I was happier once the gold started going to deserving people! I think that’s life - sometimes random bad things happen to people, sometimes random good ones, but usually we make our choices and they have consequences. Olive was a good librarian and Ronnie knew it.
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Fascinating. Let me try.
It worked! I posted that (very positive) review because the reviewer noted that Harry’s Trees was published by Mira Books. I noticed that on my paperback copy, but I’d never heard of them. They publish a very limited number of books every year:
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^ I’ve done some griping about the new CC format, but have to admit the post above has a nice, colorful layout. So once all the kinks are ironed out, this could be fun!
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I’m just saying that if I find a bag of gold coins on my front step, I won’t be telling anyone. It would be a secret. No press and no taxes.
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I liked that line that she quotes from the book, “But most of all, books to disturb you forward (p. 302).” What a great use of that verb.
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Mature. Precocious, in fact. But as @AnAsmom pointed out, “too fey to be realistic.” She was a funny little sprite and I liked her.
Regarding the way Oriana’s world looks as she wanders the woods, can I just say Amanda’s parenting in that regard left a little something to be desired? Amanda admitted at the end that she went too far in encouraging Oriana to be fiercely independent: Climb the trees, walk the stone walls, play in the creek, go into the forest.
I was bothered more by the fact that Amanda let Oriana be alone with Harry for long periods of time – not only before she knew him well, but really early on when she thought he was just plain weird.
See, this is where I have to tell myself to stop picking apart the story and just go with the flow! The Endless Mountains is not a world with any 21st century dangers. The only dangerous character is Wolf, and in the end, his bark is worse than his bite (exact opposite of the dog he rescued, haha).
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I wasn’t that bothered by Oriana wandering alone in the woods because that was a large part of my childhood. When I was nine we lived on the edge of civilization in Somalia. I’d go off alone riding and once I fell off and I had to walk to somewhere I could phone my parents. We used to collect the bones that were scattered over the barren hills. Later we did much the same in the Vermont woods. We came home every night though, unlike the kids in the Swallow and Amazon books. I always envied them getting camp without parents on island in the middle of lake in England. All that said, as a parent, I might have worried about Harry’s relationship with my daughter. I do almost remember believing that magic might really be possible. But of all the characters in the book I think I found Oriana the hardest to believe in totally.
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Thanks all, for your views about how Harry, so randomly decided who would receive the bags of gold.
It did bother me, that he decided by finding a “tree” to guide him.
Your comments above about the “randomness” of the recipient, reflects the theme of the book, “bad or good” things just happen.
@ignatius interesting comment about how more deliberate the decisions were made as the story progressed ie cliff and hood decide to give Amanda and Oriana their bag, and, it was Ronnie who decided about Olive. The reader could relax, knowing the “right” people were being rewarded.
I liked that Cohen, allowed Oriana to be part of the chain of events that led to the last donation, while in the woods with Ronnie, she clearly dictated, he should decide about the last bag. I expected her to select Olive and the library, but she gave Ronnie the power.
Oriana’s power, her intensity, addresses her otherworldly. maturity, making her character the most magical, or as @mathmom suggest most unbelievable.
@Mary13 I also, worried about a young girl allowed to be deep in the woods with creepy stranger, Harry, but realized this was far from the “ Street”, a fairy tale, no child molesters allowed.
Jon Cohen is the father of two girls, and I liked the way he constructed his fairy tale’s , “ damsel in distress. Oriana, to devise, orchestrate and even manifest her own happy resolution.
She is no Rapunzel, or Cinderella.
So this book is a fairy tale about fairy tales, and I found this interview where Cohen mentions that his most unforgettable moment while writing the book - the last sentence in the epilogue? *
…
“He barked it for all the world to hear. The name of his best friend.
**“ wolf” he barked. “ wolf, wolf, wolf “
I wonder if he likes that sentence, because
It isn’t the Boy crying “ woof” it the dog crying “ wolf” literally, and his final nod to fairy tales?
Why else would he like that sentence so much?
What was your unforgettable moment while writing HARRY’S TREES?
Writing the last sentence in the epilogue. Seriously. I didn’t see it coming, it just came. I didn’t realize I had set up this fun pay-off until suddenly, wham, there it was on the page. **Still makes me sigh with satisfaction. And laugh, too.
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@mathmom your childhood is so interesting Somalia, Vermont, wonderful
From Jon cohens web site, places and things that inspired him, an actual picture of Pratt library
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If Dean hadn’t unexpectedly died, we would have seen a different Oriana. She’d still be the same avid reader, the same fiercely independent child who loves the woods but not one uber focused on fairy tales and magical signs. She’s still at the age to retain just enough belief in magic. I taught kindergarten and first grade and most believed in Santa and the tooth fairy and so on. Oriana at age 9 would have started stepping away from that world but Dean’s death could easily draw her back with a need to keep Dean present. She channels her grief differently than an adult and maybe in a strictly fierce Oriana way. @buenavista mentions both Amanda and Harry’s struggle with grief. Oriana’s struggle is that of child who desperately wants to keep her father present. Fairytales and magic are her way to do it. If feathers and red coats and belief are what she needs at the moment, then so be it. At the end of the book she’s regaining her footing.
