Name: Leota's Garden
ISBN: 9780842335720

Francine Rivers

At eighty-four, Leota Reinhardt is alone, all of her efforts to reconcile with her adult children hadn't worked in the past, until she meets her estranged grandaughter, Annie, and confides to her the silent sacrifice she had made as a young mother of two, while her husband was gone during World War II

Leota's Garden

Jeni Enjaian

When I first found this book on the shelf of a thrift store I could not believe my good luck, especially when I started reading and fell in love with the entire story. I knew when I picked the book up again yesterday the distinct likelihood that the book would not survive reevaluation after 15 years. Grown adult Jen has matured in her reading tastes significantly since 16 year old high school junior Jen found the book on that shelf.
Many times this narrative almost reached a level above ordinary, almost. I could not help but feel frustrated at Leota's passively sanctioned racism and also with Annie's nebulous "mission" and maturity far beyond her 18 years.
Unfortunately, this book did not survive round two of the purge from my personal collection.