Title: The Soured Earth
Author: Sophie Weeks
Genre: NA Realistic Fiction
Age Group: New Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
When Margaret Campbell left her home, a working ranch in the Canada prairies, for the East coast and college, she never meant to come back. In the aftermath of a tragic accident that claimed the lives of her aunt and uncle, however, Margaret is called home to help. There she must assume a much less glamorous role as chef, gardener, and mother figure for her orphaned cousins.
But when a strange sickness strikes their cattle and blights their crops, Margaret’s family is threatened with the loss of their ranch and only livelihood. Now caught in the middle of a full-scale environmental disaster, Margaret finds herself divided between duty to home and family and the fashion designer career she’s still struggling to build.
In The Soured Earth, Margaret Campbell decides to go back home after a desperate phone call from her Dad. Her family is struggling. Her aunt and uncle passed away in a car accident, and now her Dad has to take care of the ranch she grew up in, her two cousins, and her aging grandma, all on his own. While Margaret wants nothing more than to finish studying for her degree in fashion, she knows she can’t abandon her Dad when he needs her the most.
But coming back home is a struggle. Her cousins each have their own share of troubles and teenage issues to go through. Her grandmother suffered from a stroke, but refuses to take things slowly. Money is scarce, and when an illness starts infesting the crops and animals on their ranch and the surrounding ranches, things are about to get ten times worse for Margaret and her family.
As they struggle to make ends meet, Margaret has to figure out what she wants in live – to be there for her family, or to chase her own dreams.
The Soured Earth was a truly inspiring story about family, dreams, and about what we sometimes give up for family. Margaret struggle with typical new adult issues, and she’s a very realistic character. Her family is lovely, especially Bonne-maman, her grandmother. She may nag every now and then, and she may be harsh on Margaret’s Dad, but she has her heart in the right place. Ranch life is tough, and I never realized how tough until reading this book, it was a real eye-opener.
The writing was good, the characters were enjoyable, and the story was truly inspiring.
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