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Great photo link, @jerseysouthmomchess! That’s pretty much how I pictured the library. I didn’t realize there was really a Green Gables Restaurant.
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I wouldn’t trade my childhood experiences for anything! 
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I have to say that I can clearly picture D2 being Oriana. She was one of the most believable characters for me.
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I had dismissed this book as one that wouldn’t generate a lively discussion but not so. I’m gaining a new perspective into the author which has made me appreciate the book more. He writes of which he knows well and has created a space where his readers can pause and reflect.
@jerseysouthmomchess I agree with you about having a moment of worry that Amanda blithely let Oriana go off with a perfect stranger into the woods. But then, I thought about my own childhood, spent rambling over hills and quarries, climbing interesting trees not anywhere near my house, often alone or in the company of other free spirits like me. There was a time when that was safe and it made sense to find that in this book.
I had a laugh out aloud moment when I read the review posted by @Mary13 — I’m sure I make the same “unfair assumptions about what I’m going to find in between the covers“ when I see a book by Debbie Macomber. Interesting tidbit that Mira books is a branch of Harlequin books, which is the biggest publisher of romances.
On a trivial note, this thread seems to be imbued with some kind of magic now — when I scroll rapidly (on an iPad) to read the older posts, I can actually see the intended text formatting, emojis, highlights and even highlighted names none of which I can see when I do it at a normal speed.
Also, the scrolling seems to take a warp speed jump which has the effect of skipping some posts at times.
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@rockymtnhigh2: I agree. I thought Cohen did a good job writing Oriana. Teaching, I had students who dealt with loss. One lost a sibling to a cancerous brain tumor and two little boys - one in kindergarten and one in first grade - lost both parents. The father died of cancer and the mother was killed in a head-on collision three months later. Other losses included divorce, a parent jailed, foster homes.
Children react differently to loss. Amanda wants Oriana to accept Dean’s death as she does. Just not happening and she is right to consult a therapist about her worries. It helps her back off though Oriana still senses her mother’s discomfort. Oriana is actually lucky to have guardian angel Ronnie as he’s sort of a kindred spirit in grief.
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8. Why do trees feel magical versus, say, an azalea bush or a tomato plant? Is it their size? Is it the memories they evoke? Why do we travel to see the giant redwoods? Why do we take trips in the fall to see the maples turn red and orange? Is it simply the call of beauty? Or are we looking for magic?
Trees definitely feel magical. They exist in both land and air. Trees do a lot for all the inhabitants of earth. They do big things like provide us with oxygen and wood for building, They are also home to many creatures. They do simple things as well, like provide us with shade on a hot day. Trees come in many shapes and forms. Some look beautiful, while others can look scary. They look different at night than they do during the day. The Redwoods are magical because of their size, but also because of their age. Older than anyone on earth, we can let our imaginations go wild thinking of what they have experienced over the years. What creatures, human and other, sought refuge in their shade or branches? Who in history walked a path past them?
Harry finding the tree house in a beech tree felt magical. It was comforting and brought him back to the safe place of his childhood beech tree. A comfort he needed at the time. It also felt magical when he climbed the tree and went past all the creatures along the way. A larger than life experience for sure!
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@Caraid totally agree about trees, I Japan Forest Bathing is taken quite seriously. Recently,
Two friends and I have been seeking out local wooded trails, usually about 2-5 miles long, and enjoying walks in forested areas. Such a great escape from all the covid worries, and so enjoyable. Check out all trails.com to find a nice walk near you, highly recommend it. https://www.alltrails.com/
Forest Bathing - Japanese concept
The practice of forest bathing, also called forest therapy, involves no bathing and isn’t led by a therapist but a trained, certified guide or guides. In Japan, the practice is decades old and known as shinrin-yoku, which means “taking in the forest.” Among the benefits, say practitioners and some researchers, are relaxation, less [stress]
Blockquote
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Trees are also smart!
The latest scientific studies, conducted at well-respected universities in Germany and around the world, confirm what he has long suspected from close observation in this forest: Trees are far more alert, social, sophisticated—and even intelligent—than we thought.
To generate income, Wohleben created a wildwood cemetery, where nature lovers pay for their cremated remains to be buried in simple urns. “The trees are sold as living headstones,” he says.
I think that’s how Harry would like to be laid to rest someday. (As a side note–unrelated to trees–I felt bad about the fate of Beth’s ashes. I think that scene was supposed to be comic relief, but it was a pretty unfortunate scattering.)
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I also thought that the scene with Beth’s ashes was oddly discordant.
I loved the trees. I loved the image of Harry climbing to the tippy top of all those trees.