Framboise Dartigen relates this story from her point of view as a nine-year-old and as a woman in her 60s. She spent her childhood in a Nazi-occupied French village with her widowed mother and siblings. Knowing that the scent of oranges brought on her mother's severe migraines, Framboise was clever enough or devious enough to hoard orange peel for her own advantage. During their unsupervised play, the children met a young Nazi soldier and were captivated by his charm and the black-market gifts that he gave them. Years later, Framboise, now a widow herself, returns to the village on a quest for the truth about her family's role in a tragic event for which her mother bore the blame and was forced by the townspeople to flee. Framboise inherited her mother's journal, and soon learns that the past and the present are intertwined.

This will be going out as a ray. Please keep the book moving. If you're going to take longer than 4 weeks, please update your journal entry to reflect this.

Mailing list is below:

1.LastMango Canada (Canada preferred)
2.mrsordonez US (US)
3.Mamikaem US (Intl)
4.Katayoun Iran (Intl)
5.janiemac75 Scotland (UK) End of the ray - free to release as she wishes

Sending out December 12th. Happy travelling!

Received this in the mail today. Will do my best to get it read over the holidays.

Thanks for sharing this book Lauraloo29. It was my Christmas Day read.

I love the way Joanne Harris is able to give such insight into her characters and weave together the past and present. A wonderful book!

I'll put this into the mail to mrsordenez as soon as I get a mailing address from her.

Mailed today to mrsordonez. I hope she enjoys this book as much as I did. Thanks for sharing, lauraloo29!

Thanks for sharing, I've been interested in this one for a while. I'll post again upon finishing.

I don't quite know what I was expecting from this novel, but it certainly wasn't what I had imagined. In general, I really do dislike France, but am fascinated with WWII and the suffering of the people under Nazi regime, so maybe I was expecting more of that. I did like how the past and the present narratives wove together, but I found that I connected very little with 'Boise.

***Spoiler alert*** highlight the blank space below with your mouse to read:
I was expecting more of a terrible secret, I imagine, as I didn't even find the thought plausible that Framboise's mother Mirabelle Dartigen would even be involved with Thomas Leibnitz. From the descriptions, she was a horrid, cold woman, and Thomas was merely a boy... I kept waiting for Thomas to become involved with Reinette. I never quite understood the mother, to be honest, and her running off in the end made everything wrap up neatly in a little box. Why were Mirabelle's recipes so coveted? She didn't seem to have such a good time at the market in Angers, and only when 'Boise made them did they seem to rise in popularity. The romance with Paul seemed very drawn out and a bit predictable, once he was identified as her regular customer at the cafe. I did make it to the end of the book, which is saying something, but the book almost failed the 50 page test, and if the protagonist were male, it almost certainly would have. I've heard such raves about Chocolat, which I didn't ever connect to this book, but now know more of what to expect as to plot twists and narrative styles if I do decide to tackle that novel...

Thanks so much for sharing, the book is wrapped and sitting in my car waiting for my next trip to the post office (later this week).

Received in yesterday's mail--from across town. Thanks, mrsordonez! (It's a small world, after all! :o) I have a few rings in front of this, but will get to it as soon as I can. Thanks, lauraloo29, for sharing this with us!

lauraloo29 was kind enough to allow me more time to read this since I'm way behind on my rings and rays. However I decided to go ahead and send this on its way. I mailed this to katayoun today. It should take 4 - 6 weeks to get there! Thanks for the opportunity!

thanks it's here. i am a harris' fan and can't wait to read. thanks lauraloo29 and Mamikaem.

ahhhhhhhhhh! have started reading it and i must say i am always surprised by how much i like harris' writing and how she just pulls me along. would be ready to mail it in a week or so.

thanks, as compelling and intriguing as all her books, and also with a trace of darkness that i also think runs in all her books, well maybe a bit more. with this book i wanted to read on and i also just wanted to quit and not read more, certainly whenever i stopped reading i was left with a bit of depression (though i suppose the news now and also memories of another war with bombs and rockets every day was not helpful either)
thanks so much lauraloo29 and mamikaem, would be mailing the book in a couple of days

thanks all and on it's way to janiemac75

Thank you katayoun, the book arrived a couple of weeks ago but my computer was broken and I didn't have any internet access.
I am really sorry for the late journal entry.
Thank you lauraloo29 for sharing.
I really enjoyed this book.
I will be releasing this book in Cumbernauld on Friday, so it can continue on its journey.