Picture of author.

Ella Joy Olsen

Teoksen Root, Petal, Thorn tekijä

3 teosta 79 jäsentä 11 arvostelua

Sarjat

Tekijän teokset

Root, Petal, Thorn (2016) 46 kappaletta
Where the Sweet Bird Sings (2017) 27 kappaletta
Birdie and Jay: A Novel (2020) 6 kappaletta

Merkitty avainsanalla

Yleistieto

Syntymäaika
20th century
Sukupuoli
female

Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

If you have ever lived in an old home, this book will give you a new perspective of that house. It unfolds stories from five women who have lived in the home over the decades, artfully arranging the highs and lows in their lives.

I loved reading the history of different decades, taking us back to the turn of the 20th century, through the destitute years of WWII, and the psychedelic 1960's. The current owner of the home is struggling to get through a painful loss, and part of her therapy becomes delving into the homes past, and those who lived there. The slivers of those women's lives become important in her healing, knowing others in the very same home pushed past their pain and found reasons to carry on.

The stories are beautifully written... stories of strong women who don't give up in the face of tragedy.
A great read!
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
JillHannah | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Nov 20, 2023 |
I was reading along, enjoying this story, and finally realized toward the end that the author had tied her first book (Root, Petal, Thorn) in with this story. It was a great twist!

As with her first novel, this book delves into history, digging up interesting research from the past. Here, Emma is desperately trying to move forward after the loss of her young son. Her husband, Noah, is grieving in his own way, and they are moving further apart in their grief. Added to this, Emma has just lost her beloved grandpa who was a huge part of her life.

In cleaning up her grandpa's home, she finds pieces of a past she knew nothing about. A past that may help her move forward if she can find the answers. A past that can help bring her back to Noah.

It's a great story filled with interesting medical information and history, one that is filled with a heartwrenching story and the painful journey of moving on.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
JillHannah | 4 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Nov 20, 2023 |
Where the Sweet Bird Sings by Ella Joy Olsen is a very poignant novel healing and reconciliation.

Emma Hazelton is still deeply grieving the loss of her young son Joey who died from a rare genetic disease a year earlier. Now with her beloved Grandpa Joe's death, she feels quite lost. She is also struggling with her anger at her husband Noah who has come to terms with his grief and is ready to move forward. When her mom asks her to help sort her through her grandpa's belongings as she prepares to sell his house, Emma is delighted to discover a wedding portrait of her grand-grandparents. However, the identity of a young woman and little boy in the picture is quite puzzling. When her grandfather's obituary raises perplexing questions about his past, Emma is determined to find out if these two events are somehow related.  Will learning the truth about her heritage provide Emma with a measure of peace and help her regain the sense of self she lost after baby Joey's death?

Emma and Noah had no problem pulling together after Joey's devastating diagnosis. Emma devoted herself to caring for her son until his tragic death and in the aftermath of her loss, she finds herself from pulling away from Noah as she struggles to make sense of who she is. Following her grandfather's death and her subsequent bewildering discoveries about his past, she is even more adrift. Deciding she needs time away from Noah as she tries to put her life back together, Emma temporarily moves in with her mother and starts making plans for her future. However, she is at a loss when attempting to make a decision about her marriage since she and Noah are at an impasse when it comes to having more children.

As Emma tries to decide what to do about her future, she and her brother Ethan try to find answers to their lingering questions from their childhood. Their parents' divorce was quite acrimonious and their unusual custody arrangements led to very strained relationships between Emma and their father and Ethan and their mother.  Will their efforts to mend the rift between mother and son be successful?

Where the Sweet Bird Sings by Ella Joy Olsen is a very emotional journey of self-discovery, healing and moving on after following a heartrending loss. The characters are richly developed with both positive and negative traits that are sometimes frustrating but very realistic.  Emma's search for genealogical information about her family is fascinating and quite educational. A deeply affecting novel that will linger in readers' hearts and minds long after the last page is turned.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
kbranfield | 4 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Feb 3, 2020 |
In the “About the Author” notes, Ella Joy Olsen lives in a hundred-year-old bungalow with her family in Salt Lake City. I imagine that her home was the inspiration for this sweeping saga of the five women who have called cottage on Downington Avenue home since it was built in 1913.

The book opens in current time. Ivy Baygreen is reeling from the sudden death of her husband, Adam. She is trying to get back to normal for her two kids, but her grief is too heavy. Her doctor brother, Stephen, encourages her and tries to help with the kids, but Ivy is almost prostrate. Stephen helps her create a list to get her moving. One of the items, “Get your house in order.” She and Adam were always remodeling their home, and she needs to get on with the projects, or at least clean up the mess.

One of the things she has to do is crawl into the attic and determine if Mama Raccoon is back with her babies. As she is investigating, she discovers a wooden box. Taking it downstairs, she discovers an incomplete embroidery piece. It is a marriage sampler for Emmeline and Nathaniel. Wait, she remembers, the rosebush is named the Emmeline. Could this have something to do with her? Her yard is home to an heirloom rose bush called the Emmeline Rose. Ivy loves the snowy white blossoms. It was one of the first things she fell in love with at the house.

And so propels Ivy into examining her home more carefully She uncovers clues about the previous inhabitants which propels her into doing some research into the families who have lived there before her.

Sisters Emmeline and Cora and their parents were the home’s original occupants in 1913. Next is Bitsy Robinson, a child of the Great Depression whose mother has died. Eris Gianopolous is a Greek immigrant. Her sections take place in 1944. She is sick and tired of the war raging around the world, sick and tired of worrying about her soon-to-be eighteen-year-old son who want to join the fight, and especially sick and tired of her Victory Garden. Lainey Harper moves in in 1968. Her sections are about her struggle with manic-depression and her efforts to retain custody of her daughter, Sylvie.

I LOVED this story. It weaved back and forth between the women, never in any particular order. It’s a saga of moving on when it seems you can’t even get out bed. Olsen could have easily made a five-novel series from these stories. I sort of wish she had. I missed the each character as the sections changed, and I was sad when I reached the end. Can’t wait to read more from this debut novelist.

I give Root, Petal, Thorn, 5 out of 5 stars.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
juliecracchiolo | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Feb 16, 2018 |

Listat

Palkinnot

Tilastot

Teokset
3
Jäseniä
79
Suosituimmuussija
#226,897
Arvio (tähdet)
3.9
Kirja-arvosteluja
11
ISBN:t
7

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