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Book Review
all AMong the Barley by Melissa Harrison 

All Among The Barley

In the autumn of 1933, the fifteen-year-old daughter of Ada and George Mather of Wych farm, Edith Mather watches as a bold woman from the city, Constance FitzAllen arrives, intent on recording the fading traditions of rural England.

For Edie, struggling to decide her own future, Connie’s kindness and new ideas seem to be a blessing. But there is more to the older woman than meets the eye. Secrets immerge and unseen tensions begin bubbling to the surface.

Edie is an enjoyable heroine, and an excellent lens for the reader to observe her changing world. A worthy addition to the pantheon of historical fiction heroins.

Harrison’s prose is exquisite. She cultivates language into lifelike landscape and from it grow realistic characters, becoming fully realized with each turning of the page.

A powerful, relevant story with an unexpected ending.

 

Reviewed by Kelsey Ward

 

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