Perennials

I learned a very good lesson from my father when he lost his sight and became an audio listener of books. I would ask him, "Dad, what are you reading?" he would often shrug as if he didn't know. I would then say, "What's it about?" and he would often reply, "Well, I don't know." To this, exasperated, I would say, "Is it good?" and he would always answer, "Why, yes. All books are good." What my dad was trying to tell me was simple, don't judge a book by its cover (or backflap).

I have once again become a voracious reader, listening and reading an average of two books per week as well as reading all day for my job. I have long since stopped reading backflaps or snippets from promoters, there's no time to cull through the one million plus show more titles published each year (true!). So, I just pick a book because it's next in line on a shelf, or in the queue of the Audible lineup, or I found it in a stack from the local thrift store. And, like my father, I am hard pressed to find a book where I don't learn something (even if it's meaningless), or don't enjoy some part of it. Books are good.

That all being said, and back to the book at hand, Perennials - I had no idea when I picked it up that it was published by a Christian house. I likely wouldn't have taken it on had I known, I would have judge the book before I picked it up. To my good fortune, I didn't know this until after I had finished listening (I did audio for this book).

What a wonderful, moral-rich, non-preachy, feel-good, tapped several of the big societal issues (adultery, death, divorce, pride, bullying, regret, work vs. family; you get the point), without ever once making me squirm with too much religious overtones, or want to run off to confess my improprieties. As a flower child at heart, I loved the continual nuances of people and growth compared to good soil and water, seasons, and blooms. This book was beautifully done.

Without a foul word one, a raunchy or explicit scene moving beyond butterflies or hand holding, I was intrigued, captivated, and anxious to read more. I strongly recommend Perennials on a day when you need a lift, need to know you are not alone in your struggles, and don't want to hear morality shoved down your throat.

Well done, Julie Cantrell! show less

Eva is running from the past. She has created a new life for herself as an ad executive in Arizona. She is about to sign a huge account and then she is going to retire to the mountains. But, her parents have called her home for their anniversary celebration. She is not ready to face her past or her family, especially her sister.
I adore this book!! The story, the location, the family traditions, it all hits home! There were spots I had to put the book down and just sigh. I live an hour outside of Oxford and I graduated from Ole Miss so of course, this book became special the first time Oxford is mentioned.
Even though I gave this book a 5 star rating, it is not without problems. Eva, to me, came off as a little whiney and she show more doesn't stand up for herself when she should. There were places I wanted to GIBBS SLAP her. She is an ad executive and she didn't get there by being mousey. So when her sister treats her like crap and she takes it, that grates on my nerves.
Outside of that one minor flaw, this is a just an all around great tale about family and life's ups and downs. This story is full of southern charm. Julie Cantrell nailed Oxford, the south and it's traditions. She is a masterful storyteller and creates a true world which everyone should experience.
"There's no point in telling her the truth-that my hometown is a literary mecca filled with poet laureates and Pulitzer winners, a university community more diverse and well-read than any she's probably visited, much less called home" (quote about Oxford,MS.) show less

I was captivated by the cover. Yes, I know... but I can’t resist a pretty cover and the promise of this cover did not disappoint.
PERENNIALS is a beautifully written story about family dynamics, sibling rivalry and unfulfilled dreams of the road not taken. If you grew up in the south or any part of rural America, you will be charmed by the evocative childhood experiences and the fragrant memories of your grandmother’s honeysuckle vines or your aunt’s gardenia bush.
I would recommend PERENNIALS to fans of southern fiction and women’s fiction. Although the publisher is known for Christian fiction, this book is not for the fundamentalist Christian reader. It does however have a spirituality that easily fits into a broader definition show more of “Christian” literature.
Julie Cantrell is a talented author, and I will read another of her books. show less

Self-exiled daughter of the South returns home to Mississippi at the behest of her parents and has to deal with painful memories, guilt, and her sister's hostility. There's drama and flowers and sweet tea and trauma, and a whole lot of name-dropping of Mississippi writers like Faulkner and Welty, along with shallow ruminations on their work. Faulkner and Welty would, no doubt, be turning over in their graves if Cantrell were representative of the state's crop of contemporary writers. Poorly written, with two dimensional characters, a bunch of God-talk and woo-woo quasi-spiritual bunk, I basically ended up hate-listening to this. The audio narrator did the book no favors with some really terrible accents and weird inflections.

