At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier

 

 At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier. Viking, 2016. Adult historical fiction. 

The Goodenough family has settled in Ohio in 1838. They have several children and work hard to farm the soil. James plants apple trees lovingly and tenderly. It takes fifty apple trees to stake a claim to the land. Sadie unfortunately sees the trees and competition for James' time and love. She drinks too much of the applejack and becomes a harsh and bitter woman.. Their relationship is difficult and makes up the first part of this tale. 

The youngest son, Robert, can be found in California in 1856 and his story makes up the latter part of the book. Readers find out what happened to the Goodenough family. Robert works with William Lobb who is cataloging and sending seeds and seedlings of redwood and giant sequoia trees back to England. His insights on the Gold Rush, people he meets, and the country itself are intriguing.

While hard work and trials take up a lot of the pages, there is hope and heart, too. John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) is a character. And, the book itself is so well put together with even the end pages showing cross cut apples. Readers will be longing to taste a Golden Pippin apple! 

Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

   Who is Maud Dixon? A Novel by Alexandra Andrews. Little, Brown and Company, 2021 Adult fiction/mystery.

 Florence Darrow escaped growing up in Florida and now has a job in New York City as an editorial assistant. Florence really wants to write. Everyone at work is intrigued by a bestseller by Maud Dixon, the name which hides its author's identity. When Florence makes some missteps at work, she finds herself looking for a new job and amazingly starts work as an assistant to Maud Dixon, a woman who is really Helen Wilcox. Maud wants to learn from Helen, but ends up trying to imitate her. When Helen invites Florence to go to Morocco with her, Florence jumps at the chance. But, from there, this twisty tale takes all sorts of unexpected turns. Who is Helen really? Will Florence ever be able to write her own book? Alexandra Andrews has written a whale of a debut novel herself and readers will find themselves enjoying every minute of this roller coaster ride!