THE SINGING TREES
Boo Walker
Lake Union Publishing
August 3, 2021
429 pages
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This is the story of Annalisa, a young girl entering adulthood with her sights on becoming a successful artist. She is very determined, will not let family, the chance of love or anything else distract her.
Annalisa is part of a very large Italian family. I love her Nonna, who becomes Annalisa’s guardian after her parents are killed. A woman of opinion, a woman of few words, a woman full of love, wisdom and strength.
The timeline is the early 1970s. In fact, Annalisa is pretty well the same age as I was during that time period. The music mentioned is familiar, the Viet Nam war was on every newscast as were all the protests. I always enjoy timeline lines in the past that I can identify with.
In the very beginning, I had a few doubts. It seemed like it might be a young adult romance. But, it turned into so much more. Annalisa learns that there is room for other things in life besides painting. And, at times it is a hard journey. I got invested in the lives of the characters in this story. Wonderful characters!
It is a story well told. I celebrated her breakthroughs and successes. I had a few tears with her when she struggled. This is a love story (NOT a cheesy romance), a story of family which is not perfect. This is a story of determination and growth.
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