2.5 show more stars

ETA: According to some other LT reviews, this is classified as "Christian fiction." Had I known that, I never would have picked it up :-P Buyer (borrower) beware, I guess... show less

** spoiler alert ** I was intrigued at first by the story of the protagonist and what made her leave home years ago, and how cruel her sister could be. Midway through I started to notice multiple preachy sentiments and according-to-the-bible lessons, but given that the setting is in Mississippi, I figured it’s just your average southern Baptist family. Come to find out this book is classified as “Christian fiction”. As an avid reader I try not to judge books by their categories, but the messages imparted from the parents especially became too overbearing and sentimental, so sweet my teeth hurt. This would also explain such chaste moments between the protagonist and her former boyfriend, and absolutely no cursing (her sister show more deserved to be called a bitch) I ended up flipping through to see the long awaited conclusion between the sisters and was disappointed as well; the older sister never really seemed to apologize for her acts of cruelty and just passed it off as being jealous. And the protagonist seemed to accept it as such, because Jesus.

I also have to laugh at some of the other reviews mad that this is classified as “Christian fiction” but then GASP!-dares to mention lessons from Buddhism and the healing powers of yoga. Way to to be tolerant of other religions and viewpoints. Let’s not be more upset at the cheating spouses or the way the older sister treated her younger sister.

I also felt like I was watching one of those insufferable hallmark channel movies with this plot, the wayward daughter returns home to small town life and everyone begs her to stay; she resists at first but then sees the charm of her town and falls back in love with her high school sweetheart, deciding this is where she belonged the entire time. Coming from a small town & now living in the big city I am aware of these attitudes but it’s only in these types of movies and books this actually happens. Yes, the protagonist wasn’t all that happy in her job, but she did seem to enjoy her life in the big city and made such a fuss that she had to return home. I would have enjoyed it more if she reconciled with her sister, then she and the bf or just her go back to Phoenix, which is more realistic. show less

This was my first book by Julie Cantrell and I enjoyed it so much that I just ordered her older books. Perennials is a heart warming story about an estranged family that is trying to become a whole family again. Plus, it has beautiful descriptions of flowers and gardens - if it wasn't winter, I'd be out planting flowers after reading it.

Eva (known by her family as Lovey) is 45 years old. Right after high school, she left her home in Mississippi to make a life for herself in Arizona. She is single, very successful in her advertising career and teaches yoga to seniors on the weekends. She has been hurt by her older sister and felt that her parents never took her side when they were growing up. Her parents have a 50th anniversary and they show more ask Lovey to come home early and spend time with them before the anniversary party that her sister is arranging. Lovey continues to be rebuffed by her sister when she tries to be friends with her again.

This is wonderful novel about family and love and forgiveness. You CAN go home again but it's never exactly the way you remembered it from years before. Wonderful! show less

Oxford, Mississippi is a long way from Phoenix, Arizona and that was exactly why Lovey had enjoyed living in Arizona. It was far from her sister Bitsy, who had made her life miserable, and far from the memories of her past where the older she got the more she felt like an outsider. In Arizona she was successful, admired, and now in her forties planning for her retirement. Sure, Lovey missed the South with its seasons, and flowers, and also, most of all, her parents who wanted her to come back home. And then there was her childhood friend Fisher, whom she needed to make things right with so that they can be friends again. It isn’t until her parents 50th Anniversary draws near that she is pulled back home to Mississippi, but it is also show more on the eve of her biggest business deal and she must evaluate what is most important to her: will she put family first or will success and security pull her away from those she loves. Flowers, gardening, Southern lit, family, love, and much more make this a compelling read. Now I must find Julie Cantrell’s other books too. 4 stars. show less