Stephanie KnipperCritiques

FROM AMAZON: Sisters Rose and Lily Martin were inseparable when they were kids. As adults they've been estranged for years, until circumstances force them to come together to protect Rose's daughter.

Ten-year-old Antoinette has a severe form of autism that requires constant care and attention. She has never spoken a word, but she has a powerful gift that others would give anything to harness: She can heal things with her touch. She brings wilted flowers back to life, makes a neighbor's tremors disappear, and changes the normal course of nature on the Kentucky flower farm where she and her mother live. Antoinette's gift, though, puts her own life in danger, as each healing comes with an increasingly deadly price.

As Rose - the center of her daughter's life - struggles with her own failing health and Lily confronts her anguished past, they, and the men who love them, come to realize the sacrifices that must be made to keep this very special child safe.

Many thanks to Goodreads and Algonquin Books for the advance copy they provided in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a lovely, mesmerizing novel that was hard to put down.

This is a story of dedication to family, loyalty and of forgiveness and acceptance . The character of Antoinette is simply lovely; she embodies all that is good and hopeful, and Knipper does an incredible job of portraying all the limitations and affects of her autism, while showing the beautiful soul trapped inside her body. Rose’s relationship with her daughter was beautifully drawn.

There were so many elements that I find fascinating: the language of flowers, the magical realism, the complicated relationship between the sisters, Lily and Rose.

And of course, it pretty much ripped my heart from my chest. I mentioned the tissues, right? It was a beautiful book that I will read again and again. Fans of Sarah Addison Allen will find a kindred spirit in Stephanie Knipper.

Some books are plot-driven, some character-driven. This one, I think, is emotionally-driven. The story is poignant, heartfelt, and meant to stir up all sorts of feelings. In that, for me, it definitely succeeds.

When we choose to start families, few of us stop to consider what it might mean to have a disabled child. Could we be good parents in this situation? What long-term effects would it have on our lives, our relationships? If we even stopped to consider these questions, it’s unlikely we’d be able to comprehend all the challenges ahead.

This story places us within a family in crisis. I loved all the characters, but Antoinette stole my heart. I felt her frustration at not being able to communicate, her anger at being treated as unintelligent simply because she’s different, and her fear of losing the one person who loves her unconditionally.

The magical realism element of the story adds an extra layer of intrigue and complexity.

I listened to this on audio and, for the most part, thoroughly enjoyed the narration. However, I wish it had been only the one voice throughout. Rose’s journal sections are read by a second narrator, with a much different, more heavily accented, and older voice. Consequently, it sounded strange to hear Rose’s entries from her youth read in a totally different voice than what we hear throughout the bulk of the book. Also within these sections are dialogue from others that Rose included in her journals, so the voices are nothing like those same character voices in the rest of the book. I felt this was an unnecessary distraction, though both narrators are quite good.

This was such a fascinating story! I loved how much depth and meaning there was on just about every page of this book, it really added something wonderful to the story.

The events of the story itself are somewhat predictable, but I still found myself enjoying this story overall. I was very invested in the characters' lives and wanted to know what would happen to them. The love interests did become slightly annoying to me at various times, but again, I still enjoyed it overall.

Knipper has a very eloquent and captivating tone that I loved and makes me certain that I will continue to look for her books. I've given this book four stars!

I had a hard time getting into this book and put it down several times. It's not a bad book but it just didn't keep me interested.

This book had a lot of potential and was good but not great. The healing ability was amazing but I feel like the book should have been about the family dynamic or the healing but by making it about both it deterred from both story lines. But it was entertaining and kept me engaged.

Can a beach read be heavy? If so, then this is a heavy beach read. Despite the premise, the book moves quickly, feels light and is enjoyable. It's a bit predictable and the ending leaves a bit to be desired in my opinion, but for magical realism, The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin is worth a look.½

This was really a great story. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started listening to this audiobook but I soon found myself hooked. The story touched on so many difficult topics and everything worked together in a way that I wouldn't have expected. I really liked that the story was told from multiple points of view and I thought that each perspective really added an important piece to the overall puzzle. I really ended up enjoying this book.

This is a book that is really about a lot of things. It is a book that tells the story of two sisters, Lily and Rose, mending their relationship. Lily and Rose have seen very little of each other in the years leading up to the start of the book but when Rose needs Lily, she comes to help. That is just one part of the story. This book also focuses on a little girl with disabilities who has a special gift.

Antoinette was a great character. She is nonverbal but she still says so much. She is her mother's world and the feeling is mutual. She is a caring child that doesn't want to see anyone or anything ill or in pain. She is willing to do anything she can to help take care of those that she loves. Unfortunately, Antoinette's gift comes with a price that those who love her work to protect her from.

