432pgs.
Adult CRF with a touch of magical realism
Finished 6/18/24
Goodreads rating: 4.19
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary northeastern PA, in the "Endless Woods"
My comments: Beautiful writing, clever story, wonderful characters, and a rich setting in the woods. This is definitely a favorite!
Goodreads synopsis: The first thing you learn when you climb a tree is to hold on. Now it’s time for Harry to learn to let go…
Thirty-four-year-old Harry Crane, lifelong lover of trees, works as an analyst in a treeless US Forest Service office. When his wife dies in a freak accident, devastated, he makes his way to the remote woods of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, intent on losing himself. But fate intervenes in the form of a fiercely determined young girl named Oriana. She, too, has lost someone—her father. And in the magical, willful world of her reckoning, Oriana believes that Harry is the key to finding her way back to him.
As Harry agrees to help the young girl, the unlikeliest of elements—a tree house, a Wolf, a small-town librarian and a book called The Grum’s Ledger—come together to create the biggest sensation ever to descend upon the Endless Mountains…a golden adventure that will fulfill Oriana’s wildest dreams and open the door to a new life for Harry.
I couldn't remember the title of one of my favorite books and realized I'd probably not entered it onto the blog. So I queried GEMINI and this is what I got....YAY! It's the right book!
The book you are thinking of is "Harry's Trees" by Jon Cohen, published in 2018.
It fits your description perfectly and is a wonderful "slump-buster" because it blends the grit of a life-changing tragedy with a sense of wonder.
Why this is your book:
The Lead: Harry Crane is a 34-year-old analyst for the US Forest Service (the "forestry job") who suffers a devastating personal loss.
The Setting: He flees to the Endless Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania to live in the woods.
The Treehouse: He ends up living in a luxurious, multi-story treehouse on the property of a woman named Amanda.
The Daughter & Fairy Tales: Amanda’s young daughter, Oriana, is obsessed with a book of fairy tales called The Grum’s Ledger.
She believes Harry is a magical being sent to help them. The Money: After receiving a large legal settlement, Harry begins anonymously giving away money to locals in the nearby town who are in need, often in creative or "magical" ways.
Why you’ll love it (based on your tastes):
Even though it has a "magical" undertone, it is firmly a contemporary novel with many of the procedural elements you enjoy. It deals with:
Grit and Redemption: Similar to Robert Dugoni’s emotional depth.
Small-Town Secrets: It has that "everyone knows your business" Pennsylvania atmosphere.
The Forest: Much like Paul Doiron’s work, the Pennsylvania wilderness is a living, breathing character in the story.
It’s a deeply uplifting read, which might be exactly what you need to get your reading momentum back!
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