This is a 'quiet' saga that would make an awesome family read aloud. Recommended for readers who like stories of triumph over tragedy. I especially love the magic of her relationship with Larkin, as well as her dedication to natural medicines and cures. Ellie has found a welcome freedom, and a love of the natural world, in her new life on the mountain. This is a lovely story that despite its 1930s setting will have timeless appeal. Although the story is set in Maine, it is reminiscent of Appalachian life as well, and could just as easily be North Carolina or West Virginia.Įllie is the linchpin to the story, but the author has also woven in themes of friendship, perseverance, accepting change, and courage (not just Ellie), and balanced them with a lovely mystery with just the right touches of suspense, surprise, and humor. Echo Mountain is an acclaimed best book of 2020 After losing almost everything in the Great Depression, Ellie's family is forced to leave their home in town and start over in the untamed wilderness of nearby Echo Mountain.

This isn't going to be a secret for very long! That ultimately leads her to secretly visit Cate, aka 'the hag,' who lives higher on the mountain. When she gets there, Cate is unconscious and needs medical attention. No longer content to wait and see if her father will wake up, Ellie decides to 'do' something. Everyone feels the loss, but no one more than Ellie, whom Esther and her mother blame for the accident. Echo Mountain is an acclaimed best book of 2020 After losing almost everything in the Great Depression, Ellie’s family is forced to leave their home in town and start over in the untamed wilderness of nearby Echo Mountain. But now even she was struggling.Įight months ago, her father was struck in the head by a falling tree, and has been in a coma ever since. Esther and her mother hated the change Samuel was so young he didn't know otherwise and Ellie (12) embraced this new, simpler way of living and all that her father was teaching her.

They lost their business and house in town, and started a new life on Echo Mountain. When the Great Depression struck, Ellie's father lost his tailoring business and her mother had no students.

Diverse Easy Reader | Illustrated Chapter A girl realizes her standout gifts as a healer in this exquisitely layered historical novel set in Depression-era Maine.

Echo mountain book