I loved how so many different elements came together to tell this story. I loved the parts from Rose's point of view that really demonstrated her love for Antoinette. Lily's struggle to fit in and the things she struggles with in her life every day was very well told. Seth and Will both added to the story with their actions in the present and they both had really interesting pasts. I enjoyed the magical realism elements that helped to tell this story.

I loved the narration. I have listened to Andi Arndt several times in the past and have always enjoyed her work. This was the first time that I have listened to Cassandra Campbell and I thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the book that she narrated. I think that using two narrators really added to the impact of the story. Andi Arndt did narrate the bulk of the story but they both did an equally wonderful job. This was an emotional story and both narrators really did a great job expressing a lot of strong feelings.

I would recommend this book to others. This is the first book by Stephanie Knipper that I have read and I am really impressed by her ability to write wonderful characters dealing with a lot of difficult issues. I would definitely like to read from this author in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from HighBridge Audio via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

This book is a sort of farming/romance/magical realism mash up, which might sound odd, but it works really well. It's grounded in a reality that's solid enough to make the story seem possible, but the magic (both good and bad)keeps thingsunpredictable.

Antoinette Martin is a child who "displays a lot of autistic behaviors," and whose mother is seriously ill. Antoinette also has the ability to heal through touch although it brings on seizures. Their story is set on the family flower farm in Kentucky, and characters inlude the townspeople in their small community and Antoinette's estranged aunt who may need to become Antoinette's guardian. The story is very readable, and the imagery is well done. In some ways this doesn't rise much above love triangle with a twist, but it is an enjoyable story. While I probably would not have purchased it (I received it as an ER book), i did enjoy it.

Rose and Lily are close-in-age sisters who are inseparable as children. Along with their next-door neighbor Seth, the threesome are thick as thieves growing up. As teenagers, Seth and Lily become more than friends. Then, in college, Rose ends up pregnant before she graduates, and everyone puts their life on hold when she ends up giving birth to a premature baby girl, Antoinette. Rose spends several weeks hospitalized with heart problems, which led to Antoinette's premature birth. Lily and their parents help take care of Antoinette until Rose is well enough to take care of her. Seth decides to escape his abusive household and head to seminary school, so a broken-hearted Lily is free to stay home and help with Antoinette.

As Antoinette gets older it's obvious she's not developing along the same milestones that other children have. With Rose's heart condition always in the back of her mind, she also worries for Antoinette and how her life will be. When their parents die in a car accident when Antoinette is 4 years old, Rose realizes she has fewer people in her life to help with Antoinette and leans on Lily for help. Lily panics about her ability to care for Antoinette's special needs and runs away.

When Lily realizes her mistake and tries to make up with Rose, Rose ignores her calls and decides to cut her out of her life.

Six years later, Rose's heart is near done. The doctor has given her mere months to live. Although Seth moved back next door years ago and helps out with their family flower farm, Rose realizes she needs to find a permanent caretaker for Antoinette, and soon. Reconciling with Lily is her only choice.

Fortunately, Lily is ready to reconcile and comes running when Rose calls for help. Lily being back at the family farm with Seth so nearby sets off a flurry of feelings, all of them complicated. In Lily's new life, she had a job, a romantic interest in the form of her neighbor, and was keeping her own nervous counting habit in check. Antoinette's needs still scared her, but she also tried to relate to Antoinette's issues by teaching Antoinette Lily's special ways of dealing with her own stress.

Lily's return to be Antoinette's caretaker leads to a slow reconciliation with Rose, an awkward new relationship with Seth, and forces her to deal with her feelings for her neighbor Will.

Antoinette does not warm to Lily quickly. And Lily doesn't immediately realize the special powers Antoinette has. Flowers come alive when Antoinette is around. Injuries become healed. Rose lives years longer than doctors predicted. But there is a price to Antoinette's healing powers.

I really enjoyed this story. The writing was wonderful and really pulled me in. The characters were compelling and well-written. I would recommend this book to anyone. I won this book via LibraryThing.

Feels:

The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin is a sweet, homey book that easily transported me back to my childhood and teen years growing up in Ohio. I immediately loved the sisters Rose and Lily and TOTALLY identified with Rose’s stubbornness and heartache in not calling her sister years earlier. Antoinette is clearly a difficult but lovable child and so many times I just wanted to scoop her up and hug her. The slow, off-the-main-plot romance was also sweet…even if I wasn’t particularly fond of how this grown-up version of a love triangle was handled, in the end.

