Comments on: Watching the Tree Limbs http://christianbookwormreviews.com/2006/07/watching-the-tree-limbs/ Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:22:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: chbookshelf http://christianbookwormreviews.com/2006/07/watching-the-tree-limbs/#comment-24 chbookshelf Sun, 02 Jul 2006 01:11:03 +0000 http://faithwebbin.net/cbreviews/?p=3#comment-24 Nine-year-old Mara Weatherall moves with her aunt to a new town when her grandmother dies in Louisiana. Her aunt doesn’t seem real impressed with the town, but her boyfriend, Gus, lives there, and it’s easy enough to let Mara roam. On her first trip into town, Mara meets the preacher’s son, Robert E. Lee, otherwise known as General. General pulls Mara off into the woods and rapes her, a nightmare that continues several times as Mara is afraid to tell. General threatens to kill her and her aunt if she breathes so much as a word of what he’s doing. One day, after Mara did laundry so goes off to find some flowers for her aunt. When she returns home she discovers her aunt is dead. Mara is afraid that General killed her and that she would be next. But her aunt’s boyfriend, Gus, sends Mara off to live in an run-down mansion, on the wrong side of town. There, text books are years out of date, the play ground equipment is a broken heap of trash, and Mara is the only white child in a world of black. WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS is the first book I’ve read by talented author Mary E. DeMuth, but I’m certain it won’t be the last. WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS is expertly written, with the faith message woven in without flaw. Mara is a sweet little child, I wished I could grab her out of the story and put her someplace safe. WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS deals with the difficult subject matters of rape and racism and Ms. DeMuth handles them with ease. As well-written as this story is though, I had a difficult time reading it. I had to put it down several times as the book is just too hard to read in one sitting. It required time away from the book so I could distance myself from it somewhat. Otherwise, WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS would require a full box of tissues. A discussion guide is included at the end. $12.99. 416 pages. Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton Nine-year-old Mara Weatherall moves with her aunt to a new town when her grandmother dies in Louisiana. Her aunt doesn’t seem real impressed with the town, but her boyfriend, Gus, lives there, and it’s easy enough to let Mara roam.

On her first trip into town, Mara meets the preacher’s son, Robert E. Lee, otherwise known as General. General pulls Mara off into the woods and rapes her, a nightmare that continues several times as Mara is afraid to tell. General threatens to kill her and her aunt if she breathes so much as a word of what he’s doing.

One day, after Mara did laundry so goes off to find some flowers for her aunt. When she returns home she discovers her aunt is dead. Mara is afraid that General killed her and that she would be next. But her aunt’s boyfriend, Gus, sends Mara off to live in an run-down mansion, on the wrong side of town. There, text books are years out of date, the play ground equipment is a broken heap of trash, and Mara is the only white child in a world of black.

WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS is the first book I’ve read by talented author Mary E. DeMuth, but I’m certain it won’t be the last. WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS is expertly written, with the faith message woven in without flaw. Mara is a sweet little child, I wished I could grab her out of the story and put her someplace safe.

WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS deals with the difficult subject matters of rape and racism and Ms. DeMuth handles them with ease. As well-written as this story is though, I had a difficult time reading it. I had to put it down several times as the book is just too hard to read in one sitting. It required time away from the book so I could distance myself from it somewhat. Otherwise, WATCHING THE TREE LIMBS would require a full box of tissues. A discussion guide is included at the end. $12.99. 416 pages.

Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton

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