This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Melanie Doré worked as a Teaching Assistant until a car accident forced her to take extended time off to recuperate, giving her the opportunity to realise a long-held ambition to write. Her interesr in 1930s and 1940s Britain triggered the initial idea for The Elephant Tree. Melanie lives in Surrey, England with her husband and two children.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Jessica and Emily are moving to a new house in London, and Jessica is not terribly thrilled with the prospect, in Melanie Dore's Young Adult and Preteen Historical Novel, The Elephant Tree. The two sisters are surprised and thrilled when they finally arrive at the new house. While it's old and needs some restoration, it's bigger and has more character than the one they grew up in. They're even more pleased when they discover a huge beech tree in the backyard that harbors a tree house in its branches, which their father has agreed to inspect for safety and repair. Jessica also discovers a hidden cupboard in her new room, where a box filled with books has been stored. As she looks through them, she realizes that they're not books, but the diaries of Peggy, a girl her own age, written many years ago when the house was new. In her diaries, Peggy discusses her family and her dreams of becoming a published writer and, as Jessica reads through Peggy's stories and tales, she begins to visualize and experience Peggy's life.
The Elephant Tree by Melanie Dore is a very special book. Like Jessica, I became so involved in Peggy's story that I lost track of time, and, indeed, lost track of the fact that I was reading a story within a story. Dore writes simply and elegantly, and her narrative, dealing with the Second World War and the London bombings, recounts these events as they would have been perceived by a child and her family. Through Peggy's eyes, we see the effects of rationing and the shelters set up in the London underground and feel the uncertainty of those who had fathers who might not make it back home again. While The Elephant Tree is categorized as fiction for preteens, I would not hesitate to recommend it for young adults and adults as well. Reading it was a moving and remarkable experience.
