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A review by sistermagpie
The Memory Trees by Kali Wallace
4.0
This book had some really lovely writing and a premise that I completely loved. 17 year old Sorrow returns home to her mother and grandmother in Vermont. She lived with them until she was 8 and her 16-year-old sister died, at which point she went to live with her father and stepmother and stepsister. Sorrow's now determined to return because she can't remember the details of her sister Patience's death.
So this creates a situation where a girl returns to a place that should be home and people who should be family, but she doesn't feel as if she fits there anymore, especially given the many misunderstandings that have had time to grow in that time. Her mother was institutionalized after her sister's death and Sorrow was never sure how much she was allowed to talk about her sister, therefore they never did. (Her mother seems to have always struggled with depression so that growing up both sister's spent all their time trying to keep their mother in a good mood.)
Sorrow's family is also engaged in centuries-long feud with the rich family in town, though often both sides appear to be stabbing themselves in the heart more than hurting the others. The final revelations about exactly what happened to Sorrow's sister was really satisfying emotionally, I'm happy to say.
So this creates a situation where a girl returns to a place that should be home and people who should be family, but she doesn't feel as if she fits there anymore, especially given the many misunderstandings that have had time to grow in that time. Her mother was institutionalized after her sister's death and Sorrow was never sure how much she was allowed to talk about her sister, therefore they never did. (Her mother seems to have always struggled with depression so that growing up both sister's spent all their time trying to keep their mother in a good mood.)
Sorrow's family is also engaged in centuries-long feud with the rich family in town, though often both sides appear to be stabbing themselves in the heart more than hurting the others. The final revelations about exactly what happened to Sorrow's sister was really satisfying emotionally, I'm happy to say.