie’s Blog

Friday, September 4th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books

Monday, September 7th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, September 10th: Books Without Any Pictures

Friday, September 11th: Broken Teepee