A review by sara_phoenix
The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ellis is a young mother of three having given up her former hopes as a biologist to live the picket-fence lifestyle.  But when a horrible mistake leads to the abduction of her infant daughter, Ellis is destroyed.  Abandoning her former life and children, Ellis escapes to the natural world while falling deeper and deeper into addiction and hopelessness.  But on the other side of the country, a girl named Raven is being raised by “Mama,” the reclusive old magical woman who abducted Ellis’s baby and raising her as a gift from Nature.  As Raven grows, she begins to question the magical origins of her past and longs to alter her present circumstances. And when Mama disappears, Raven begins the journey towards finding out her true identity as she is reunited with Ellis.  This story was hauntingly, achingly beautiful.  It is not just another abduction story or thriller.  As a former biologist herself, Vanderah creates a beautiful description of the healing powers of nature and the comfort it provides even in our darkest moments.  The natural elements described in the book were perfection.  But this book is also about so much more: motherhood and the mistakes we make along the way; guilt and forgiveness; the process of grief; the journey love takes us on; and the redemptive power of nature.  CW: maternal abandonment, child abduction, attempted rape/assault, drub abuse, parental gaslighting, mysticism/magic 
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