Bay Singer knows that her life is a bit different, although she has no idea just how different it truly is. Abandoned as an infant on Nan's doorstep, Bay is used to the whispers and rumors. The townspeople call Nan a witch, but residents often leave her mismatched shoes for her quaint shoe garden. A reunion between Nan and two of her childhood friends, Mavis and Ruthie, brings back both memories and dark secrets. Will their reunion help or destroy Bay?

THE MEMORY GARDEN offers readers a haunting, alluring atmosphere where secrets lurk behind every corner. I love the images of Nan's shoe garden and how Mary Rickert incorporates the meanings and uses of each plant at the beginning of every chapter. Mary Rickert does a marvelous job at making Nan's garden spring to vivid life. I wanted to walk in her garden and savor the smells and wild beauty.

THE MEMORY GARDEN focuses on the themes of remembrance, forgiveness, and acceptance. While the pace is a bit meandering, the conclusion is well worth the journey. Mary Rickert allows the readers to get drawn into the beauty and eccentricity of her characters while the haunting atmosphere stays with the reader long past the last page. Fans of Sarah Addison Allen will appreciate Mary Rickert's THE MEMORY GARDEN for the way she weaves magical realism and long- forgotten secrets into the storyline.

Book Summary

Bay Singer has bigger secrets than most.

Not that she knows about them. Her mother, Nan, is sure that the burden of those secrets would be too much, and that's why she never told anyone the truth, not even Bay.

There's a lot that Nan's kept quiet over the years, especially those times with Mavis and Ruthie—times that were dark and full of guilt. But some secrets have a power all their own, and Nan realizes she needs Mavis and Ruthie now more than ever. When the three meet again in Nan's garden, their reunion has spellbinding effects that none of them could have imagined, least of all Bay...