≡ Download The Springsweet Saundra Mitchell 9780547608426 Books

The Springsweet Saundra Mitchell 9780547608426 Books

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The Springsweet Saundra Mitchell 9780547608426 Books

This is a wonderful book. It is true to this time period and very exciting. Great plot,barley any boring points in the book. Cliffhanger s throughout the book.


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The Springsweet Saundra Mitchell 9780547608426 Books Reviews

Saundra Mitchell is a master of setting. All of her books have had a vivid and palpable feel to them, and this book is no exception. I could taste the dust of the road, smell the grass on the prairie, feel the water between my toes, etc. Whenever I want to feel like I'm in another world, I pick up one of Saundra's books.

Zora is a great character. Her grief is tangible and drives her to do selfish things because she can't see beyond it. That rang true to me. Desperation also drove her to find her inner strengths, which also rang true. And the guilt she felt from her attraction to Emerson was fantastic. I really liked Emerson, too. all his actions made sense according to his personality, and I had a good feel for who he is.

The shape of the story wasn't as effective as I was hoping. It was pretty even throughout, and I kept looking for more surprises. The foreshadowing of complications from the wells was natural and needed, but I was hoping for something on top of that--completely different, yet related. This story kind of seems a vessel to find the earth and water elements, and then the next book will have the actual conflict. Which is a bummer because I thought there were a few missed opportunities for conflict. For example, I wasn't sure of the point of the stage robbing, especially since we don't see Ellis again and the conflict with Royal doesn't really amount to anything. I am hoping it's not setup for the next book.

The ending, however, is superb. I loved how it ties the two books together while setting up for the third, which I will most definitely be reading.
In an attempt to escape a wounded heart, Zora Stewart packs a bag and heads West. Robbery, rescue and the occasional tumbleweed follow. Being a fan of the Vespertine inspired me to pick up the companion novel, The Springsweet. The setting shifts from Balitmore to the hardships of prairie life along the great frontier. Because of the setting, the book has a western country feel and for those readers who enjoy American settler stories, The Springsweet will be a pleasurable and clean read. It's appropriate for most ages and has a hint of mysticism, but mostly is grounded in the historical fiction of the time period. This book definitely has a different appeal than the The Vespertine and I wasn't as intrigued or connected to Zora as I became to the heroine, Amelia. The attraction and sweet love story is well-scripted. However, given the title of the book, I felt the actual areas where springsweet was involved should have been dimensionally developed. This portion of the story was skimpy and lacked detailing and information that could have contributed to the books depth by creating more of a shadow similar to that found in The Vespertine. Readers have certain elements they love about a series, and this specific string would have strengthened my personal fascination in the book. I felt a bit cheated and was left to figure out, or rather guess about what happened to Mr. Larsen. It was too vague and because of this, lacked impact. Emerson was the most developed character and will likely be memorable. Zora, she's a sweet girl, but does not come with the same force as the beloved Amelia. Good. Beach read. Summer read, and if you want clean and innocent -- this is a safe bet. 3.5 stars
I did not realize that this book was the second in a series until I finished it so I can assure you that you can read this book out of sequence and still enjoy it just as much. The only thing that you will be a little bit in the dark about is stories from Zora's past as she mentions a beloved cousin and her deceased fiance, which are discussed in more depth in the first book. I felt like I should know these people, but I clearly understood what was going on so it was not a big deal to read this book first. The setting was lovely, but a bit peculiar. It was interesting to see how a society lady would react to living on the prairie, what was then the very edge of civilization, in the Oklahoma Territories. Zora struggled to perform everyday, ordinary tasks, such as drawing water and hoeing weeds, with her corset on. And yet Zora felt so vulnerable without the undergarments on that it required quite a bit of adjustment for her to try and adapt to life on the frontier. Zora was not at all ready for the life that she unknowingly chose, but she was a trooper and tried to help her aunt and her little niece as much as possible. It was interesting to read about what a normal day would be like in the 1800s as a new settler and how little surprises made such a difference in your day. Finding a nest of eggs means a hearty breakfast instead of a small bowl of porridge. Helping a neighbor raise a barn is a good excuse to visit and to do a different kind of work for a day. Settlers may turn a blind eye to local villains knowing that there is worse out there that could replace them. Old prejudices die hard, but there was some freedom for different races and colors in the new territories.

Zora Stewart was an interesting character. She was so certain her life was over that she has no idea how young she truly is until she was given another chance at love and life. I wish I could say that her special ability made her more interesting, but she used her abilities a handful of times in the book, mostly towards the end, so it really was not as integral a part of the plot as I had assumed based on the book's description. Towards the end of the story, Zora and her aunt decide to advertise her ability and to charge a fee for it so that they can try and save enough money to buy some livestock and improve their own lives. These scenes were some of the most touching in the book for me. One family is given the gift of life when Zora finds a spring of sweet, clear water on their dying property; another wants to drain his neighbor's pond and use their water as his own; the last is given the bitter news that there is no water on his claim and that he has sunk all of his money into a barren wasteland. Even though Zora's talent was not the focal point of the book, it did dictate some of her decisions and made her a less-than-typical society miss of the time period.

As with most young adult books, the author of The Springsweet falls into the trap of creating a love triangle where there really isn't one to try and give the story more depth. Zora must choose between a handsome, young gentleman who follows her from Boston and a local settler who is reviled by Zora's aunt and others. Hmmm, let me think. Who will she choose? The tall, dark, handsome, charming and well educated Theo or the brash, confident, golden Emerson. Zora's choice is so obvious that it is fairly laughable that the author event presents the other as an option, but whatever, I guess it is normal to have two amazing men chasing after the heroine in books these days. That said, I did enjoy the sweet little romance between Zora and her Romeo. I wish that there could be another book to tell us more about their lives and how they get on as they are just barely getting started when the book ends rather abruptly. It will be interesting to see where the author goes with her series from here...

The Springsweet has some gothic overtones, but they are subtle and this is not what I would deem a gothic romance. Theo and Zora meet in a graveyard with none other than Edgar Allen Poe. The lovelorn, grieving young woman and supernatural aspects also would lead you to think this is a more traditional, gothic romance, but the setting itself does not lend to a traditional gothic romance. You do not have the strictures of society or the brooding villain to make this a true gothic romance, but it was an interesting little romance with gothic touches. It was not at all what I was expecting when I picked it up, but I enjoyed reading it and will definitely check out other books by this author. I loved her writing style and think that she could make just about any topic appear interesting and important.
This is a wonderful book. It is true to this time period and very exciting. Great plot,barley any boring points in the book. Cliffhanger s throughout the book.