Saturday, July 30, 2016

The Night Gardener


515-OIxesNL.jpg (331×500)

     Title: The Night Gardener
      
     Author: Jonathan Auxier

     Published: 2014 by Amulet Books

     Pages: 350
      
     Genre: young adult, fantasy, paranormal, mystery, horror

     Obtained: library






Summary:  It is the late 1800's.  Two Irish children, Molly, age fourteen, and Kip, age ten, travel to England to work as servants at an old English manor that has a tree growing up through it.  Strange things are happening, and as the children try to discover what is going on, they stumble upon many secrets along with a mysterious man.  Can they saves themselves and the family they are working for from the Night Gardener?


Thoughts:   I was at the library with my soon to be 14 year old son who was looking for a book.  As I started to browse, I came across this book. The cover and title of  "The Night Gardener" just made me want to read it.  So, I checked it out.
     This is a good old fashioned tale that has a creepy feel and setting, but also a good full story, and interesting, well developed characters.  The writing style is engaging and easy to follow with descriptions that help you to picture the story unfolding in your mind.
     I would call it a kid's horror book, but unlike most kid's horror stories, it is deeper and thought provoking.  Throughout the story two questions that kept coming up in various ways were:  What if we got what we wished for? and  What is the difference between a lie and a story?   This sure made me think!
     For an adult, I wouldn't say this story is scary, but it could be for a tween.  I would say it is a middle school book, but adults would enjoy it too since there is a lot to the characters and story itself.


                                                             


Company: Tea Forte

Tea: Orange Jasmine

Obtained: gift









     This jasmine green tea with orange blossoms, orange peel , and citrus flavorings from Tea Forte was in a premeasured packet that came in the Lotus Single Steeps collection.  The packet was easy to open.  The black leaves and chunks of orange smelled of jasmine and oranges.
     I poured 12 ounces of water over the leaves in my teapot and let this steep for 2 minutes.  The liquid was a light yellow with the scent of jasmine.  The tea had the taste of jasmine with sweet orange in the background.  This was a delicious combination that was  blended nicely.  This is my favorite tea from Tea Forte so far.  I do have to say that jasmine tea is one of my favorites. 

No comments:

Post a Comment