Synopses & Reviews
The critically acclaimed, award-winning author of How to Be an American Housewife returns with a poignant story of estranged sisters reunited when a request from their ailing mother reveals a long-buried family secret. Rachel and Drew Snow are sisters. Though they were confidants and cohorts as little girls, their lives have followed completely different paths. In fact, as adults they appear to occupy different planets.
Rachel hasnt returned to her childhood home since being kicked out by her strict father after an act of careless teenage rebellion. Despite the estrangement from her parents, Rachel married a good man and is a mother to two strong-minded teensshe has a full, authentic life. Drew, younger by four years, followed her passion for music and works a variety of side jobs to supplement gigs and recording sessions. Shes now at an impasse, longing for the stability that has always eluded her. Both sisters recall how close they were, but the distance between them seems more than they can bridge. When their deferential Japanese mother, Haruki, is diagnosed with dementia, the family is surprised when she gives Rachel power of attorney. But no one is more surprisedand angeredthan Rachels domineering father, Killian. Killians relentless anger, Harukis seeming favoritism: each is a wedge in the gulf dividing the sisters.
In a rare moment of lucidity, Haruki mysteriously asks Rachel to find a book in her sewing room. To get into the house, let alone find the book, Rachel needs her sisters help. But finding the book turns out to be just the beginning. The bookwhich tells the tale of real-life female samurai Tomoe Gozen, an epic saga of love, loss, and conflict during twelfth-century Japanreveals truths about Drew and Rachels relationship that resonate across the centuries, and helps them connect in a way that turns their differences into their strongest asset. The two sisters realize that courage is not just for the bold warrior women of ancient times, but for them, as well.
Review
Praise for The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns: “Dilloway artfully weaves the intricacies of rose floriculture with her characters’ teen angst and epiphany, an anguished wait for a new kidney, lost and newfound friends, reconciliation, and hope.” —Kit-Bacon Gressitt, North County Times “[An] exquisite little novel . . . Dilloway's keen prose and an unexpected ending lift The Care and Handling of Roses With Thorns above mere schmaltz into something special.”—Entertainment Weekly "Believable situations with well-drawn characters make this novel as lovely as the roses Gal tends. Dilloway's second novel is a captivating study of how love and understanding nurture our lives. Engaging, enlightening, thoughtful, this is a winner." —Library Journal "A richly textured diversion from standard treatments of family angst, Dilloway’s new novel expresses a graceful understanding of the virtues of mercy."—Booklist "[An] exquisitely written novel about love and redemption." —Kirkus
“I was captivated from the very first page. This uplifting novel about family and forgiveness brought me to both laughter and tears. By the end of this honest, engaging journey, I had grown to love all of the characters and was left with a new appreciation of the fragility and beauty of our daily happiness.”—Jean Kwok, New York Times–bestselling author of Girl in Translation "Dilloway's rapturous new novel showcases a prickly heroine who shows what happens, when despite the formidable odds before us, we risk blooming. What flowers is knockout and to say I loved this book is understatement."—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
“Galilee Garner is as prickly, thorny, and gracefully sweet as one of her prize roses. and her supporting characters bloom with their own quirks and virtues. A fun and uplifting read.”—Tiffany Baker, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County
"The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns is a tender, moving story that shows how family not only has the capacity to wound, but offers us the possibility to bloom again."—Shilpi Somaya Gowda, bestselling author of Secret Daughter “Even readers with black thumbs will be enchanted by the bramble beauty that is Galilee Garner. Dilloway has cultivated a fascinating plot in the rich science and magic of flower breeding. A story about family and the ways in which the unexpected blossom is often the most cherished. This novel is a rose personified.”—Sarah McCoy, author of The Baker’s Daughter and The Time It Snowed In Puerto Rico "A touching, moving story . . . Margaret Dilloway is a gifted, talented writer."—Darien Gee, author of Friendship Bread
Review
"A tender and captivating novel of family secrets and redemption, and a compelling look at the complex love languages spoken within three generations of a family."
-Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
"In How to Be an American Housewife, Margaret Dilloway creates an irresistible heroine. Shoko is stubborn, contrary, proud, a wonderful housewife, and full of deeply conflicted feelings. I wanted to shake her, even as I was cheering her on, and this cunningly structured novel allowed me to do both. It also took me on two intricate journeys, from postwar Japan and the shadow of Nagasaki to contemporary California, and from motherhood to daughterhood and back again. A profound and suspenseful debut."
-Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street
"A triumphant debut novel. Margaret Dilloway gives us the most original, endearing, courageous and enduring narrator I've read in a long time. Shoko's voice is one of a kind, yet as familiar as advice from your own mother. Her unforgettable story of triumph, tragedy, disappointment and joy will stay with me."
-Susan Wiggs, author of Just Breathe
"How to Be an American Housewife is filled with dreams and love--the kinds that come true and those that don't. Margaret Dilloway is wise and ironic. She has created wonderful characters who never, in spite of hardships, stop finding ways to love each other."
-Luanne Rice, author of The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners
"Margaret Dilloway has written a compulsively readable novel about the timeless, fraught, and ultimately powerful relationships between mothers and daughters, and brothers and sisters. How to Be an American Housewife confirms that redemption and happy endings are always possible."
