Where the Lilacs Still Bloom

German immigrant and farm wife Hulda Klager possesses only an eight-grade education and a burning desire to create something beautiful.  What begins as a hobby to create an easy-peeling apple for her pies becomes Hulda’s driving purpose: a time consuming interest in plant hybridization that puts her at odds with family and community, as she challenges the early twentieth century expectations for a simple housewife.

Through the years, seasonal floods continually threaten to erase her Woodland, Washington garden; and a series of family tragedies cause even Hulda to question her focus.  In a time of practicality, can one person‘s simple gifts of beauty make a difference?  Based on the life of Hulda Klager, Where the Lilacs Still Bloom is a story of triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds and the power of a generous heart.

I was given the privilege of reviewing this book by Jane Kirkpatrick.  The book is easy to read and has an interesting story line.  At first it gets confusing as a few chapters are written about different people, but by the end of the book you are able to see how they are all intertwined and part of Hulda’s success.  While the book is considered to be Historical Fiction, from what I was able to discover, the Lilac Lady Hulda Klager, did exist with many of the dates and events from her life being fairly accurate. 

While I enjoyed this book, I am only going to give it 2 stars.  A 5 star book is a book, that I can’t put down and must finish reading right away, and then feel a sense of loss once I am done reading it.  This book didn’t keep me up at night, there was no great sense of urgency to finish reading the book, nor was there a sense of disappointment or loss once I finished reading the book.  

For more information or to read the first chapter go here  Read Chapter One

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."