Synopses & Reviews
Beginning 24 months before WWI and the Armenian genocide is a love story that unravels a piece of 100-year-old history seen through the eyes of the young, courageous, and unyielding Anno and Daron. In an era of major human disaster and violence, this historical novel offers an easy, accessible understanding of what atrocities mean to regular people and how love overcomes the most unimaginable pain. From the colors used to dye the rugs, to the distances between the villages where guns were smuggled, to the fragrance of wild mushrooms snapping and sizzling on an open fire, each detail makes the reader truly participate in the life and struggle of the characters. Five years of research through gathering materials and traveling to the real-life village that is depicted in this novel, amid gunfire and bombings, has been poured into a love story that will either be savored by the reader or read in a frenzy to discover the fate of Anno and Daron.
Review
"Powerful and sensitive, this tragic novel helps illuminate a historical episode still too little known or acknowledged." —Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Boyadjian based parts of the book on the stories of her own grandparents, survivors of the Armenian genocide. That comes through, both in the description and in the way the characters react to the ever-present dangers, and makes As the Poppies Bloomed a moving work." —Foreword Reviews
Review
“As the Poppies Bloomed is a compelling read from first page to last and clearly documents author Maral Boyadjian as an especially gifted storyteller who will leave her readers looking eagerly toward her next novel.” —Midwest Book Review
Review
"As the Poppies Bloomed is a story of love, loss and in the end salvation—the best type of story we have to remind ourselves of some of the worst, and best, aspects of the human condition." —Christopher Atamian, HuffPost Books, The Huffington Post
Synopsis
A stunning coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, as one extraordinarily loyal and headstrong girl battles to save the people she loves
In 1640 London 15-year-old Henrietta Challoner dreams of adventure, of a life lived at the gallop, of the opportunities afforded to her brothers, Ned and Sam. She cannot know how devastatingly real these dreams will become, as the country slides towards vicious civil war. The crisis threatens to tear Henrietta's family apart. As religious and political tensions spill into the streets, they all must decide what comes first--their family, their country, or their desires. But while she strives to maintain the peace at home, Henrietta becomes embroiled in a deeper plot: to hand London over to the King.
Synopsis
A stunning coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of the English Civil War, as one extraordinarily loyal and headstrong girl battles to save the people she loves In 1640 London 15-year-old Henrietta Challoner dreams of adventure, of a life lived at the gallop, of the opportunities afforded to her brothers, Ned and Sam. She cannot know how devastatingly real these dreams will become, as the country slides towards vicious civil war. The crisis threatens to tear Henrietta's family apart. As religious and political tensions spill into the streets, they all must decide what comes first—their family, their country, or their desires. But while she strives to maintain the peace at home, Henrietta becomes embroiled in a deeper plot: to hand London over to the King.
Synopsis
It is 1913 and late summer in the Ottoman Empire. The sun rises, full and golden, atop a lush, centuries-old village tucked into the highlands where the blood-red poppies bloom. Outside the village leader's home, the sound of voices carries past the grapevines to the lane where Anno, his youngest daughter, slips out unseen.
She heads to a secret meeting place. She forgets that enemies surround her village. She forgets that her father meets each day with trepidation. She knows only the love she has for Daron, who waits for her as she hastens to him, once again breaking the ancient rules of courtship.
Anno and Daron wish for nothing more than marriage and a better day alongside their neighbors, but neither is prepared for the dark, dangerous secret that Daron's father keeps or the upheaval that will soon envelop their village, their land, and their hearts.
About the Author
Maral Boyadijan is the granddaughter of four Armenian genocide survivors who she weaves the memories and experiences of her grandparents into her writing. She lives in Granada Hills, California.