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Summary
Summary
Together for another juicy summer, carefree Murphy, perfect Leeda, and big-hearted Birdie return to the place that allowed them to bloom. Brimming with all the charm, humor, and heart of Peaches and The Secrets of Peaches, this satisfying conclusion to Jodi Lynn Anderson's popular series reunites three unlikely best friends for a final sweet farewell.
When Murphy chose New York City, she left her first love behind. Now, a summer in Bridgewater means trading subway trains for pickup trucks and facing the boy she turned her back on.
Leeda expects her trip home to be over faster than her new Manhattan boyfriend can hail a cab--until a surprising inheritance saddles her with a huge responsibility.
Birdie's heart led her all the way to Mexico, and heartbreak brings her back to the orchard. But when the Darlington family decides to leave peach trees for palm trees, Birdie gets a crash course in letting go--and learning when to hold on.
Reviews (1)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-In this conclusion to the series that began in Peaches (HarperCollins, 2005), the author delights once again with more friendship, love, and, of course, peaches. Leeda and Murphy, both living in New York City, and Birdie, studying in Mexico, return to Darlington Orchard where they once again bond. Leeda is home to listen to the reading of her grandmother's will, thinking she will be back at Columbia University and in her boyfriend's arms in two weeks. She finds herself staying longer than expected and encounters changes that make her question who she is. Murphy comes face to face with her past, including her first love whom she turned her back on before leaving. Birdie Darlington abruptly returns home on a whim. She discovers that the orchard is up for sale and that her house is falling down. Determined to save both, she must learn the hard lessons of letting go and growing up. These young women are richly painted, and each one comes to terms with her past and stands ready to face the future. The ending of the series is neatly wrapped up, and new readers and old fans will not be disappointed. This coming-of-age story has beautifully written passages so vivid that readers can almost taste the peaches and feel the Georgia sunshine.-Julianna M. Helt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Love and Peaches Chapter One The grassy lawn of Columbia University was a vivid green, and Leeda Cawley-Smith lay entwined with her boyfriend, letting the sun's rays seep into her heavily SPFed skin. They were a T; she was perpendicular to him with her head on his stomach, big black sunglasses shielding her eyes. He had his knees up and a school catalog of summer classes covering his face. Occasionally someone appeared and hovered over them to say hello, as if they were Jackie and John F. Kennedy, beautiful and perfect and sunlit, being visited by their subjects. "I don't know what I'm gonna do without you for the next couple of weeks," Eric Woodard said, running his fingers through her loose curls. Leeda rolled over onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. He was peering over his catalog at her, his dirty-blond hair messed up from lying on the ground. "Who's going to match my socks?" Leeda smiled. She had an obsessive-compulsive habit of matching Eric's socks, which were all cashmere and sent by his mother. She also liked to fold anything that was hanging from anywhere. Leeda was very visual. She liked everything in her vision to be orderly. "I'll be back before all your groupies know I'm gone and you can get a new girlfriend," she said. Eric rolled his eyes. Leeda liked to tease him about all the girls who constantly hit on him, sometimes right in front of her. Leeda was headed home to Bridgewater, Georgia, for two weeks come Saturday. It was something she was ambivalent about. There were some things she was thrilled to see again after a whole year away. There were some things she would have been glad to skip. It seemed silly, but the hardest thing would be the two weeks without Eric. They had met on the bus the first week of school. He had gotten her first name before he'd jumped off. Then he'd called the dean of her college and had made up some story to find out exactly who she was. When he'd showed up outside her second Tuesday econ class, Leeda had been wary. But Eric had assured her that once he set his mind to something he always followed through. He hadn't been lying. He had even known what he wanted to be since he was in fifth grade--a surgeon. Tonight he'd make Leeda study with him like he always did. He liked to tease her that he was the reason she had an almost perfect GPA. But they both knew that wasn't true. Leeda didn't like Bs. They made her grade sheet look messy. There were some ways, though, in which Eric had shaped her life at school. He knew everyone. He was always invited somewhere. He took to people like a swimmer takes to water, and he was always liked. It had been too easy for Leeda to ride his coattails into her group of friends at Columbia. She wasn't sure where she would have been without him in that aspect. She, too, was usually well liked. But not great at making close ties. She was too contained. If there was such a thing as a white knight, Eric was hers. When he was around her, Leeda felt like she didn't have to worry about anything. It was something she couldn't explain. He was the kind of guy who took care of things. If there was anything she needed, she knew he would give it to her. It made her life feel as smooth as silk. "You'll be batting off all those southern boys," he said, grinning up at her and also looking the tiniest bit worried. Leeda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you know how I'm into guys who drive tractors and drink Bud Light," she said. Murphy McGowen would have said she sounded snobby. But Eric didn't seem to notice. He opened up the schedule book and showed it to her. "Here's the class I signed us up for." Leeda read the description. Art of the Italian Renaissance. "That sounds good." It was a summer class Eric had talked her into. They planned to spend the rest of the summer sitting at sidewalk cafés, seeing movies, and taking advantage of all the city had to offer. Leeda sometimes felt like her life as a Georgia girl had gone up in a puff of smoke, replaced by a New York life that was full of conversations about things that mattered and countless things to do. It had all surpassed her wildest expectations. On Fridays, she and Murphy had a permanent date, no matter who else tried to get in the way. Friday afternoons and evenings were theirs, without fail, to ride ferries, to tramp Fifth Avenue and window-shop, to ice-skate, to lie on the grass in Central Park, to eat falafel from stands, to get crepes in the East Village, to take up seats at diners for way too long while eating rice pudding, and sometimes just to stay cooped up in one of their dorm rooms and cowrite lively, chaotic e-mails to Birdie. "What's the first thing you're gonna do when you get home?" Eric asked, scrunching up his eyebrows thoughtfully, his hazel eyes half caught in the shade Leeda cast. He had a smooth, open face, the kind you liked right away. Even his features were uncomplicated and honest. Leeda's thoughts immediately went to the smell of peaches, which she had almost forgotten, and the Darlington Orchard. She had the same eager feeling about seeing it that a kid might get while anticipating going to Disney World, like it was something huge and far away. But in two days, she thought, it would be New York that felt far away and the orchard that would feel real--quaint and quiet and full of shadows and tucked away at what felt like the edge of the world. She didn't know how to explain her excitement to Eric, though. He was more of a facts and figures guy. "They're reading my grandmom Eugenie's will on Saturday. So I guess I'll do that." Love and Peaches . Copyright © by Jodi Anderson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Love and Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.