Characters:

The sisters Rose and Lily along with Rose’s daughter Antoinette, are the key players in this story. The story is told in turns from the POV of Lily, Antoinette, and Rose’s diary. It works really well – I was surprised! Antoinette’s father disappeared before she was born and Rose has devoted herself entirely to her daughter. Lily hasn’t had a serious relationship since the-boy-next-door, Seth, broke up with her years before. Even if her best friend is a guy and they’ve been through a lot together. The other side characters that populate small town Kentucky are so real they almost walk out of the pages. I love them all. I wish I could be the sister’s neighbor.

Antoinette is a dear thing, even if I can imagine how frustrating and difficult it would be to try to be her mother or guardian. Her autism is one that baffles even the doctors, as she both shows signs of severe autism and breaks all the “rules” regarding it.

Plot:

Rose is dying. As a last resort, she calls her estranged sister and begs her to come home and help care for Antoinette and their family’s flower farm in Kentucky.

The story centers on Antoinette, even though she never says a word. Her sections of the book are VERY well done. Of course we don’t know for sure how a non-verbal child would describe the world around them, Knipper’s depiction is vivid and sharp without being condescending. Her personal experience with special needs children is evident. Antoinette never feels “wrong,” or like someone to be pitied. She just is, and as she is, she has a lot to offer the world if only people would look past their first impression.

Now, here’s where I have a slight issue. When I requested this book, I guessed it would be magical realism. Which was spot on. However, I’m not really okay with Antoinette’s disabilities being written off as a side effect to her magical ability to heal. At times it seemed like it was more “in addition to” her autism, she could heal things – which is fine and creative and all that. But at other times it seemed like she was different because she could heal things. The difference is small but it’s a lot in terms of how you look at people with impairments. The overall tone is one of deepest respect and love for Antoinette (and by extension, anyone with differences), as well as understanding of and for her, but that point bothered me a little.

I really liked that Lily also has signs of a disorder – she’s very high-functioning, so as an adult she copes and hides it well – but it’s there all the same and as a child she was always the odd one. I loved that so much. I love that it gave her a means to connect with Antoinette, I love that she didn’t grow out of it or magically become cured by coming home.

Anyway, as far as the story arch goes…it was a beautiful story. It’s not very fast-paced (very in line with small town Kentucky), but it’s lovely. I felt like I was walking the rows of flowers with the characters, and I was sure I could smell lavender bread at one point. The resolution was NOT what I expected though…and I really wasn’t pleased with it. I understand that the book is centered around the idea of unexplained abilities, but up until the very end it was still very believable. The ending was just too convenient for my taste, but if you like happy endings you will enjoy it immensely.

There is a little bit of romance – even a grown-up, mellow version of a love triangle – but it works. It’s sweet and a fireflies-in-July type of warm and fuzzy. It’s believable and not over the top. I didn’t like the way it was wrapped up, particularly…well, I was happy with who ended up together but not how it ALL ended.

Setting/Description:

I grew up in Ohio/Virginia. This little town, the farm, and the people, are as familiar to me as my own name. Stephanie Knipper has done an amazing job last bringing this little place to life. I really felt very, very homesick as I read.

Rating/Thoughts:

I’m giving 4/5 stars. Overall this is a lovely story that I would highly recommend for a rainy afternoon and evening while drinking a cup of tea. There’s nothing drastic in it, nothing scary…it’s a very cozy book, but it still managed to rend my heart. I hope Stephanie Knipper writes more books, I would definitely give anything she wrote a chance. I’m actually very surprised this book doesn’t have more reviews!

Many thanks to the publisher and LibraryThing for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The titular Antoinette is a nonverbal, special needs 10 year old girl who can hear songs in the earth and flowers and the people she touches; her mother, Rose, is dying of congestive heart failure. Like any parent of a child in need of lifelong care, she is frightened of what will happen to her daughter after she’s gone, though in this case Antoinette’s gifts give her even more reason to be afraid. She is forced to reach out of her estranged sister Lily, hoping that the rift between them can be mended, and that her sister can be the guardian Antoinette needs. It’s an emotional book; seeing the story from Rose’s perspective, watching her impending death and her fear for her daughter is gut-wrenching and I definitely cried more than once. Though it is an emotionally intense book, the conclusion left me empty and disappointed- I think it had a real opportunity to face life and death and it missed it in favor of something tidy and traditionally “happy”.

For a longer review with spoilers, see my blog.

I found this book enchanting. I am a fan of magic realism and it was intertwined throughout the book. The characters were well written and with compassion (the book dealt with serious illness and a child with disabilities.) I found myself thinking about the characters long after I finished the book. It is a story about two sisters. There is romance but it is really about all types of love. It was heartwarming - I have recommended it several times. I look forward to reading more from this author!