-Patricia Wood, author of Lottery
"How to Be an American Housewife is witty, rich, layered, and so very satisfying. Dilloway's talent shines through from the very first page, and I was terribly sorry when it ended. This is by far one of the best books I've read in ages."
-Jane Porter, author of Easy on the Eyes
"How to Be an American Housewife is equal parts multilayered and beautifully nuanced - an enthralling debut told in an utterly original voice."
- Holly Kennedy, author of The Penny Tree
"Charming, poignant and life affirming. Dilloway reminds us of the triumph of love over geography, silence and misunderstanding. She makes us glad to be alive."
-Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle
"Dilloway is one of those remarkable writers that can completely transport you to a unique place in time. In How to Be an American Housewife I became both Shoko, the Japanese war bride, and Sue, the American daughter straddling two cultures. The richness of detail will have you reaching for your kimono before you realize it didn't happen to you."
-Kerry Reichs, author of Leaving Unknown
Review
Praise for Margaret Dilloway
“This radiant debut pays moving tribute to the power of forgiveness.” —People on How to be an American Housewife
“Enchanting…Dilloway splits her narrative gracefully between mother and daughter, making a beautifully realized whole.”
—Publishers Weekly on How to be an American Housewife
“An exquisite little novel…Dilloways keen prose and an unexpected ending lift The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns above mere schmaltz into something special.”
—Entertainment Weekly
Review
“A skillfully woven tale where the lore of a twelfth-century female samurai helps two present-day sisters release the past and heal their fractured lives. Vivid, detailed, and historically fascinating.”
—Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Me
"I deeply admire Margaret Dilloways deftness in braiding together past and present, but what I love best about this book is that every relationship rings true, particularly the complicated bonds of sisterhood. As Drew and Rachel struggle toward each other, butting heads, wrestling with old jealousies, discovering deep reservoirs of love, I kept thinking: 'Yes! Thats it. Thats exactly how it is.'"—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In and Belong to Me
"Dilloway's historical tale of legendary love and loss illuminates a modern-day struggle between sisters-- both the intense conflict and devotion. If you don't have a sister, you'll wish you had one. If you do, you'll want to go find her and hold her tight."—
Julie Kibler, author of Calling Me Home
Praise for Margaret Dilloway
“This radiant debut pays moving tribute to the power of forgiveness.”
— People
“Enchanting... Dilloway splits her narrative gracefully between mother and daughter making a beautifully realized whole.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Heartfelt…Lovely.” — USA Today
“A nuanced debut.” — Redbook
“A tender and captivating novel of family secrets and redemption, and a compelling look at the complex love languages spoken within three generations of a family.”
—Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Synopsis
Thirty-six-year-old Gal Garner lives a regimented life. Her job teaching biology and her struggle with kidney disease keep her toggling between the high school, the hospital, and her home on a strict schedule.
Only at home, in her garden, does Gal come alive. It's here that she experiments with Hulthemia roses, painstakingly cross-pollinating various specimens in the hopes of creating a brand-new variation of spectacular beauty. But even her passion has a highly structured goal: Gal wants to win Queen of Show in a major competition and bring that rose to market.
Then one afternoon Gal's teenaged niece Riley, the daughter of her estranged sister, arrives. Unannounced. Neither one of them will ever be the same.
Filled with gorgeous details of the art of rose breeding, The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns is a testament to the redemptive power of love.
Synopsis
A lively and surprising novel about a Japanese woman with a closely guarded secret, the American daughter who strives to live up to her mother's standards, and the rejuvenating power of forgiveness. How to Be an American Housewife is a novel about mothers and daughters, and the pull of tradition. It tells the story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American GI, and her grown daughter, Sue, a divorced mother whose life as an American housewife hasn't been what she'd expected. When illness prevents Shoko from traveling to Japan, she asks Sue to go in her place. The trip reveals family secrets that change their lives in dramatic and unforeseen ways. Offering an entertaining glimpse into American and Japanese family lives and their potent aspirations, this is a warm and engaging novel full of unexpected insight.
Synopsis
The award-winning author of How to Be an American Housewife returns with a poignant story of estranged sisters, forced together by family tragedy, who soon learn that sisterhood knows no limits.
Rachel and Drew Snow may be sisters, but their lives have followed completely different paths.
Married to a wonderful man and a mother to two strong-minded teens, Rachel hasnt returned to her childhood home since being kicked out by her strict father after an act of careless teenage rebellion. Drew, her younger sister, followed her passion for music but takes side jobs to make ends meet and longs for the stability that has always eluded her. Both sisters recall how close they were, but the distance between them seems more than they can bridge. When their deferential Japanese mother, Hikari, is diagnosed with dementia and gives Rachel power of attorney, Rachels domineering father, Killian becomes enraged.
In a rare moment of lucidity, Hikari asks Rachel for a book in her sewing room, and Rachel enlists her sisters help in the search. The bookwhich tells the tale of real-life female samurai Tomoe Gozen, an epic saga of love, loss, and conflict during twelfth-century Japanreveals truths about Drew and Rachels relationship that resonate across the centuries, connecting them in ways that turn their differences into assets.
About the Author
Margaret Dilloway was inspired by her Japanese mother's experiences when she wrote this novel, and especially by a book her father had given to her mother called The American Way of Housekeeping. Dilloway lives in Hawaii with her husband and their three young children. Her blog, American Housewife, can be found on her website, www.margaretdilloway.com.