Book: The House in the Orchard

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Author: Elizabeth Brooks

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Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for an advanced audio copy.

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Set in 1945 Peggy inherits the orchard house from her late husband’s aunt Maude. While in the house Peggy finds a diary written by a teenage Maude who is describing a time in her life when both of her parents passed away and she was forced to go and live with Ms. Kitty Greenaway, someone she didn’t know and none of her family liked. She went there already thinking the worst of Ms. Greenaway.

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After spending some time with her she starts to have conflicting thoughts about if Ms. Greenaway is actually a bad person. I took this message as something we need to apply to all of our lives. Make your own judgment and opinions of others. If someone tells you that a person is bad before you just believe it and go with it, make your own judgment. n

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Since Maude is just a young girl the way a lot of events are described with the innocence of a child were very clever writing that I enjoyed. My favorite was when she was confused by a kiss and the way she described it. It’s something only a child could get away with and Elizabeth Brooks really nailed it.n

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The ending of both the journal and the book made me want to discuss my thoughts with someone else. I feel this will spark some fun debates. I really loved how you get a crazy conclusion to the journal, but then you still get another great ending with Peggy’s story.n

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As for the narration Elle Potter does a great job at keeping you invested. She puts emotion into it and is what really kept me going during some areas where the story slowed down a bit. I would listen to another book narrated by her.

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Final Score 3/5