If you’ve read In the Fields before or even True Love Story, you know that Willow Aster just has a different way of writing. In a genre filled with rich CEO’s and badass rock stars, Aster brings something different to the table. In the Fields is refreshing and hits on a subject you don’t come across very often. I LOVE that it is different. When your brain starts getting scrambled with the same ole same ole, pick up this book. It’ll make you think and feel things that you probably haven’t felt much with so many of the others out right now.
This is the story of one girl and her life in the 70’s in Tennessee. You meet Caroline, who is beautiful, sweet as can be, and a tad bit naïve. She lives a sad life but tries to make it the best she can. With an ex-Miss Tennessee for a mother and a drunk for a father, she’s just trying her best to get along in the world. Although many in town take care of Caroline and take her under their wing, the one person who truly makes her feel safe is Isaiah. Loyal, protective, kind-hearted Isaiah who wants to only be with Caroline. The story of them falling in love is just…so romantic. It’s exactly what you HOPE your first love would feel like, but they have to hide it because of the difference in race. You hate this for them but there isn’t any changing it in tiny Tulma, TN. After a tragic incident, Caroline is forced to leave town and Isaiah. She thinks she’s doing the right thing, even if the heartache is unbearable.
At her new home, she builds relationships and gains a family that love her more than her real family ever did before. You meet new faces, a few of the old, and a new love. She deals with the racial issue throughout the book, but she grows so much stronger. By the end, she’s not the timid, scared little girl she was in Tulma. She knows what love feels like and she’s not letting that go, whether it’s accepted in society or not. You feel like a proud parent by the end, having watched her mature.
Aster is so good at tugging at your heart strings. You’ll feel joy, heartbreak, anger, love and every emotion in between. There were many times I would find myself sitting there smiling or giggling. I love that Aster makes everything feel so real, you would swear you’re back in time, living right along with Caroline. The dialogue and descriptions are SO real. How Willow wrote the chapters was also fantastic, being short diary-like excerpts. Some may be half a page long and others are a full length chapter, and it seemed to make the time while reading the book fly by. There were so many bits and pieces about this book that I loved, if I tried to list them all, I’d never stop.
In the words of Gracie, “I vewy yove it!”
<3 Erin
Amazon / Barnes & Noble
This is the story of one girl and her life in the 70’s in Tennessee. You meet Caroline, who is beautiful, sweet as can be, and a tad bit naïve. She lives a sad life but tries to make it the best she can. With an ex-Miss Tennessee for a mother and a drunk for a father, she’s just trying her best to get along in the world. Although many in town take care of Caroline and take her under their wing, the one person who truly makes her feel safe is Isaiah. Loyal, protective, kind-hearted Isaiah who wants to only be with Caroline. The story of them falling in love is just…so romantic. It’s exactly what you HOPE your first love would feel like, but they have to hide it because of the difference in race. You hate this for them but there isn’t any changing it in tiny Tulma, TN. After a tragic incident, Caroline is forced to leave town and Isaiah. She thinks she’s doing the right thing, even if the heartache is unbearable.
At her new home, she builds relationships and gains a family that love her more than her real family ever did before. You meet new faces, a few of the old, and a new love. She deals with the racial issue throughout the book, but she grows so much stronger. By the end, she’s not the timid, scared little girl she was in Tulma. She knows what love feels like and she’s not letting that go, whether it’s accepted in society or not. You feel like a proud parent by the end, having watched her mature.
Aster is so good at tugging at your heart strings. You’ll feel joy, heartbreak, anger, love and every emotion in between. There were many times I would find myself sitting there smiling or giggling. I love that Aster makes everything feel so real, you would swear you’re back in time, living right along with Caroline. The dialogue and descriptions are SO real. How Willow wrote the chapters was also fantastic, being short diary-like excerpts. Some may be half a page long and others are a full length chapter, and it seemed to make the time while reading the book fly by. There were so many bits and pieces about this book that I loved, if I tried to list them all, I’d never stop.
In the words of Gracie, “I vewy yove it!”
<3 Erin
Amazon / Barnes & Noble