The books started slowly for me and I did not connect with the reader or understand the story. As I continued to listen I became more interested and eventually began to appreciate the book. Although I found some of the events plausible as I finished the book, I had no interest in reading more about Antoinette or her family. The difficulty between sisters seemed realistic but the choices they made and the love interest did not ring true. I enjoy fiction as well as fact but this story was a stretch for me. I gave it a 3 1/2 star rating.½

Antoinette is an autistic child with the ability to heal, but develops seizures when she alleviates someone’s pain. She is desperate to heal her dying mother, but is rebuffed.

Lily yearned for the closeness she once had with her sister growing up on their flower farm, but doesn’t know how to deal with her niece. Whenever she’s around, her battles with OCD seem to be heightened, causing a vicious circle of wanting to be with her sister but not wanting to regress into unhealthy behaviors.

Rose knows she is dying. Her sister Lily abandoned her and refused to help her run the farm when Antoinette was just a toddler, yet she is her only living relative. Afraid of Lily’s rejection, she is even more afraid of leaving Antoinette to grow up alone.

Antoinette, Rose and Lily display both physical and mental impairments as they tell their stories. Their hopes and fears will tug at the emotional heartstrings of readers, reminding them that everyone has a burden to bear, a story to tell, and a heart to be loved.

Recommended for Adults.

Book review link: https://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/the-peculiar-miracles-of-ant...

Antoinette Martin is a special child. She doesn't look or act like others, and she seems to be able to do some miraculous things. This is a story about love, among family members, between men and women, and of a mother and child for one another. It examines the rewards and heartbreak that love can bring. The characters are fully developed and likable, and the conflict is believable. The end may have been a bit too predictable, but otherwise, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book.

I received an audio book from LibraryThings early reviewers. This was an interesting story about an estranged family dealing with a child with special needs. Sometimes I felt like it was going to totally fall into a romance chic-lit genera but there was enough other plot lines to keep me happy. I am not a fan of mushy predictable books and it came close but it was an enjoyable story to listen to while I kept my hands busy sewing.

Story of love and family and a 10 year old girl with autism. Antoinette has the power to heal plants and people. Her mother is sick and Antoinette could heal her but the healing has a terrible toll on Antoinette. Nice book but would have liked some real surprises, very predictable.½

this book was a story of a 10 year old girl with autism but also with the power to heal plants and people. I did enjoy this book but is was pretty predictable. Story of love and family.½

Fascinating look into the mind of autism, and the relationships of family and friends. Terrific read, with a bit of mystery and magic mixed in.

It was a pleasure to read, with family, love, friendship, intriguing setting, and yet:
I read hoping there wouldn't be easiness on the reader, dreading what felt like a predictable miracle coming my way. Give me more credit, for though, it was what we wanted all along, readers and family of children with these lives, know easy isn't ever
one of life's choices.

While this book has some things in common with Jason Mott's The Wonder of All Things (namely, a young girl who can perform miracles), this one focuses on the themes of love and family. The audio is mostly enjoyable although the choice to use a second voice only for the sections labelled "Rose's journal" was odd and a little jarring as the accent was so much different from the one used for most of the book. A separate narrator for the parts where we hear Antoinette's thoughts would have been more valuable.

When Rose realizes she is dying, she needs help from her estranged sister, Lily, to help with her autistic daughter, Antoinette. This means that Lily must go back to the flower farm, her childhood home, where her sister and niece live. Besides the physical travel back, memories and people from her past return. As she gets reacquainted with her niece, she sees her niece is special in many ways. One way has a high cost.

I loved the characters in the book and the author's knowledge of the language of flowers. What I did find confusing was when the speaker, the voice, switched to Antoinette. Even if the chapter title somehow indicated the switch, it would have made the reading a bit less confusing. That is the only thing that kept the book from being a "5."

When it ended, I had tears running down my face. Now that is a good story and good writer!!!

This book beautifully depicts what life might be like as viewed by a 10-year-old girl with an unusual disability. Antoinette exhibits signs of autism but her "dis"ability is different - she also has an amazing power to heal. Antoinette can hear a sort of song in her surroundings - in other people and in nature. By touching and humming, she connects with the illness in a living thing and seemingly removes it. But healing comes at a cost and her mother, Rose, is desperate to protect her daughter from herself. Rose is very ill and she knows that allowing Antoinette to cure her could be disastrous for her daughter. Desperate times call for desperate measures which means Rose must swallow past hurts and mend fences with her sister, Lily, in the hopes of convincing her to act as Antoinette's mother when Rose no longer can.

Antoinette understands language very well but she can't form the words. The author, who is the mother of a child with a disability that affects speech, marvelously imagines and describes Antoinette's point of view and the frustration of being unable to communicate effectively. The novel contains a few elements that may put off some readers - shifting points of view and time periods, not much of a plot, and a controversial ending - but Stephanie Knipper deserves credit for giving voice to a unique and very memorable character in this heart-breaking story set on a Kentucky flower farm.