Torey's done it again! (The Sunflower Forest - Torey L. Hayden)

Member Name: Rockmaiden

Product:	The Sunflower Forest - Torey L. Hayden
Date:	14/01/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic to read, gripping story

Disadvantages: None

Torey Hayden is a very talented writer who for many years has detailed her struggles as a special education teacher in books such as Ghost Girl and One Child.

She is a truely gifted writer and I am a big fan of her books.

I spotted 'The Sunflower Forest' whilst shopping in Asda one day and was very surprised as I hadn't heard of it before.

I quickly picked it up and read the blurb on the back of the book. I began to understand that this was a story written in the voice of a teenage girl detailing her life with her mother Mara who is childlike and traumatised by events from the war. Lesley begins to question more why her mother is so affected and soon some deep, dark secrets of Mara terrible time come spilling out. When Mara's fragile state results in a devastating tradgedy Leslie goes in search of answers to The Sunflower Forest, a place her mother has always had wonderfull memories of. This is Leslie's account of her journey and findings.

Reading the summery I was even more shocked as it sounded nothing like any of Torey Hayden's previous books. Firstly this is a novel whereas she normally writes from life experainces also it is not about a child that she has worked with previously. I really like her previous books so I was a little dissapointed to see that this book was so different but knowing what a fantastic author Torey Hayden is I picked it up anyway.

This book was fantastic to read and has so many twists and surprises, it had me crying at parts and my heart ached for the losses that Mara just cannot come to terms with. All the characters are very likable and you soon fall in love with them. Lesley especially is well written, although only 17 she seams far older then her years but living with a parent like Mara would do that to anyone.

Once I began reading I just could not put it down. Mara is Hungarian was brought up in Germany married her american husband and moved to Wales followed by Kansas where the story is set. There is a lot of culture and some interesting information in this book.

Reading Torey Hayden's website she wrote a short little note as to the origin behind this book which is:

When Torey was visiting friends in Wales in 1980, she was sitting in front of the fire in their stone cottage and waiting for the tea to brew when she picked up the local paper and saw an article about a local woman who had been part of the Nazi Lebensborn program in World War II. She wrote her agent that night that she "had been gripped by an idea". It never left her and four years later, THE SUNFLOWER FOREST was the result.

Torey used the setting around her friends' cottage as the Welsh location. 'Mara', the main character in THE SUNFLOWER FOREST, is not based on a real person but is simply someone Torey created in order to explore the issues of generational trauma. Torey says she isn't sure whether to be flattered or insulted by the fact that often readers and even reviewers of THE SUNFLOWER FOREST refused to believe Mara was imaginary.

This is an amazing book and I would recomend looking out for it.

Summary: Another amazing book by an author in a world of her own.