Blog Tour: The Memory Trees by Kali Wallace (Review & Giveaway!)

The Memory Trees

by Kali Wallace

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: October 10th 2017

Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Paranormal

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Synopsis:

The Memory Trees is a dark magical realism novel about a mysterious family legacy, a centuries-old feud, and a tragic loss that resurfaces when sixteen-year-old Sorrow returns to her mother’s family orchard for the summer.

Sorrow Lovegood’s life has been shaped by the stories of the women who came before her: brave, resilient women who settled long ago on a mercurial apple orchard in Vermont. The land has been passed down through generations, and Sorrow and her family take pride in its strange history. Their offbeat habits may be ridiculed by other townspeople—especially their neighbors, the Abrams family—but for the first eight years of her life, the orchard is Sorrow’s whole world. 

Then one winter night everything changes. Sorrow’s sister Patience is tragically killed. Their mother suffers a mental breakdown. Sorrow is sent to live with her dad in Miami, away from the only home she’s ever known.

Now sixteen, Sorrow’s memories of her life in Vermont are maddeningly hazy; even the details of her sister’s death are unclear. She returns to the orchard for the summer, determined to learn ore about her troubled childhood and the family she left eight years ago. Why has her mother kept her distance over the years? What actually happened the night Patience died? Is the orchard trying to tell her something, or is she just imagining things?

Review: 

Going into The Memory Trees, I had high expectations. The majority of the reviews I had seen had been incredibly positive, and the summary made it sound like the sort of book I normally love. I mean, "century-old feud" AND "a mysterious family" legacy?! How can you not be sold by that?  

The Result? Beautifully written as well as spellbinding, Kali Wallace's The Memory Trees had me captivated from the first word until the very last. 

One of my favorite aspects of The Memory Tree was the writing. Kali Wallace has such a talent when it comes to words, and boy did it make reading this an utter and complete joy. Not only did she make the Vermont setting come alive but she also fully fleshed out the history of the Lovegoods. Her descriptions of the Lovegood's farm as well as the small-town it was in made me want to pack my bags and head to Vermont. Seriously. Additionally, I enjoyed how Kali split the story between Sorrow's POV (past and present) as well as the variety of other Lovegood women who have called the Lovegood farm home. It truly managed to get across how important this farm was to this family while also bringing to the light the many positives and negatives that have come from it over the years. If there's one family with horrible luck, it's the Lovegoods. My heart ACHED for them all the whole time I read this. 

Talking about Sorrow, I liked her from the start. When we're first introduced to her she's feeling lost. She wants to be able to move on from her sister's untimely passing, but she also can't do that until she remembers what exactly happened that day as well as the days leading up to it. I thought Kali did a great job of capturing Sorrow's voice. Her coming-of-age felt incredibly real given the circumstances. Additionally, with it came such a wide range questions to make the reader thing, such as what does family mean and how far would you go to "keep" the land that made your family who they are today. As mentioned above, the Lovegoods have had quite the history, and Sorrow isn't always quite sure how she fits in, especially given the fact that she was gone for so long...It was interesting to see what came from those feelings of uncertainty. 

The plot of The Memory Trees described in one word? Magical. It's hard to really describe the plot without giving too much away; however, I will say that if you love a good feud and a rich family history, you're going to eat this one right up! Trust me when I say it's GOOD. 

In all, The Memory Trees is a beautifully told story. Kali's writing and story building is like eating a box of chocolate - rich, smooth, and fully satisfying. However, the true advantage here is there's no calories to be found. ;) 

Grade: A 

The Memory Trees will be released October 10, 2017! 

Source: eARC provided publisher - thanks HarperCollins! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kali Wallace studied geology and geophysics before she decided she enjoyed inventing imaginary worlds as much as she liked researching the real one. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, F&SF, Asimov's, Lightspeed Magazine, and Tor.com. Her first novel, Shallow Graves, was published by Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins in 2016. Her second novel, The Memory Trees, will follow in 2017. She lives in southern California.

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TOUR SCHEDULE:

October 4th

The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club & Pink Polka Dot Books - Welcome Post

October 5th

The Mind of a Book Dragon - Guest Post

Confessions of a YA Reader - Promotional Post

October 6th

My Thoughts Literally - Review + Favourite Quotes

The Best Books Ever - Review

Susan Heim on Writing - Promotional Post

October 7th

JusticeReads - Review + Dream Cast + Favourite Quotes

Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf - Review

Mama Reads Blog - Review + Favourite Quotes

October 8th

postcards for ariel - Interview

Never Too Many To Read - Review + Favourite Quotes

Milky Way of Books - Review

A Dream Within A Dream - Review

October 9th

everywhere and nowhere - Guest Post

Hauntedbybooks13 - Review

YA and Wine - Promotional Post

October 10th

The Introverted Book Nerd - Review + Favourite Quotes

Teatime and Books - Promotional Post

GIVEAWAY:

1 signed hardcover copy of THE MEMORY TREES by Kali Wallace (US Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There is also  a preorder giveaway: anybody who preorders by 10/10 can get a signed bookplate and some bookmarks if they send an email to thememorytrees@gmail.com.