Great Summer Read
Forest Secrets: A Magical Mystery Novel by Laurie Woodward is such a cute book! If you are looking for a quick, interesting page turner this is the book for you. It's about an eleven year old girl, Daisy, that just moved to the area with her mom because her father left them to go on his "adventures". In the attempt to find some adventures of her own, she ventures into the nearby old growth forest that is in the process of being clear cut, only to find a "tree girl" named Calliandra that has vines for hair, branches for arms and even roots for feet. Calliandra is very upset because she has been separated from Mother Maple and Father Dogwood but can tell through her connection with the earth that they are still alive and haven't been cut down. While the girls are busy thinking of a way to find the tree girl's parents, a boy, Albert, comes upon them in the forest and they all three agree to be best friends and work together to find her parents. Albert has a vast knowledge of conservation and nature through attending meetings with his "tree hugger" father that will benefit them greatly. In their search they run into a dirty logging man and a conniving news reporter that will cause them big problems in the long run and have many small adventures along the way. The book ends a bit predictably but the journey there is an interesting one and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. All in all it is a typical tale of good versus evil with the good prevailing and the evil getting just what they deserve. Take a look at it on here on Amazon.
