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Lightning and Blackberries

Lightning and Blackberries

Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Evans is the privileged and naive only child of prominent New Englanders, part of a group of Planters who settled in Nova Scotia following the deportation of the Acadian people. As a teenager, she is leading a carefree life in the Annapolis Valley, tending to her cows on the family farm, daydreaming by the brook, and resisting her mother’s attempts to refine her manners and marry her off. She thinks nothing will ever change. But a stranger’s arrival at Evans Hall, and a chance meeting with a mysterious Acadian girl in the woods nearby turn Elizabeth’s carefree life upside down. And when she learns the truth about the history of the farm she loves so well, she knows nothing will ever be the same.

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Dartmouth NS

average rating is 2 out of 5

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Lightning and Blackberries

Lightning and Blackberries
by Joanne K. Jefferson
Elizabeth Evans lives on a farm with her Dad and her Mom in the Annapolis Valley. Her parents are originally from Boston but Elizabeth was born in Nova Scotia. Elizabeth’s gaol is to take over the farm when she gets older but her mom wants her to move back to Boston, go to school and find a nice husband to marry. One day Elizabeth gets lost in the woods during a thunderstorm. She stumbles across a secret cabin in the middle of the woods and rushes to it for shelter from the storm. To her surprise she finds a girl her age who speaks French and her name is Marie Madeline. Marie Madeline’s father storms into the room and scolds her in French and kicks Elizabeth out. After finally reaching home Elizabeth can’t stop thinking about Marie Madeline and why her father was so upset that she was there. Elizabeth spends all of her free time in the woods trying to find her new friend and their house. One day while picking blackberries Elizabeth finally come across Marie Madeline. The girls decided to keep their friendship a secret and find a beech tree hidden deep in the woods where they will meet and leave gifts for each other. The girls learn each others languages and as their friendship blossoms Marie Madeline explains to Elizabeth why her and her dad are hiding in the woods. This flips Elizabeth’s world upside down and she is now debating whether she should move to Boston.
I found this book difficult to read. I found there was not enough detail explaining some of the events that happened in the book. I also found reading the French parts of the book difficult. I am just learning to speak French so this was tricky but for someone who has no French background this would be challenging. I rate this book 2/5.

I recommend this book.

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