Julie's Review: South of the Buttonwood Tree

Author: Heather Webber
Series: None
Publication Date:  July 21, 2020
Publisher: Forge Books
Pages: 330
Obtained: Publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Gorgeous novel about finding yourself and your family
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab

Summary: Blue Bishop has a knack for finding lost things. While growing up in charming small-town Buttonwood, Alabama, she’s happened across lost wallets, jewelry, pets, her wandering neighbor, and sometimes, trouble. No one is more surprised than Blue, however, when she comes across an abandoned newborn baby in the woods, just south of a very special buttonwood tree. Sarah Grace Landreneau Fulton is at a crossroads. She has always tried so hard to do the right thing, but her own mother would disown her if she ever learned half of Sarah Grace’s secrets. The unexpected discovery of the newborn baby girl will alter Blue’s and Sarah Grace’s lives forever. Both women must fight for what they truly want in life and for who they love. In doing so, they uncover long-held secrets that reveal exactly who they really are—and what they’re willing to sacrifice in the name of family. ~amazon.com

Review:  Blue Bishop has been "cursed" by her last name for her entire left. She's never felt that she belonged in Buttonwood because of this. She has a very close knit circle that she's let in over the years but other than that she keeps to herself. She also has a gift of finding lost things which on one day include finding a baby by the famous Buttonwood tree. The tree has a magical quality about it because it tells you what you need to hear not what you want to hear. The tree left a button saying to give the baby to Blue. What isn't known is how the appearance of this baby will turn lives upside down and all around.

On the other side of town, Sarah Grace is trying to figure out what do do about her marriage. Luckily she doesn't have to make that choice because he does it for her. Now all that she has to do is right her life and find what makes her happy. Like some of us, what makes her happy is right in front of her. Sarah Grace has a special gift as well, she can feel the past of the houses that she's living in or rehabbing. She's also trying to reconcile her past and trying to make sense of the decisions she made. 

This book had so much heart that it will stay with me for a long time. Everyone has secrets but perhaps none as interlinked as the residents of Buttonwood. I loved how Ms. Webber wove her magical realism into this novel. This was the perfect escape from what ails you right now.