Memory Garden - by Mary Rickert (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Winner of the 2015 LOCUS AWARD for Best First Novel

"...A SUPERB FANTASY NOVEL." -- The Chicago Tribune

In a beautifully written tale woven together with magic and mystery, flowers and food, Bay Singer finally discovers the secrets her mother has been hiding.

Bay Singer has bigger secrets than most.

Not that she knows about them. Her mother, Nan, is sure that the burden of those secrets would be too much, and that's why she never told anyone the truth, not even Bay.

There's a lot that Nan's kept quiet over the years, especially those times with Mavis and Ruthie?times that were dark and full of guilt.

But some secrets have a power all their own, and Nan realizes she needs Mavis and Ruthie now more than ever. When the three meet again in Nan's garden, their reunion has spellbinding effects that none of them could have imagined, least of all Bay...

An enchanting fantasy, fans of Alice Hoffman, Sarah Addison Allen, will be captivated by Mary Rickert, the World Fantasy and Crawford Award--winning author.

What reviewers are saying about The Memory Garden:

"atmospheric, eerie, and utterly beautiful..." -- Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Someone Else's Love Story

"A totally CHARMING, totally ENGAGING story told by Rickert, a magus of the first order. MAGIC IN EVERY LINE." -- Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and The Jane Austen Book Club

"The Memory Garden is one of the most intense fantasy books I've read in years...reminds me a bit of [Terry] Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books, but also of some of my favorite literary novels about misfits who invent themselves as they go along. I've seldom read a book that's as gentle, and yet as powerful, as The Memory Garden." -- io9

"... a blend of poetical language and dark suspense... 'The Memory Garden' is a tale of tragedy, hope and kinship." -- The Washington Post

"[A] BEWITCHING MARVEL of a book." -- BookPage

"... absolutely STUNNING." -- Christopher Barzak, author of One for Sorrow

Review Quotes

"[A] bewitching marvel of a book." -- BookPage

"A potent brew of guilty secrets and tragic histories, but also of enduring friendship and love. Add a pinch of the botanical. Serve on a luminous night faintly reminiscent of A Midsummer Night's Eve. A totally charming, totally engaging story told by Rickert, a magus of the first order. Magic in every line." -- Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and The Jane Austen Book Club

"A wise portrayal of the way women relate to each other, of how communities deal with their outsiders, of how secrets are held among friends, with the strands of narrative united by the garden and its flowers. But it's also a superb fantasy novel. The supernatural elements may be as carefully measured and restrained as in a Graham Joyce novel... but the magic is real." -- The Chicago Tribune

"Fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen will find a new passion in this atmospheric, eerie, and utterly beautiful debut. Mary Rickert walked me through a witch's garden by moonlight, perfectly invoking a magic place where lies smell like salt, memories taste of ash and honey, and ghosts whisper their last secrets to a girl on the verge of womanhood. THE MEMORY GARDEN is a mother daughter love story, soaked with intrigue and seasoned with both regret and the most lovely kind of breathless hope. Don't miss this one." -- Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Someone Else's Love Story

"Mary Rickert's debut novel is absolutely stunning. An emotionally complex story bridges the divide between the past and the present, between generations, and between age-old friendships compromised by a web of secrets and lies. Be prepared to fall under this novel's strange and sensuous spell." -- Christopher Barzak, author of One for Sorrow

"Rickert has created a slew of magical and unforgettable characters that will steal readers' breath away. This is a great story that must be devoured in one sitting." -- RT Book Reviews

"Rickert writes with a blend of poetical language and dark suspense... 'The Memory Garden' is a tale of tragedy, hope and kinship." -- The Washington Post

"The Memory Garden is a lovely book of women, friendship, sadness and healing, and it is genuinely uplifting. Like the garden of its title, this is a book to take in slowly, to spend time in, to wander through; you'll likely find yourselves the better for it." -- NPR Books

"Unwinds the magic and mystery of a mother and daughter and three old friends, all at the fragile juncture of truth and forgiveness. Rickert can build an audience that will marvel at her witchy talents." -- Publishers Weekly

"With its fairy-tale qualities, this debut novel is sure to charm ... Readers who enjoy the magical realism of novels by Sarah Addison Allen, Laura Esquivel, and Alice Hoffman will savor Rickert's mesmerizing and magical novel of friendship and family." -- Library Journal