All among the Barley

I've bought a LOT of books this year, and have read quite a few of them over the summer.
I started the summer with William Atkins' new book on Deserts, which is excellent.

The latest Melissa Harrison is a wonderful book too. It's called 'All among the Barley' and tells the story of Wych Farm, and the Mather family. The narrator is a girl called Edith.

The book features a vital feature of all good books: an excellent map at the front of the book showing key locations which helps you to visualise the relationships between different locations mentioned in the book.

It explores the changes that take place in a rural area over several years, and the arrival of technology and other changes. The characters are compelling and the story is intriguing. I particularly liked the description of the birds and flowers that populated the farm and the influence of the weather on the lives of the farm. The action is also set against the backdrop of the end of World War 2, returning (or not) soldiers, gender roles and local 'politics'.

Well worth checking out...

You can find out hundreds of useful Geography-related books, and other resources over on my GeoLibrary blog.

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